Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Tuesday, 27 October described meeting Petr Tolstoy, the great-great-grandson of legendary Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, as a 'special moment,' recounting the encounter on the sidelines of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum at Parliament House, New Delhi. Chadha used the occasion to reflect on the enduring intellectual and spiritual ties between Tolstoy's Russia and India.

The Meeting at BRICS Parliamentary Forum

Chadha shared his experience in a post on X, writing that he 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.' He noted that Petr Tolstoy is himself 'a distinguished parliamentarian,' making the encounter a meeting of legislators across two historic nations.

Leo Tolstoy's Legacy and His Bond With India

Chadha paid tribute to the author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, calling Leo Tolstoy 'one of the greatest writers and philosophers of all time.' He noted that Tolstoy, born into aristocracy, 'questioned privilege and inequality,' and that a soldier who had witnessed the horrors of war became a 'passionate advocate of peace, non-violence, compassion and truth.'

The BJP MP emphasised that what makes Tolstoy's legacy 'particularly special' to Indians is his 'profound intellectual and spiritual connection' with Mahatma Gandhi. According to Chadha, in 1909, Tolstoy and Gandhi 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,' Chadha wrote. He also noted that Gandhi named his settlement in South Africa 'Tolstoy Farm' in the Russian writer's honour.

Ideas That Cross Borders

Chadha reflected that the encounter — more than a century after Tolstoy and Gandhi exchanged those landmark letters — was 'a beautiful reminder that while nations may be separated by geography, great ideas know no borders.' He described the intellectual connection between Tolstoy's Russia and India as 'a timeless chapter in the friendship between our two great nations.'

Chadha's Recent Parliamentary Diplomacy

This meeting follows Chadha's earlier representation of the Parliament of India at the 12th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 4 to 6 September. At that forum, he highlighted India's rapid growth in real-time digital payments, citing the expansion of UPI to over 240 billion transactions in FY 2025–26, and noted upcoming QR-code integration between India's payment system and Uzbekistan's infrastructure.

Chadha's diplomatic engagements underscore a broader push by Indian parliamentarians to project India's soft power and technological achievements on multilateral platforms.