Mahatma Gandhi is portrayed as one who always bombs with nuclear weapons in the Civilization game franchise. In real life however, as Mahatma Gandhi died in 1948 and he lived to see the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and the Manhattan Project, what was his opinion on the use of nuclear weaponry?

The basic Gandhian position, as I understand it, was that they are nothing all that special. That is, they do not change things, ultimately, they are just an advanced "means to an end" in regards to violence, and they have no unique aspects that change one's perspective on war and violence. Gandhi did not apparently see the weapons as ushering in a new age of peace, because the need for peace was already acute before they arrived. He did not see them as fundamentally changing human beings or human nature, nor making pacifism irrelevant, because they could not quench the human spirit. He, of course, condemned the use of nuclear energy as a military weapon — he thought it needed to be used exclusively for peace, and was of course an acclaimed pacifist. [1] But the essential argument is one that rejected the idea of the atomic bomb as a "special" modifier. It is of note that Chairman Mao said similar things about the bomb until he had one; it is a convenient philosophy for those who feel unmatched to have.

"We [mankind] are stronger than the bomb. We can be maimed or killed, but never conquered. Remember, the worst it can do is to kill us. It can never take our souls with its force." [2]

[1] "Gandhi Calls Atomic Bomb Man's Greatest Disaster," New York Herald Tribune (22 September 1946), 33; "Gandhi Fears Violence," The New York Times (8 July 1946), 13.

[2] Leonard Harris, "Latest Interview with Gandhi: Man is Stronger than Atomic Bomb, He Says," Boston Globe (9 June 1946), A1.