Rajmohan Gandhi elected president of Initiatives of Change International
09 Feb 2009
Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Prof. Rajmohan Gandhi was unanimously elected as international president of Initiatives of Change International to succeed ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun of Algeria.
Gandhi's election came at a recent international meeting of Initiatives of Change International in Switzerland.
Gandhi is a journalist and author, and has authored a comprehensive biography of his grandfather, Gandhi: The Man, His People, and an Empire, was published late in 2006 to critical acclaim, with British, US and French editions having also recently been published. He has also written several other biographies, including a biography of his maternal grandfather, Dr C Rajagopalachari, governor general of independent India.
From 1964 to 1981, Gandhi was the chief editor of Himmat, a weekly news magazine that came to be known for its independence during the 'emergency' of 1975 – 77.
Initiatives of Change International (IofC International), based in Caux Switzerland is a non-government organization (NGO) working for peace, reconciliation and human development worldwide. It has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and Participatory Status at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. It stresses the importance of personal responsibility, ethical leadership and building trust across the world's divides.
Gandhi's association with Initiatives of Change goes back to his days as a student in Scotland. In 1963 he led a 'March on Wheels' across India inspiring thousands to work for "a clean, strong and united India". After the march, in response to many requests for further training, Gandhi took initiatives to develop an Initiatives of Change International training and conference centre, at Panchgani, a hill rersort in Maharashtra. The centre has offered training in ethics and leadership to thousands of people from industry, politics, the military and other sectors.
Initiatives of Change, formerly known as Moral Re-Armament seeks to inspire people to become change agents in society in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi's: "be the change you want to see in the world".
