Ahir Shah's Seven Blunders Of The World comes to Radio 4
- Ahir Shah's first Radio 4 series has been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's list of seven "social sins"
- Citing them as responsible for the world's ills, Gandhi published the list almost a century ago
- Shah tours his Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning stand-up show, Ends, from January
Ahir Shah is returning to his Gujarati roots for his debut Radio 4 comedy series, exploring the seven "social sins" that Mahatma Gandhi believed were responsible for the world's ills, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
Airing from New Year's Eve, Ahir Shah's Seven Blunders Of The World anticipates the centenary of the civil rights icon publishing the list of sins on 22nd October, 1925, in his weekly newspaper Young India.
Across the three 30-minute episodes, Shah reflects on the meaning of the social sins, which were defined by the Anglican priest Frederick Lewis Donaldson in a sermon six months before they were passed to Gandhi.
Subsequently described as "the seven blunders" that lead to violence by Arun Gandhi, whose grandfather gave him the list on a piece of paper on their final day together, shortly before his assassination, they are:
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Religion without sacrifice
Politics without principle
Shah's 2023 Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning show, Ends, which was released as a Netflix special last month (pictured), paid tribute to the sacrifices of the comic's maternal grandfather, who came to England from Gujarat in India, where Gandhi was also born and raised.
Speaking on Radio 4's travel podcast Your Place Or Mine With Shaun Keaveny about the Gujarati city of Ahmedabad last year, Shah told the host and comedian Iszi Lawrence that "the most peaceful place" he had ever been was Gandhi's ashram, the retreat he founded when he sought to escalate his agitation for Indian independence.
Seven Blunders Of The World is made by Shah's management company, Avalon, which also makes Garrett Millerick's sitcom Do Gooders, in which Shah co-stars, and Chloe Petts' Toilet Humour for Radio 4.
Ends is touring from January with dates in Dublin and Belfast, before 26 performances around the UK, starting with the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds on 5th February.