Chronology xxxv J1917
¶ Last Hindu Indian indentured laborers are taken
to British colonies of Fiji and Trinidad.
¶ U.S. government severely restricts Indian citi-
zens from immigration. Restriction stands until
1965.1918
¶ Sai Baba of Shirdi (1856–1918), saint to Hindus
and Muslims, dies at approximately age 62.1920
¶ Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) uses satya-
graha, “truth power,” first articulated in South
Africa, as a strategy of noncooperation and non-
violence against India’s British rulers.
¶ Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952), famous
author of Autobiography of a Yogi, teacher of
kriya yoga and Hindu guru with many West-
ern disciples, enters the United States, where
he founds the Self-Realization Fellowship
(1935).1922
¶ Tagore’s school at Shantiniketan (founded
1901) is made into Visva Bharati University and
becomes a national university in 1951.1923
¶ U.S. law excludes Indian nationals from natu-
ralization.1924
¶ Sir John Marshall (1876–1958) discovers relics
of Indus Valley pre-Hindu civilization. Begins
systematic large-scale excavations.1925
¶ K. V. Hedgewar (1890–1949) founds Rashtriya
Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS), a militant Hindu
nationalist movement.1926
¶ Birth of Satya Sai Baba, charismatic Hindu guru,
educationalist, and worker of miracles.1927
¶ Shivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927–2001),
founder of Saiva Siddhanta Church and Hinduism
Today magazine, is born in Oakland, California.
¶ Maharashtra bars tradition of dedicating girls to
temples as Devadasis, ritual dancers. Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa soon follow suit.
Twenty years later, Tamil Nadu bans devotional
dancing and singing by women in its temples
and in all Hindu ceremonies.1928
¶ Hindu leader and future prime minister of India
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) drafts plan for a
free India; becomes president of Congress Party
in 1929.1931
¶ Birth of Sri Chinmoy, yogi, artist, master of
self-transcendence, and United Nations peace
ambassador, in Bengal.
¶ Some 2.5 million Indian Hindus reside overseas;
largest communities are in Sri Lanka, Malaya,
Mauritius, and South Africa.1934
¶ Paul Brunton’s popular A Search in Secret India^
introduces Hindu teachers such as Ramana
Maharshi to the West.1938
¶ Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is founded in Bom-
bay (Mumbai) by K. M. Munshi to conserve,
develop, and honor Indian culture.1947
¶ India gains independence from Britain on
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