August 16 was the birth anniversary of the American who took part in India’s Independence struggle and gave Himachal Pradesh its signature apples. Remembering Satyanand Stokes.
Who was Samuel Evans Stokes? Some might remember him as the American who, in the early years of the 20th century, fought relentlessly against impressed labour, in the Shimla hills, and eventually forced the British administration to abolish the practice in its territory. Others might remember him as an American who initially came to India to work in a leper home at Subathu in the foothills of the Himalayas. A few would, perhaps, associate him with Gandhi, C.F. Andrews and other leaders of that era. He was the lone ranger who gave the hills of Shimla a permanent boon in the form of Red Delicious American apple variety that later went on to change the face of the region that subsequently became Himachal Pradesh.
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