Gandhi’s grandson to address human rights event

Mohandas Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, will be this year’s keynote speaker at the 14th annual human rights banquet hosted by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

The event benefits the Human Rights Education Institute and pays for college scholarships for minority students, a task force news release said.

Arun Gandhi grew up in South Africa during apartheid and frequently was beaten by both white and black youth because of his race. When he was 12, his parents sent him to India to be with his famous grandfather when they discovered how angry he’d become. Through his grandfather’s guidance, he learned to appreciate peaceful nonviolence.

In 1991, Arun Gandhi and his late wife, Sunanda, founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence at the University of Rochester in New York.

Gandhi’s speech is titled: “Lessons learned from my grandfather: Nonviolence in a violent world.”

The banquet will be held at 5:30 p.m. on April 11 at the Best Western Coeur d’Alene Inn, 506 W. Appleway Ave. Tickets are $40 per person. For more information, contact Tony Stewart at (208) 765-3932.