'Pedantry' is name calling? Jeez, what a hothouse flower you are!
:)
I don't see the hypocrisy charge; I don't think it sticks. We are not - and certainly not merely to avoid charges of pedantry - to avoid distinctions all together. It is excessive or overly sophistical distinction that we are to eschew. And which ones might these be, you ask? Well, obviously there is no clear cut rule set in stone for such things, and we are to cultivate such intellectual virtues as allow us, on a case by case basis, to judge whether a particular distinction is relevant.
Here's how I judge it: a) There are typically patterns that guide how words in a language/script are spelled in another. 'H signifies aspiration' is as uniformly applied a rule re Hindi/English writing as you're likely to find. b) I'll bet you a moderate sum even a class of fifth graders would pronounce Ghandi and Gandhi differently in predictable ways, that in particular the latter comes much closer to how both Indians and decently educated westerners pronounce the word. c) the spelling of a man's name is such a thing as he quite typically gets to decide. d) The alternate spelling, assuming it corresponds to 'ghan-di' is not even a common Indian name.
Now if you disagree (and reasonable people can disagree with each of a - d), contest actual frickin arguments! Instead, you, in response, brought up "transliteration" and how it differs from "transcription". Except inasmuch as you're arguing that name-spelling should abide by "transliterational" or "transcriptative" principle to conform to the pragmatics of hindi-english orthography, that display of technical vocabulary seems like no more or less than an empty show of erudition, a nitpicky display of casuistic quibbling. Just naming two concepts doesn't show that points a-d are mistaken or insufficient. Hence, I called it pedantry, though perhaps academic showing off is more apposite. IOW, do the actual argumentative heavy work. If you think a spelling - in a language that uses 'h' to signify aspiration - that aspirates the wrong phoneme of a word is perfectly kosher, make the case. If you think the words you introduced add something to that case, great, show how.