Mahatma Gandhi’s Grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Today’s Society: Slam, Scam, Spam Are the Most Commonly Used Words

Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi himself, Gopalkrishna Gandhi does not present his grandfather as an untouchable icon, but as a deeply reflective moral leader whose ideas on non-violence, fearlessness and ethical

politics must be handled with care, accuracy and context. He recently released a prominent book 'The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India,' which blends memoir and history, shaped by his rare perspective as Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson and a key witness to India’s recent past..At the Jaipur Literature Festival, Gandhi turned his attention to the moral mood of our times, and what emerged was a disturbing diagnosis. “Slam is one of the most commonly used words in the media today, scam and spam follow next. These words are not just media clichés, they reflect a society driven by anger. People today retaliate easily and vengeance has become dangerously normalised."“Vengeance and hatred are very close cousins,” Gandhi said, adding that in the marketplace of public opinion, the commodity available at the biggest discount is animosity, hatred, and spite. For him, this marks the biggest generational change over the last 30 to 40 years.Gandhi was unsparing in his description of vendetta, calling it “a very sinister emotion.” “There is enough evidence to show that vendetta and retaliation are virtually endless. This cycle is being aggressively fuelled by fake information, deliberate distortion of history and now AI, creating a climate where outrage spreads faster than truth."And in this noisy ecosystem, one thing has almost vanished. “When did we last hear someone say, I made a mistake or I forgive you? I can’t remember it being said in recent times.”

Why Being Bhola Is Mocked Today

One of the most striking moments of Gandhi’s talk was his reflection on how being bhola is viewed today. “Bholapan is today regarded as something laughable. It’s not seen as a trait of someone who wants to progress. He is seen as a weakling.” Gandhi challenged this assumption and said it is not weakness at all.

To make his point, he reached into history. Emperor Ashoka, after the bloodshed of Kalinga, openly admitted, “I made a mistake,” and apologised for the killing of innocents and he remained an emperor. He cited how the Prime Minister of Japan apologised to countries devastated during World War II, without losing national dignity. “Honesty and atonement are not signs of weakness. What is missing today is the willingness to acknowledge this,” he said.

An Unnaturally Divided Land

Turning to the subcontinent’s past, Gandhi spoke with visible anguish about Partition, calling it one of the greatest ongoing tragedies of the region. India, he reminded the audience, is named after a river. Yet Partition cut through rivers, creating what he described as rivers of people and rivers of suffering. A leading Singaporean scholar, he shared, had recently called the division 'unnatural'. “Today, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are living with the consequences of that unnatural division. I don’t know when that will be corrected.” What troubles him most is the refusal to let the bitterness end.“Anyone who tries to say Partition has happened, let us not keep the poison alive faces resistance. There is no one willing to say, I am sorry or I seek forgiveness.”Yet, Gandhi did not leave the audience without hope. He pointed to Neeraj Chopra, whose public respect for his Pakistani javelin counterpart quietly challenged the dominant narrative of hostility. He also reminded the audience of something rarely discussed: Every year on January 1, India and Pakistan exchange lists of their nuclear installations, pledging not to attack them despite decades of conflict and terrorism. The two countries also exchange lists of prisoners held on each side. These gestures are proof that dialogue and humanity persist, even when politics fails.In an age dominated by slam, scam, and spam, Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s reflections felt like an invitation to pause to ask what we have lost in our obsession with strength, retaliation and victory.Perhaps the most uncomfortable question he left us with was this: In a world that mocks the bhola, who decided that cruelty is competence and forgiveness is weakness?