Vinoba Bhave (1895-1982) was widely regarded as Gandhi’s spiritual heir. The Mahatma appointed (or should we say, ‘anointed’) Vinoba to be a ‘Satyagraha of one’ in 1940 when he wanted to show the British raj that he was still in open resistance to its rule but did not feel it was proper to launch full-scale Satyagraha because the British were preoccupied by the world war– an important Gandhian principle known as ‘non-embarrassment.’  After Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, Vinoba’s permission was sought by key figures in Indian political life to undertake important actions, notably Jayaprakash (JP) Narayan who wanted to launch Satyagraha against the Indira Gandhi government in the 1970’s (Vinoba said no).

While he was great scholar and interpreter of spiritual classics (his commentaries on the Gita, delivered while in prison for his part in the independence movement is considered a classic to this day) he is best known for the Bhoodan (land grant) movement that he launched after Gandhi’s passing.  Using highly traditional Indian models of gift-giving to sages, Vinoba walked the length and breadth of India getting wealthy landowners to donate part (usually a fifth) of their land to poor Harijan families.  Five million acres (short of his ambitious goal of 50 million, but still quite significant) were thus collected and redistributed. In some cases landholders were taken up by the enthusiasm and carried out Gramdan or the wholesale gift to the sage of entire villages for his redistribution (a concept akin to the Jubilee year or periodic forgiveness of debts in ancient Jewish practice).

Vinoba also played a major role in the development of the Shanti Sena. He once persuaded a whole clan of dacoits (brigands) to turn themselves over to the authorities in order to avert a bloody confrontation with the Indian army — perhaps a model for counter-terrorism today!

Known for his asceticism and the utter simplicity of his material life (he took the vow of brahmacarya at an early age), it is said that the young Vinoba, incensed by the injustices of British rule, was contemplating either running off to the Himalayas or becoming a terrorist when he fell under Gandhi’s influence and saw that nonviolence was the “third way” out of violence without perpetuating it.

Also written Bacha Khan, full name Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988). This Muslim follower of Gandhi from the Pakhtun (Pashtun, Pakhtoon) areas of what was then the North West Frontier Province of India was a major contributor to the freedom struggle of the 1930s. More than that, this devout Muslim raised a nonviolent “army” of 80,000 formerly revenge-oriented Pashtuns — the same people who wore down the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and from whom the Taliban are recruited today. Revered as a spiritual leader of his people, this nonviolent giant proved that, as Gandhi said, the bravest people make the best nonviolent fighters, that nonviolence can be organized on a large scale (see TPNI, Khudai Khidmatgars), that it is effective against ruthless opposition, and that it is fully compatible with the ideals of Islam.

Resources:

Eknath Easwaran, Nonviolent Soldier of Islam

Mukulika Banerjee (2000) The Pathan Unarmed Opposition & Memory in the North West Frontier (School of American Research Press)

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1969) My life and struggle Autobiography of Badshah Khan (as narrated to K B Narang) Translated by Helen Bouman Hind Pocket Books New Delhi)

Note: the Wikipedia article on Badshah Khan is very useful.

Together with her husband Jean, Hildegard provided significant nonviolent training and organizational expertise to the Philippines People Power movement and nonviolent campaigns throughout Latin America. She is a member of IFOR and could be viewed as a Gandhian (principled) nonviolent activist/trainer. She has written important books about nonviolence and her own experiences, thus contributing to interpretation. She is seen by many as an important leader in the creation of a growing nonviolent culture.

A Sicilian, also known as “Lanza del Vasto,” who worked with Gandhi and was granted the name “servant of peace.” He attempted to organize a Gandhian ashram-like community in 1948, and was finally successful in his efforts to start a self-sufficient community in 1963 known as “La Communauté de l’Arche” at la Borrie Noble. In 1971, he became involved in the Larzac struggle to preserve farmlands from encroachment by the French government’s military agenda. His education and first-hand experience with Gandhi made him a key figure in the movement as an outsider with expertise. The Larzac Satyagraha was one of the few post-Gandhi campaigns of principled nonviolence and involved civil disobedience, demonstrations, hunger strikes, and constructive program. It was ultimately successful in preserving the farmlands.