About

Peter Rühe is a computer engineer who worked in his profession for over 23 years. He was also a member of the German peace movement in the early 1980s when his interest in the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi began. Together with an Indian friend, Peter Rühe visited India for the first time in 1983 – and fell in love with its people, culture and history. Out of personal interest he studied Yoga, Ayurveda and the Indian independence movement thoroughly.

 

In total Peter Rühe spent about 8 years in India where he visited Gandhian projects, associates and relatives of the Mahatma systematically. By this he got a rare insight into the inner circle of the Mahatma and was able to develop a profound understanding of Gandhi and the context he lived in. Peter Rühe documented activities of institutions and recorded talks with eye witnesses. He was also able to safeguard precious material on and by Gandhi. Specifically he’s responsible for the preservation and accessibility of several photo collections and films of the Mahatma.

 

In Germany he shared his experiences with his countrymen and initiated the charitable Gandhi Information Centre in 1983. Later on he founded GandhiServe, a network of institutions in Germany and India promoting Gandhi’s life and the ethics of nonviolence. As a consultant Peter Rühe was involved in numerous media and performing art productions on Gandhi. He compiled various exhibitions on Gandhi which were shown the world over.

 

Peter Rühe also initiated the Healing Travel project and co-founded Ruehe Healthcare, a company for the import and distribution of ayurvedic medicine in Europe, as well as Ruehe ecoClean, a company for the production of an environmentally friendly cleaning solution.