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Jesse Jackson was in lineage of anti-racism icons whose ‘spiritual godfather’ was Gandhi
Jackson, who died on Feb. 17, was a fighter for civil rights in the U.S., carrying on the peaceful battle that King used to achieve a breakthrough that also benefited Indian immigrants.
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IANS - Wed, 18, Feb 2026
- 01:25 EST
- 11
Jesse Jackson speaks to reporters in New Delhi when he visited there in 2008 to deliver the keynote address at an event for the 60th anniversary of the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi. / Tourism Ministry/Wikimedia
Jesse Jackson ranked in the lineage of civil rights and anti-racism icons like his mentor Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, who were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhi was the “spiritual godfather” of leaders like them, Jackson said in his keynote address at an event marking the 60th anniversary of the martyrdom of the prophet of Satyagraha in 2008 in New Delhi.
Jackson, who died on Feb. 17, was a fighter for civil rights in the U.S., carrying on the peaceful battle that King used to achieve a breakthrough that also benefited Indian immigrants.
M.R. Rangaswami, the founder of Indiaspora, in a condolence post recalled telling Jackson, “The Indian community owes an enduring debt to the African American community. The courage and sacrifice that led to the Civil Rights Act also made immigration reform possible, opening America’s doors to people of color, including many of us!”
Of the eternal relevance of Gandhi, Jackson said in New Delhi, “Even 60 years after his martyrdom, his dreams of democracy, peace and human rights are alive. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King were dreamers who marched to a different beat and heard a different sound.”
ALSO READ: Indian-American lawmakers pay tributes to Jesse Jackson
Gandhi’s “dreams for democracy, decolonisation, human rights, his quest to end barbaric enmity based upon class, tribe, race and gender, has momentum,” he said.
Hailing Gandhi’s imprint on history, Jackson said that because of his vision and inspiration, “for the most part, all of Africa, Asia, South, Central and Latin America and the Caribbean have been decolonised in the last 60 years — most of the world’s people.”
“Nuclear war and greed remain our threats (but) non-violence and Satyagraha, soul force, remains our therapy, and the only window from which the peace we seek is possible,” he said.
Jackson also recognised the contribution of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to India’s freedom struggle and decolonisation.
During a visit to Kolkata in 2014, he visited Netaji Bhawan and wrote in the visitors’ book, “Gandhi plus Bose equals Liberation.”
In Kolkata, he spoke at the Indian Institute of Management about globalisation’s potential to better the world for everyone.
He said that the concept of “foreigner” should be replaced with ideas of common international rules that lead to economic justice.
Explaining his idea of internationalism, he said it was based on the “Save the House” principle: If the house is on fire, it would be futile to try to save one’s own room; everyone has to unite to save the whole structure.
During his unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 1984, he cited the example of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who, he said, “can run India, a nation of 600 million people,” to make his case for nominating a woman as his running mate.
Jackson’s daughter, Santita, said that it led to the ultimate Democratic Party candidate, Walter Mondale, nominating Geraldine Ferraro as the vice presidential running mate — the first time a woman found a place on a major party’s ticket.
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