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statementVerified

Letter to a Hindu (14 December 1908) is issued as a nonviolence text later introduced by Gandhi

On 14 December 1908 Tolstoy dated Letter to a Hindu, a reply on Indian subjection and non-participation in violent rule. Gandhi later introduced an English printing. In the causal graph this event strengthens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — an improving welfare path.

Sources: [1][2]

Read the full account

On 14 December 1908 Tolstoy dated Letter to a Hindu, a reply on Indian subjection and non-participation in violent rule. Gandhi later introduced an English printing.

Context

The Marxists Internet Archive carries the letter with Gandhi’s introduction; the Gandhi Heritage Portal is a separate institutional page. Correspondence is influence, not a shared ashram office.

Leo Tolstoy’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.

Conventional years are 1828–1910. Surviving public files are later museum pages, collected-works sites, library catalogues, and encyclopedias. Tolstoy did not typeset those later pages.

Why it matters

Democratic-resistance path. High confidence on the 1908 letter; medium on unique later campaign coefficients.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Leo Tolstoy

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.4 · verified

    He wrote the 1908 letter. Gandhi later introduced and circulated it. Complex transcontinental print.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactLetter to a Hindu (14 December 1908) is issued as a nonviolence text later introduced by Gandhi
    2. strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
    3. strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
    Improving path

    impact weight 0.55 · Effect from 14 December 1908 · verified

    • Having a say in government

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.39 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.7)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Clean elections index

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.25 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.

      Above normal = better

    • WJP Rule of Law Index (global)

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.25 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      Above normal = better

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Gandhi Heritage PortalSabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Tolstoy, Letter to a Hindu (1908) with Gandhi’s introductionMarxists Internet Archive / public Tolstoy text · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

The public 1908 letter text and the Gandhi Heritage Portal independently document the Tolstoy–Gandhi nonviolence file.

Established: the 1908 letter exists and Gandhi later circulated it. Not established: that Gandhi’s 1906 Transvaal oath was this letter.

Leo Tolstoy did not file a later UNESCO form, a later Loeb colophon, or a later museum label as a personal act. A letter is not an ashram. Keep 1908 off 1930.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorLeo Tolstoy
  2. contributed toFactLetter to a Hindu (14 December 1908) is issued as a nonviolence text later introduced by Gandhi
  3. strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
  4. strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Letter to a Hindu (14 December 1908) is issued as a nonviolence text later introduced by Gandhi. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/lt-letter-to-a-hindu-1908

https://factrail.ai/facts/lt-letter-to-a-hindu-1908

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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