To those who know of their lives and teachings, it’s no surprise that Mahatma Gandhi and Maria Montessori were kindred souls. They were born within a year of each other—he in October 1869, she in August 1870. Both spent chunks of time in London, both spent their lives fighting for a peaceful world, he as a lawyer and politician, she as a doctor and educator.
Dr Montessori wrote that Gandhi “had been in my thought for years and years. I have followed him with my soul…. He (gives) himself freely and fully, as if no limits or obstacles existed… It seemed to me that this venerable being might greatly aid the teachers who I am preparing.” By his own words, Gandhi became aware of Dr Montessori’s work, “in 1915 when I reached India, that I first became acquainted with your activities.” (Young India, 1931)
Yet it was not until 1931, when Gandhi arrived in London to participate in talks to end British rule in India. It is thought they they met in early October that year. But the most known documentation of their interactions was when he was a guest lecturer at the Montessori Training College of London (photo at top, and below). Upon their meeting, Gandhi’s associate, JC Kumarappa wrote that “it was the meeting of a soul with a soul.” (Young India, 1931)
Their life and times. Of course, volumes have been written by and about both Gandhi and Montessori. Their lives led quite different courses both before and after their 1931 encounters.
For her part, Maria Montessori was Italy’s first female physician. Her professional career began working with Rome’s poorest children. Following from her observations of children, in 1900 she opened her first classroom, which led to starting her Casa de Bambini in 1906. She left the school in 1911, dedicating her time to training others in her pedagogy.
In the 1910s and 1920s Montessori lectured and trained teachers all across Europe. She traveled overseas to the Argentina & USA, where she was famously hosted by Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. By the 1930s Montessori schools were found all across Italy, in many major European cities, Australia, China, Japan, the US and India. In 1931 she was splitting her time between Rome, Barcelona and London. However, these years were the start of tensions in her homeland as she would not require her teachers to take the loyalty oath demanded by Mussolini. In 1933, Montessori Schools were banned in Germany, and Italy and Spain followed suit. She would leave Italy and Spain for good in the mid-1930s, establishing a new base in Amsterdam.
Gandhi, meanwhile, studied law in London. From 1893 to 1914 he lived in South Africa, where he gravitated to work for the civil rights of Indians and Africans in the country. Upon returning to India, he became entrenched in local politics and by 1920 led the what is now the Congress Party. It was in this capacity that brought him to London in 1931.
Dr Montessori in India. In 1939 at age 69, Dr Montessori and her son Mario left for what was initially to be a 3-month trip to India. However, tensions in Europe prevented their return. Upon Italy entering World War II English authorities in India in prohibited their departure until the war was over. During these years, they set up Montessori training courses in modern-day Chennai and further developed their Cosmic curriculum for elementary-aged students. In the end, she lived in India longer than any country other than Italy.
During her years in India, it’s uncertain if Gandhi and Montessori met again. But there are records that they regularly stayed in touch by letters. One way or another, these two gentle souls led an intertwined lives that left the world a better place, especially for those most in need of access to education.
Sources, and further reading about Gandhi and Montessori’s encounter:
- https://montessori-ami.org/resource-library/facts/timeline-maria-montessoris-life (Retrieved Sept 23, 2026)
- https://www.dtnext.in/city/2019/03/03/those-were-the-days-recollecting-maria-montessoris-momentous-years-in-madras (Retrieved Sept 24, 2026)
- https://indianmontessoricentre.org/2022/04/20/mahatma-gandhi-and-maria-montessori/ (Retrieved Sept 22, 2026)
- https://www.peace-ed-campaign.org/growing-peace-gandhi-montessori-means-begin-children/
- https://www.gandhiforchildren.org/gandhi-spoke-montessori-london/
- https://www.gandhiforchildren.org/gandhi-spoke-montessori-london/
“If we are to reach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children and if they will grow up in their natural innocence, we won’t have the struggle, we won’t have to pass fruitless idle resolutions, but we shall go from love to love and peace to peace, until at last all the corners of the world are covered with that peace and love for which, consciously or unconsciously, the whole world is bungering.” –Mahatma Gandhi, 1931