Holocaust victim

The Apple Man of Himachal: Samuel Stokes

When Samuel Stokes left his home in Philadelphia at the age of 22 and set off for India, his parents hoped he would return home after a year or two. But that didn't happen. Instead, Stokes made India his home.

Stokes worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi and participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement. He was imprisoned for six months in Lahore for sedition and was not released on bail—the only American to be imprisoned during the Indian independence struggle.

He wore Khadi, married an Indian woman, learned Sanskrit, became a Hindu, founded a school, and introduced apples to Himachal Pradesh.

The mountain state's most famous product owes its origin to the apple cuttings that Stokes brought from America to encourage farmers to grow apples.

Samuel Stokes changed his name to Satyanand and, after a trip he took with his young wife in 1914, never returned to the USA. His family still has roots in Kotgarh, Himachal Pradesh, where Stokes began it all.

He died in 1946 and was cremated in the hills he loved so much. For some reason, his contribution has been largely ignored. Several years ago, his granddaughter Asha Sharma wrote a biography of Samuel Stokes, "An American in Khadi."

So the next time you eat an apple from Himachal, take a moment to think about him.

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The Last Judicial Hanging in The United States

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