11/18/2022
, called the 'Walking Saint' single-handedly acquired more than 1.5 million tillable acres of land, which was then gifted to the poor.
He later wrote, "i stretched out my hand to demand land, as a son would do to the father."
While his incredible role in the movement is famous, few people know he also persuaded 17 dreaded dacoits of Chambal to give up their methods of violence.
He addressed them, “This is the land that has produced brave dacoits. They are noble men. The only difference between them and other men is that their train has got on to the wrong track. I think they are better men than the dakus (dacoits) of , because they are unsophisticated.
A change of heart is easier to achieve among them than among the civilised people of the cities, who have formed a hard crust of personal self-interest over their hearts.
I want them to respond to my call and surrender. The solution to dacoity lies in surrender – not in fi****ms. Only non-violence can enable us to solve the problem of dacoity.”
In 1958, he received the first Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, for his dedication for the “propagation of a new kind of social revolution in India”.
In 1983, he was awarded India’s highest civilian award, the .
