Letter from Leo Tolstoy about the Indian independence movement in 1908
"A Letter to a Hindu" (also known as "A Letter to a Hindoo") was a letter written by Leo Tolstoy to Tarak Nath Das on 14 December 1908.[1] The letter was written in response to two letters sent by Das, seeking support from the Russian author and thinker for India's independence from colonial rule. The letter was published in the Indian newspaper Free Hindustan. The letter caused the young Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to write to Tolstoy to ask for advice and for permission to reprint the Letter in Gandhi's own South African newspaper, Indian Opinion, in 1909. Gandhi was living in South Africa at the time and just beginning his activist career. He then translated the letter himself, from the original English copy sent to India, into his native Gujarati.[1]
In "A Letter to a Hindu", Tolstoy argued that only through the principle of love could the Indian people gain independence from colonial rule. Tolstoy saw the law of love espoused in all the world's religions, and he argued that the individual, nonviolent application of the law of love in the form of protests, strikes and other forms of peaceful resistance were the only alternative to violent revolution. These ideas ultimately proved to be successful in 1947 in the culmination of the Indian independence movement.
In this letter, Tolstoy mentions the works of Swami Vivekananda. This letter, along with Tolstoy's views, preaching, and his 1894 book The Kingdom of God Is Within You, helped to form Mohandas Gandhi's views about nonviolent resistance.[1]
The letter introduced Gandhi to the ancient Tamil moral literature the Tirukkuṟaḷ, which Tolstoy referred to as 'Hindu Kural'.[2] Gandhi then took to studying the Kural while in prison.[3]
^ abcParel, Anthony J. (2002), "Gandhi and Tolstoy", in M. P. Mathai; M. S. John; Siby K. Joseph (eds.), Meditations on Gandhi : a Ravindra Varma festschrift, New Delhi: Concept, pp. 96–112, retrieved 2012-09-08
^Tolstoy, Leo (14 December 1908). "A Letter to A Hindu: The Subjection of India-Its Cause and Cure". The Literature Network. Retrieved 12 February 2012. THE HINDU KURAL
^Mohan Lal (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.
and 26 Related for: A Letter to a Hindu information
(/ˈhɪnduˌɪzəm/) is an Indian religion or dharma, a religious and universal order by which its followers abide. The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has...
Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (lit. 'All-India Hindu Grand Assembly') is aHindu nationalist political party in India. Founded in 1915 by Madan Mohan Malviya...
bolstered when he read a German version of the Tirukkural. He later instilled the concept in Mahatma Gandhi through his "ALettertoaHindu" when young Gandhi...
original ABC volumes. Aletter written with his wife to his wife's younger sister that is treated by critics as a short story. A non-fictional sketch....
encouraging a nonviolent way of life as well as celebrating Gandhi's effort in the Indian independence movement. Gandhi's favourite bhajan (Hindu devotional...
subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" is a simplistic translation of हिन्दू राष्ट्रवाद (Hindū Rāṣṭravād). It is better described as "Hindu polity". The native...
OCLC 61170051. "Letterto Raojibhai Patel, footnote 1, After February 15, 1914" (PDF). "Letterto Elizabeth Mari Molteno, May 19, 1914" (PDF). Jack, Homer A. (2005)...
AHindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, or Koil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to dieties through worship...
December 1908). "ALettertoAHindu: The Subjection of India-Its Cause and Cure". The Literature Network. Retrieved 12 February 2012. The Hindu Kural Parel...
Hindu terrorism, sometimes called Hindutva terror or, metonymically, saffron terror, refer to terrorist acts carried out on the basis of motivations in...
and publisher known for his influential contributions to literature pertaining to Hinduism and Hindu nationalism in the late twentieth century. His work...
December 1908). "ALettertoAHindu: The Subjection of India-Its Cause and Cure". The Literature Network. Retrieved 12 February 2012. THE HINDU KURAL Rajaram...
(1958), chapter 5. Sharath S. Srivatsa, "A confluence by the Cauvery", The Hindu, 12 February 2006. T. Madhava Menon, A handbook of Kerala, Volume 2, Thiruvananthapuram:...
as opposed to "great O" (ō mega). In the system of Greek numerals, omicron has a value of 70. In addition to its use as an alphabetic letter, omicron is...
Publishers, Inc. 347-48: "for Hindus and Buddhists, the swastika symbol is a representation of good." Media related to Birla House at Wikimedia Commons...
The Hindu code bills were several laws passed in the 1950s that aimed to codify and reform Hindu personal law in India, abolishing religious law in favor...
developed the Hindu nationalist political ideology of Hindutva while confined at Ratnagiri in 1922. He was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha. The...
Gopalkrishna. "The Great Dandi March – eighty years after", The Hindu, 5 April 1930 Letterto London on 20 February 1930. Ackerman, p. 84. Gross, David M...
the Republic of India emerging with aHindu majority. During the 20th century, due to the Indian diaspora, Hindu minorities have formed in all continents...
Aletter bomb is an explosive device sent via the postal service, and designed with the intention to injure or kill the recipient when opened. They have...
the latter's letterALettertoaHindu. "There are a great number of problems, economic, political and social, standing in the way of a ruler. Solutions...
Gandhi wrote to Tolstoy seeking advice and permission to republish ALettertoaHindu in Gujarati. Tolstoy responded and the two continued a correspondence...
such as Nandini, and Rustom Block date back to the nineteen twenties, as is evident in aletter Gandhi wrote to Chhaganlal Joshi, the Ashram's new manager...