Prem Sharma's childhood in Burma had ended at age 10, in 1942, when the Japanese invasion drove the family through dense jungles, to relative safety but extreme poverty in India.
His life began to change in 1946, when Gandhi arrived in his village. Leaders resisting British occupation reassigned some of the local boys from sabotage to security. Sharma's group formed a ring around Gandhi to protect him from the crush of desperate followers. Drawn by Gandhi's message of nonviolence, Sharma and others left the militant movement.
While attending school near Islamabad, Sharma was caught in the mayhem that ensued after Pakistan was partitioned from India as a Muslim state. Crowded on a train with other Hindus seeking safety in India, he recalls passing a train crammed with Muslim refugees bound for Pakistan.
"They looked at us not with hatred, and we looked at them not with hatred, but with understanding, because we were both victims."
The dentist and educator recently captured the lessons of his extraordinary childhood in a novel called Mandalay's Child. He shares his intensely personal commitment to diversity and tolerance, and his gratitude to America, with many groups, including children in Milwaukee's public schools.
