The doctrines of “non-violence” and “civil disobedience’ associated with Mahatma Gandhi were influenced by the works of

Mahatma Gandhi's doctrines of non-violence and civil disobedience were profoundly shaped by three Western thinkers: John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, and Henry David Thoreau. Gandhi was inspired by Ruskin's 'Unto This Last', which emphasized the dignity of labor and led to the establishment of Phoenix Farm [c2, t1]. Leo Tolstoy’s 'The Kingdom of God Is Within You' deeply influenced Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance to evil, leading him to name his second South African commune 'Tolstoy Farm' [c1, c2, t3]. While Gandhi developed the core of Satyagraha independently, Henry David Thoreau’s essay 'On the Duty of Civil Disobedience' provided a significant intellectual framework for the practical application of defying unjust laws [t1, t4]. Although Gandhi later clarified that his ideas did not originate solely from Thoreau, he acknowledged the American author's tremendous impact on the movement's development [t4, t5].

Sources

1. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 15: Emergence of Gandhi > Gandhi's Technique of Satyagraha > p. 315
2. [2] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 15: Emergence of Gandhi > Tolstoy Farm > p. 314