Gandhi Legacy Tour in India announces its 17th annual tour journeying across India in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and guided by his grandson and great grandson Arun and Tushar Gandhi. This year the Gandhi Legacy Tour in India is joined by Gandhi's Be Magazine Editor-in-Chief Missy Crutchfield who is helping build participation and collaborations with colleges, universities, and community organizations and individuals to attend this once-in-a-lifetime tour of India.
A educational and experiential tour, the Gandhi Legacy Tour in India covers highlights of Gandhi's life and work as the father of the philosophy of nonviolence and leader of the Indian Independence movement.
Ms. Crutchfield shares, "After working on the creation of Gandhi's Be Magazine, every day became a new day to bring more purpose and meaning into my life and share with others. The next thing on my list was going on the Gandhi Legacy Tour of India with Arun and Tushar Gandhi and understanding on a deeper level Mahatma Gandhi's life and work and the legacy that continues in India today. It is an honor to become part of this team recruiting individuals and organizations to join this once-in-a-lifetime tour and learn how to incorporate Gandhi's principles of nonviolence and peace in our lives every day. We know that change begins with one person, and with that one person the change ripples out to others all over the world. When we understand 'change begins with me,' we become the change we wish to see in the world."
Highlights of the tour include:
Following in the the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, the tour also covers sites across India where Gandhi's work and the philosophy of nonviolence is still alive and well today.
AVANI school in Kolhapur where brickyard children and orphans receive a new start in life.
SEWA in Ahmedabad where women have achieved economic empowerment for their families through fair trade textiles and cooperative business ownership.
Barefoot College India non-government organization that provides education and workforce development in rural communities covering the areas of solar energy, water, education, health care, rural handicrafts, people's action, communication, women's empowerment and wasteland development.
Tarun Bharat Sangh Campus led by Rajendra Singh who has become known as "The Waterman of India" for his innovations in preventing a "Third World War" as a result of water shortage. Mr. Singh has developed sustainable plans for water usage through joined rainwater storage tanks, check dams, and other water conservation techniques.
Other sites of interest:
Mahatma Gandhi's home in Mumbai where American Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spent time during his visit to India to contemplate Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence and how it applied to nonviolently addressing race issues in America.
Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad is where Mahatma Gandhi settled upon his return from South Africa and was where the work of the Indian Independence Movement was created and centered.
The Gandhi Smriti and Raj Ghat in New Delhi which include the house where Mahatma Gandhi spent his last days before his assassination and the memorial that now stands as a reminder of his selfless life of service for the people of India.
Arun Gandhi shares, "In the essence of Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence and how individuals can apply it to bring about socio-economic change, the tour visits rural India and urban slums to see and compare projects helping to make the change we wish to see in the world. Gandhi believed in creating a 'Sarvodaya' society--a society where everyone would enjoy a reasonably good standard of living with attendant rights and privileges. This can be created by compassionate citizens constructively helping the less fortunate gain the ability to make their lives better. His final Talisman to the citizens of the world was: whenever you are in doubt or when the Self becomes too much, apply the following test: Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest person you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to the person. Will the person gain anything by it? Will it restore control over her/his life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to Swaraj 'Independence of self' for the hungry and the spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your Self melt away! Join the tour, and Become the Change You Wish to See in the World."
Registration is open now through Sept. 2. For a more detailed itinerary, costs, and registration information visit Gandhi Legacy Tour in India website at www.GandhiTour.info.
For additional information on Gandhian philosophy, Gandhi Global Center for Peace, and other ways to be part of the nonviolence movement today, visit Gandhi's Be Magazine at www.BeMagazine.org.