Mahatma Gandhi’s transformation from a young lawyer in South Africa to the architect of Indian independence was forged as much in the pages of books as in political struggle. Books went a long way in shaping his philosophy, including Satyagraha (truth-force), ahimsa (nonviolence), and swaraj (self-rule). Among his many influences, three writers in particular, John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, and Henry David Thoreau, sharpened his convictions, providing the intellectual framework for a revolution. John Ruskin – Unto This Last When Gandhi first read John Ruskin’s Unto This Last in 1904, he recalled being unable to sleep that night. The book, a collection of essays critiquing the harshness of industrial capitalism, convinced him that economics must serve humanity rather than wealth. Ruskin argued that labour should be meaningful, beauty should serve society, and true wealth lay in life itself—not profit. Inspired, Gandhi founded the Phoenix Settlement in South Africa, an experiment in cooperative living. He even translated the book into Gujarati. Leo Tolstoy – The Kingdom of God Is Within You Tolstoy’s radical Christian humanism left a deep impression on Gandhi. In The Kingdom of God Is Within You, the Russian novelist rejected state authority, militarism, and institutional religion, advocating instead for a life of simplicity, nonviolence, and spiritual truth. Gandhi admired not only Tolstoy’s writings but his personal practice of renunciation, giving up wealth and status to live in alignment with conscience. Their correspondence began in 1909, when Gandhi was shaping his philosophy of passive resistance. In Tolstoy, Gandhi found a mentor who proved that faith could fuel political action. In the Russian author's honour, Gandhi also established Tolstoy Farm in 1910. Henry David Thoreau – Civil Disobedience and Walden Thoreau’s voice reached Gandhi from across the Atlantic. Walden, with its reflections on self-sufficiency and simplicity, resonated deeply with Gandhi’s own turn away from urban comforts. But it was Thoreau’s essay Civil Disobedience that struck a chord. Laws that violate conscience, Thoreau argued, must be resisted peacefully. Gandhi acknowledged the essay as “scientific confirmation” of his struggle against injustice in South Africa, though he insisted his idea of Satyagraha had already taken root. Still, Thoreau’s insistence on moral courage and nonviolent protest provided Gandhi with intellectual reinforcement, shaping the strategies that would later challenge and overturn colonial power in India.
