Have you ever heard about a person following a unique principle described in the Hindu shastras – Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam, meaning ‘Whole world is my family.’ It was none other than the British born Theosophist and nationalist leader in India – Dr. Annie Besant. She was a prominent, revolutionary free-thinker of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She wrote a number of works on Atheism, Feminism, Freedom, Hinduism, Socialism and Theosophy. An excellent orator and an author with a poetic temperament, Dr. Besant was a versatile tornado of power and passion. She was one of the few foreigners who inspired the love for the nation among Indians.

She collected many nicknames from all over the world. She was called Dr. Besant, even though she never studied medicine nor did she do her Ph.D. She was called Annie Militant, even though she argued for passive resistance. She was called Mother because of her love and compassion for the downtrodden.

It [female sex] is the nobler of the two, for it is even today the embodiment of sacrifice, silent suffering, humility, faith and knowledge. A woman’s intuition has often proved truer than man’s arrogant assumption of superior knowledge. The words of Mahatma Gandhi paying grand tribute to the women of India, appropriately applies to this British born Indian lady – Dr. Annie Besant.