German Firm Launches Voluminous Online Archive On Mahatma Gandhi

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A Germany based organization has launched a comprehensive online archive on peace icon Mahatma Gandhi after 30 years of research with material gathered from over 600 worldwide sources.

Peter Ruhe, CEO of about 14-years old Berlin headquartered GandhiServe, which made this GandhiMedia possible, lists its aim as virtually “bringing Mahatma Gandhi to life”. It is aimed at viewing/downloading rare photographs, films, film footage, letters, cartoons, newspaper clippings, documents and art work on Gandhi and India’s independence movement; gathered with research and contributions from scholars and Gandhi’s associates and family members.

Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, commended GandhiMedia for attempts at making Gandhi documents accessible to the world, who was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. His life and thought had an enormous impact on the world, Zed stated.

Rajan Zed, who is Chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, says that Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) is being rediscovered as there is a renewed interest about him and his ideas in the world and many people globally revere him as one of the greatest moral, political, and peace leaders of the 20th century. They are especially interested in Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence, his commitment to world peace, and his work for the upliftment of the downtrodden, Zed adds.

Ruhe says that Gandhi’s youngest son Devadas wanted to visually document his father’s life day-by-day and he put together a major collection of film footage and photographs for Gandhi Films Committee, which made for the later production of Richard Attenborough’s film “Gandhi”. GandhiServe’s mission is to carry on and complete the task of Devadas Gandhi, Ruhe adds and claims that GandhiMedia shows for the first times entire collection of Gandhi’s grand-nephew Kanu Gandhi who was the only one allowed to take Gandhi’s photograph at any time during last 12 years of his life.

Ruhe hopes that GandhiMedia will help alleviate conflicts and the conviction that the ethics of nonviolence, as practiced and cultivated by Mahatma Gandhi, live on, regardless of national or political boundaries. GandhiMedia contains over 22,000 audio, video, images and writings in 396 categories and these can be used to create custom products.

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