AS A small boy, Professor Rajmohan Gandhi was not just a grandson but a "walking stick" to "the great soul" Mahatma Gandhi. In the last months of 1947, the figure of the frail old man in a white lunghi would often be seen shuffling from his residence in Delhi to a nearby prayer meeting. As he walked, he would lean on the shoulders of some of his grandchildren, among them Rajmohan.
He would sit behind his grandfather, watching him hold multi-faith prayer meetings where he would read not only Hindu prayers but also prayers from the Koran, and remembers looking out at the sea of faces before the great Gandhi, some of them full of
love, some with respect, and some full of anger.
For Rajmohan, now nearing his seventies and visiting Edinburgh as part of a tour of the UK to discuss the relevance of the Gandhian ethic in the post 9/11 world, it was not only a lesson in tactics but in courage, calmness and tolerance.
"I was behind him, so I could not see his face but I could see the love that people had for him, as well as the anger. I could see that some of them might have taken that anger out on him. I would wonder if they would hit my often bare- chested grandfather and knock him to the ground - he had no bodyguard. His calmness during that kind of situation and his reasoning are some of my strongest impressions."
It was at one of those same meetings that Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu separatist on 30 January 1948. Yet, despite the brutal war between Hindu and Muslim, which continues to this day with the recent bombings in Delhi, Gandhi believed all men to be brothers and preached tolerance.
"I do feel that the challenge Gandhi faced between Hindu and Muslim in India, all of us face between Muslims and the rest of the world," he says. As the Dalai Lama said: "India has exported Gandhi to the world and forgotten Gandhi."
Now Rajmohan wants to reintroduce the ethic, so successful in the Indian fight for independence, of understanding between enemies. And although he will not comment on the recent attempt by Tony Blair to introduce 90-day imprisonment without charge, he makes his feelings on tolerance among cultures clear.
"Human rights are human rights for all and we should not give up on that. Those who are charged, those who are suspected, also have human rights. I think that is essential. It does not mean we should not be firm against criminals and terrorists. We must be. But we must be careful not to get excited and our of fear or alarm and betray our principles."
You would have thought growing up with Gandhi would be inspiration enough to pursue a career in world peace. But it was not until he visited Scotland as a wide-eyed 21-year-old that Rajmohan decided to take on his grandfather's mantle.
The young student came to Edinburgh in 1956/7 to work on The Scotsman as an apprentice journalist, reporting on cattle shows and running copy down to the clattering printing press. While here he stayed with a family involved in Moral Rearmament, now known as Initiatives of Change, an interfaith movement dedicated to fostering understanding between cultures. With them he met injured coal miners and campaigners from around the world. Indeed he still has many friends in Scotland, including UN ambassador Archie Mackenzie and more recently MSPs Christine Graham and Donald Gorrie.
"They were the people I met," he says. "I had no idea that people in Edinburgh were bringing black and white and Indian and others together, working together to make this a better world. I did not expect such a global outlook was being fostered in Edinburgh and then I too felt I had to make some deeper decisions about my life.
"It was only when I met these people and saw the work they were doing that I discovered the issues and thought I should be concerned about the world - I should play a role in doing something about it."
From those humble beginnings on The Scotsman, Rajmohan went on to become editor of the popular Indian newspaper, the Indian Express, as well as writing widely on the independence movement - including a biography of his grandfather.
On the human rights front, he is a co-ordinator of the India-based Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation and a member of the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award Jury.
Rajmohan has also served as a member of the Upper House of India's parliament and led the Indian government delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission. In 1986 he was invited by Pope John Paul II to participate with world spiritual leaders in the Assisi day of prayer.
A spritely looking man, it is easy to think Rajmohan has done well out of his grandfather's legacy. But that would be to underestimate his commitment to the Gandhian ethic, as relevant today as it has ever been.
"Because I am interested in world issues I find this creates an opening, so why not take it?" he asks.
"It contributes to my work. I am taking advantage of it to build bridges and to remove spectacles of prejudice."
