A letter to a Hindu

<p>Dated the 14th of December 1908 <em>A Letter to a Hindu</em> was a letter written by Leo Tolstoy to Tarak Nath Das a Bengali revolutionary and scholar in response to a request for support for India's separation from British rule which argued that the Indian people should seek to free themselves from British rule through non-violent protests and strikes and other forms of peaceful resistance.</p><p><br></p><p>The letter soon gained international attention after it was published in the <em>Free Hindustan</em> and it came to the attention of the young Mahatma Gandhi. Drawing on a variety of sources cultures and teachings Tolstoy's letter was instrumental in forming Gandhi's views on non-violent resistance - as Gandhi himself acknowledges in his introduction: 'To me as a humble follower of that great teacher whom I have long looked upon as one of my guides it is a matter of honour to be connected with the publication of his letter'.</p><p><br></p><p>'One of the clearest thinkers in the western world one of the greatest writers.' - Mahatma Gandhi</p><p><br></p><p>'He is never dull never stupid never tired never pedantic never theatrical!' - James Joyce</p><p><br></p><p>'The greatest of all novelists.' - Virginia Woolf</p><p><br></p><p>'What he does serves to justify all the hopes and aspirations invested in literature.' - Anton Chekhov</p><p><br></p><p>'What an artist and what a psychologist!' - Gustave Flaubert</p><p><br></p>