# Gandhigiri

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɡɑːndiˈɡɪɹi/

## Definitions
1. The practice of Gandhism (“the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, encompassing tenets such as non-violent activism”), often expressed through unorthodox forms of activism such as depositing flowers or planting trees.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Bombay Hindi गांधीगिरी (gāndhīgirī), from Hindi गांधी (gāndhī) (the surname of the Indian lawyer and anti-colonial nationalist Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) who used non-violent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule) + -गिरी (-girī, “suffix meaning ‘the act of; doing’”). The Hindi word was coined in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai (Keep Going, Munna Bhai, 2006), in which it was used by the lead character who is a gangster in contrast to dadagiri (“gang rule; intimidating behaviour”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gandhigiri