Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most admired and controversial figures of the twentieth century, and he remains so today. In this book leading Gandhi scholar Douglas Allen presents a new, challenging approach to understanding Gandhi's life and the contexts within which he lived and shaped history, and how his philosophy and practices can be reformulated in ways that are most significant today. Mahatma Gandhi explores the historical and cultural significance of Gandhi's extraordinary life and analyses his continuing relevance in addressing key issues of truth, ethics, violence and non-violence, war and peace, equality and freedom, different forms of exploitation and oppression, religion and religious conflict and dialogue, and environmental crises. Douglas Allen provides an urgently needed new perspective on Gandhi, which allows us to rethink our basic values and priorities. By understanding Gandhi's life and message, he creates a new paradigm for evaluating truth, non-violence, peace and morality, and offers new criteria for assessing our modern approach to standards of living, development, evolutionary progress, happiness and meaningful human existence. Mahatma Gandhi will appeal to general readers and those interested in philosophy, religion, political science, history and peace studies.