'Special Moment': Raghav Chadha On Meeting Great-Great-Grandson Of Leo Tolstoy

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS) BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday shared his experience after meeting the great-great-grandson of the legendary Leo Tolstoy, underscoring the friendship and intellectual connection between Tolstoy's Russia and India.

In a post on X, Chadha said,“Had the pleasure of meeting Petr Tolstoy, the great-great-grandson of the legendary Leo Tolstoy on the sidelines of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum at Parliament House, New Delhi.”

“One of the greatest writers and philosophers of all time, Leo Tolstoy, the celebrated author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, was much more than a literary genius. Born into aristocracy, he questioned privilege and inequality. A soldier who witnessed the horrors of war, he became a passionate advocate of peace, non-violence, compassion and truth,” said Chadha.

The BJP MP said what makes Leo Tolstoy's legacy particularly special to us Indians is his profound intellectual and spiritual connection with Mahatma Gandhi.

“In 1909, Tolstoy and Gandhiji began exchanging letters on truth, love and non-violence. His writings deeply influenced Gandhiji's philosophy and commitment to Ahimsa and Satyagraha, which became powerful instruments in India's freedom struggle. Gandhiji even named his settlement in South Africa 'Tolstoy Farm' in his honour,” he wrote on X.

“More than a century later, meeting his direct descendant, himself a distinguished parliamentarian, at India's Parliament was a special moment.

“A beautiful reminder that while nations may be separated by geography, great ideas know no borders. The intellectual connection between Tolstoy's Russia and our India remains a timeless chapter in the friendship between our two great nations,” said Chadha.

Earlier, Chadha represented the Parliament of India at the 12th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 4 to 6.

There, he highlighted India's growth in real-time digital payments, noting the expansion of UPI to over 240 billion transactions in FY 2025–26, alongside upcoming QR-code integration with Uzbekistan's payment system.

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