Vishal Mangalwadi (born December 20, 1949) is an Indian Christian intellectual, a social reformer, political columnist, public speaker, and author of over 30 books. He is known for his work on the role of the Bible in shaping world history and culture.[1]
In 1974, Mangalwadi co-founded the Theological Research and Communication Institute (TRACI) and began to develop his master's thesis into his first book, The World of Gurus.[4] In 1977 Vikas Publishing House published The World of Gurus.
Vishal & Ruth Mangalwadi
In 1975, Mangalwadi married Ruth, from Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), a graduate of Lucknow University, who returned to India after obtaining a Master's degree in theology from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, USA. In 1976, they moved to his father's farm in Gatheora village in Chhatarpur District and founded a non-profit organization, the Association For Comprehensive Rural Assistance (ACRA), to serve the rural poor and transform their caste-based feudal social system. His work was opposed and violently resisted.
In 1980, he was briefly incarcerated in the Tikamgarh Jail, where he began writing his second book, Truth and Social Reform. During the anti-Sikh riots that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, his headquarters was burned down.[5]
From 1984 to 1987, Mangalwadi was the honorary director of TRACI and published Truth and Social Reform. In 1984, he was appointed the Convenor of the Peasant's Commission of the Janata Party.
In 1987, he initiated a national movement against the revival of sati.
In 2003, William Carey International University awarded him a Doctorate in Law.[3] In 2009, he published the US edition of Truth and Transformation, encouraging local churches around the world to double up as centers of learning and service, offering tuition-free, internet-based college education. In 2010, he began a pilot project in Indonesia.
Since November 2013, Mangalwadi has been the Honorary Professor of Applied Theology in the Gospel and Plough Faculty of Theology at the Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology, and Sciences (formerly an agricultural institute, but now deemed a university by the Government of India). From 2014 to 2017, he was the director of the Centre for Human Resource Development.
Mangalwadi and his wife set up a religious organisation, Revelation Movement.[6]
In August 2024, Mangalwadi was awarded the President's Volunteer Service Medallion by the Biden White House for his contributions to education and social reform.
Works
Books published
The World of Gurus - Cornerstone Pr Chicago,1977
Truth and Social Reform - Hodder & Stoughton,1989
In Search of Self: Beyond the New Age - Hodder & Stoughton, 1992
When The New Age Gets Old: Looking For a Greater Spirituality - Intervarsity, 1992
India: The Grand Experiment (How Victorian Evangelicalism Created Modern India) - Pippa Rann Books, 1997
Missionary Conspiracy: Letters to a postmodern Hindu (Letters to Arun Shourie) - The MacLaurin Institute, 1998
Why Must You Convert? - Nivedit Good Books Distributors, 1999
The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the Transformation of a Culture - Crossway Books, 1999
The Bible in India (Wisdom from India Series) - Nivedit Good Books, 2000
Astrology (Wisdom from India Series) - Nivedit Good Books, 2000
Yoga: Seven Paths of Salvation In Hinduism (Wisdom from India Series) - Nivedit Good Books, 2000
Dear Rajan: Letter to a New Believer'
The Quest For Freedom & Dignity: Caste, Conversion & Cultural Revolution - GLS Publishing, 2001
Spirituality of Hate: A Futuristic Perspective on Indo-Pakistan Conflict - Horizon Printers & Publishers, 2002
Truth and Transformation: A Manifesto for Ailing Nations - YWAM Publishing, 2009
Obama, The Presidency and the Bible
The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization - Thomas Nelson Inc, 2011
Why Are We Backward: Roots, Myths and True Hope for Development - Forward Press, 2013
This Book Changed Everything: The Bible’s Amazing Impact on Our World - Nivedit Good Books, 2019
The Third Education Revolution: From Home School To Church College (Editor and Co-author) - Sought After Media, 2021
Conversion: The Revolution India Needs - 2023
GIRL: Abort or Empower Her' (Co-author, Ruth Mangalwadi)
The Father of Modern India: William Carey (Co-author, Ruth Mangalwadi) - Sought After Media, 2023
Truth Transforms: A Manifesto for Ailing Nations - Sought After Media, 2024
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