Book excerpt: How many letters can be claimed to have been as influential as this? Leo Tolstoy's 'Letter to a Hindu' was originally sent to the Indian revolutionary and scholar Tarak Nath Das. Its circulation saw it spotted by a young Mahatma Gandhi, who was living in South Africa and printed it in his newspaper, Indian Opinion. In the letter, Tolstoy argues that only love would enable the Indian people to gain independence from Britain. It helped Gandhi form his revolutionary ideas around non-violence, which eventually saw India freed from colonial rule. 'A Letter to a Hindu' actually includes a foreword from Gandhi, who became firm friends with the Russian author. Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian author, a master of realistic fiction and one of the world’s greatest novelists. Tolstoy’s major works include 'War and Peace' (1865–69) and 'Anna Karenina' (1875–77), two of the greatest novels of all time and pinnacles of realist fiction. Beyond novels, he wrote many short stories and later in life also essays and plays. In the years following the publication of 'War and Peace' Tolstoy - who was born to a Russian aristocratic family - had a spiritual awakening that made him a committed Christian anarchist and pacifist. His philosophy inspired Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.