Mahatma Gandhi & Benito Mussolini / MFL - PSN

In late 1931, Gandhi accepted an invitation to visit Mussolini in Rome while the Mahatma was touring Europe. The two men -- the Italian Fascist and the modest Indian ascetic -- got along extremely well and admired each other. Among other things, Gandhi reviewed a black-shirted Fascist youth honor guard during his visit. “Mussolini hailed Gandhi as a ’genius and a saint,’ admiring ... [Gandhi’s] ability to challenge the British Empire”. Regarding his visit with Il Duce, Gandhi wrote in a letter to a friend: Mussolini is a riddle to me. Many of his reforms attract me. He seems to have done much for the peasant class. I admit an iron hand is there. But as violence is the basis of Western society, Mussolini’s reforms deserve an impartial study.” Gandhi’s further stated: “[Mussolini’s] care of the poor, his opposition to super-urbanization, his efforts to bring about coordination between capital and labor, seem to me to demand special attention ... My own fundamental objection is that these reforms are compulsory.