Good points, Troll. Gandhi himself admitted that his methods would not have worked against the Nazis.

Nevertheless, he did have his eyes on a higher ideal than is usually common, and he faced great personal risk many times in pursuing it. He was willing to treat all members of all religious faiths in a completely equal and respectful fashion, in a society where that was hardly the norm at the time (or still now). This doesn't make him a god, but it does make him an extraordinary human being...and, as you say, an astute politician.

The thing about most people is...they are willing to look the other way as long as their own bed is comfortable. They live in denial most of the time. Gandhi didn't do that. Thus he is remembered as a liberator of his people. Not a god, but a great soul, which is what "mahatma" means.

- LH