Who was the only American to be jailed in India's freedom struggle?
The American who participated in India's freedom struggle and taught Indian farmers to grow apples! The son of a well-known American family and heir to the Stocks and Parish Machine Company, Samuel Evans Stocks Jr. spent his life serving leprosy patients in India. He not only spent his life in India but also participated in the freedom struggle of India against the British. This is the story of Stocks Junior becoming Satyanand. Satyananda, who was the keeper of the interests of the poor and was also an Indian freedom fighter. In the year 1904, Samuel came to India leaving his comfortable life in America. In the year 1916, Samuel came to know about a variety of apple grown in America. Seeing which he felt that it can be grown in the climate and soil of the Himalayas. That's why he made the hill people aware to do apple cultivation so that they can get employment. If you are able to eat apples in India today, then it is because of Satyanand alias Samuel. Samuel always opposed the British rule on Indians. In 1921, Samuel, like other Indian Congress members, opposed the visit of Edward VIII and the Prince of Wales to India. After which he was arrested by the British at Wagah on charges of sedition. He remained in prison for about 6 months. After the death of one of his seven children at a very young age, Samuel converted to Hinduism and converted to Hinduism. He became Satyanand from Samuel Stocks. His wife also followed her husband and adopted Hinduism and was called Priyadevi. About 10 years after this change, Satyanand breathed his last on 14 May 1946 due to an illness. He was buried in Kotghar, Shimla. His great-granddaughter, Asha Sharma, has written his biography, 'An American in Gandhi's India'.
