Tushar Gandhi Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Tushar Gandhi

• Tushar Gandhi is an Indian author, who is the son of South African-born American author and socio-political activist Arun Manilal Gandhi and the great-grandson of the Indian lawyer and nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi.

• He spent his childhood in the Santacruz suburb of Mumbai and studied at a local Gujarati medium school in Maharashtra.
  

  A childhood image of Tushar Gandhi with his parents and sister

• His great-grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, played a key role in India’s struggle for independence from British rule. Mahatma Gandhi is also known as the Father of the Nation in India. On 30 January 1948, Nathuram Godse assassinated him at the Birla House mansion in New Delhi.

• In 1996, he was designated as the president of the Lok Seva Trust, an organization set up in central Bombay to support the well-being of textile mill labourers.

• He is widely known for founding the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in Vadodara, Gujarat, in 1998. He is also the president of the foundation. Later, he relocated the foundation to Mumbai.

• In 2000, he made an appearance as himself in the Tamil-Hindi period crime drama film titled ‘Hey Ram,’ directed by Kamal Haasan.
  

  Tushar Gandhi in a still from the 2000 film ‘Hey Ram’

• In 2001, Tushar Gandhi entered into an agreement with the American marketing company CMG Worldwide to allow the use of Mahatma Gandhi’s image in an advertisement aimed at university students for a credit card company; however, this decision was perceived as going against Gandhian principles, leading to a significant public backlash and eventually causing him to back out from the deal. ^[3]Orange City Literature Festival

• In March 2005, he led the 75th-anniversary re-enactment of the Dandi March. He walked a 241-mile-long journey and played a pivotal role in convincing the Indian prime minister to formally designate the route from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi as a historic heritage pathway for India.
  

  Tushar Gandhi and his wife during the 75th-anniversary re-enactment of the Dandi March 2005

• In 2007, he held the position of Goodwill Ambassador for the CISRI-ISP Intergovernmental Institution, advocating for the utilization of micro-algae Spirulina to combat malnutrition.

• In 2007, he authored a non-fiction book titled ‘Let’s Kill Gandhi!: A Chronicle of His Last Days, the Conspiracy, Murder, Investigation, and Trial,’ which gained popularity as a bestseller for a few weeks in India.

• In 2008, he served as the Chairman of the Australian Indian Rural Development Foundation (AIRDF).

• In 2009, he made a brief appearance as himself in the Hindi semi-fictional film ‘Road to Sangam.’
  

  Tushar Gandhi in a still from the 2010 Hindi film ‘Road to Sangam’

• In 2014, he held the position of trustee at the Maharashtra Gandhi Smarak Nidhi.

• In 2018, he played a significant role in successfully urging the Supreme Court of India to direct the states and Union Territories to comply with its orders to curb incidents of violence by cow-vigilante groups.

• In October 2019, he delivered a TEDx speech on the topic of ‘How to Preserve Social Dignity.’

• In 2019, he held the position of director at the Gandhi Research Foundation in Jalgaon, Maharashtra.

• In 2021, he published the book ‘Let’s Kill Gandhi!: A Chronicle of His Last Days, the Conspiracy, Murder, Investigation, Trials and The Kapur Commission.’
  

  Cover of the 2021 book Let’s Kill Gandhi! – A Chronicle of His Last Days, the Conspiracy, Murder, Investigation, Trials and The Kapur Commission

• In 2022, he introduced a book named ‘The Lost Diary of Kastur, My Ba,’ which was inspired by the diary authored by his great-grandmother, Kasturba Gandhi.

• In November 2022, he joined Rahul Gandhi on his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ march in Shegaon, Maharashtra.
  

  Tushar Gandhi giving a speech during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in 2022

• During Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in 2022, Tushar gave a speech in support of Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement about Veer Savarkar, an Indian politician and activist. Tushar said that Veer Savarkar had apologized to the British to secure his release from prison. He said,
  

  It is true that Veer Savarkar was friends with the British, he apologised to the British just to move out of prison and it is not like we have taken it from WhatsApp University, there is evidence in history.” ^[4]The Economic Times

Savarkar actively helped the British during the Second World War. He continued doing so even after knowing that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and his INA were fighting the British, this is an undeniable historic fact.

— Tushar GANDHI (@TusharG) November 17, 2022

• In December 2022, Tushar Gandhi was honoured with the Thampan Thomas Foundation Award for his notable contributions to society. He was presented with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a stone plaque, and a Certificate of Merit as part of the recognition.

• Upon the launch of India’s digital currency by the RBI in December 2022, Tushar Gandhi expressed his strong objection to the absence of Mahatma Gandhi‘s image on the new e-note. He used sarcasm in a tweet to convey his disappointment. ^[5]India Today

Thank you RBI and GoI for not including Bapu’s image on the newly introduce Digital Currency. Now please remove his image from paper money too.

— Tushar GANDHI (@TusharG) December 26, 2022

• On 9 August 2023, Tushar Gandhi stated that he was detained by the Mumbai Police as he was leaving his home to commemorate the Quit India movement. ^[6]The Indian Express

For the first time in history of Indipendent India I have been detained at Santa Cruz Police Station as I left home to commemorate 9th August Quit India Day. I am proud My Great Grandparents Bapu and Ba had also been arrested by the British Police on the historic date.

— Tushar GANDHI (@TusharG) August 9, 2023