There is a temptation when you meet Ela Gandhi to assume her soft, fluttering voice, attentive nature and reserved demeanor encapsulate her personality as a whole.
On that, said her friend and biographer Susan Easterbrooks, you would be wrong.
“Behind that sweet demeanor,” she said, “is the heart of a lion. It’s a gentle heart, it’s a respectful heart, but it’s also a no-holds-barred kind of heart.”
Beyond being one of Mahatma Gandhi’s — or Ghandiji’s — granddaughters, Ela Gandhi has become a symbol of social justice in her own right, living a life of quiet — and not so quiet — resistance over the last 80 years. A new book by Easterbooks, “My Time with Ela Gandhi,” chronicles the lessons learned and stories told by Gandhi throughout their friendship.
Growing up in Phoenix, one of the oldest Indian settlements in South Africa, Gandhi later went on to serve as a social worker engaged in non-violent protests and activism, fighting on behalf of the oppressed. Along the way to helping South Africa transition to a post-Apartheid state by sitting on the Transitional Executive Committee in the South African government and as a member of South Africa’s Parliament (1994-2004), Gandhi faced house arrest for nine years and lost her son, who was killed in the struggle for justice.
Now retired, Gandhi remains committed to social justice and interreligious harmony. She founded and still chairs the Gandhi Development Trust, is a member of South Africa’s Religious Affairs Committee and works with international organizations, including Religions for Peace.
Devoted to the cause of peace, fighting injustice and crossing political and religious boundaries to do so, this is the story of Gandhi’s engaged spirituality over the long haul.