Romain Rolland was a French novelist, dramatist, and essayist. Being an idealist, he was deeply involved with pacifism, the fight against fascism, and the search for world peace. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915.
Gandhiji and Romain Rolland met in 1931. His regard for Gandhi was so great that he admired him as “another Christ”. Romain Rolland published a famous biography of Gandhiji in 1924, titled ‘Mahatma Gandhi’, written originally in French, it was later translated into several European languages.
Since the publication of his biography of Gandhi in 1924, Romain Rolland remained an ardent supporter of Gandhian ideas. Rolland believed that the Gandhian path was towards international cooperation, reimbursement of the grievances of colonized nations, and a negotiating mechanism to satisfy the mutual needs of imperialistic powers and the countries seeking Independence.
Rolland read Gandhi’s books like ‘Hind Swaraj’, and articles that came in Young India, and was deeply moved by his ideas. Gandhiji and this French philosopher had many things in common. They were born in the same generation. Both were influenced by Tolstoy. Both detested violence and warfare.
