There is no doubt that Gandhi was acquainted with the Bahá'í Faith.
Gandhi had personal contact with Bahá'ís.[30] Mr. Mani
H. M. Mehta, then Chairman (President) of the Spiritual Assembly of
the Bahá'ís of Bombay, met Gandhi and was able to share the Bahá'í teachings with him. (Incidentally, Gandhi asked Mr. Mehta, formerly a
Zoroastrian, why he had changed his religion.![[footnote]](img12.png){kind=small}
) On
other occasions, Mrs. Shirin Fozdar, a well known Bahá'í, also met
Gandhi a number of times. Some American Bahá'ís visiting India were
also able to meet Gandhi during his imprisonment in 1942 at Aga Khan
Palace, which had been converted into a jail.
It is also known that Martha Root, whom Shoghi Effendi called the ``star-servant'' of the Bahá'í Faith, mailed Gandhi a copy of Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh when she was in Surat, Gujarat, probably around 1937-38. She had visited India three times.[30] (More research will be required to trace the letter.)
Most memorable of all, of course, is Gandhi's famous phrase, ``The Bahá'í Faith is a solace to humankind.'' These words appeared in the Bombay Chronicle newspaper on May 24, 1944, during the centenary of the Bahá'í Faith. (Recall that the Báb declared his mission on the evening before May 23, 1844.) The then Mayor of Bombay, Nagin Das Master, mentioned Gandhi's praise of the Bahá'í Faith in the course of his inaugural address at an event organized by the Bahá'í community of Bombay, and the Bombay Chronicle carried parts of his speech.[30]