In the early 20th CE a young American called Samuel Evans Stokes, who belonged to a wealthy family of Philadelphia, came to India to work with leprosy-impacted patients near Shimla. He landed up in a church in Kotgarh, not too far from Thanedhar, for rest and here he falls in love with the place and its people. He married a local Rajput-Christian girl and decided to live here for the rest of his life. On one of the trips back home, he brought the sapling of Red delicious apples to Kotgarh and planted them. His mother sensing his love for this adopted country bought him 200 acres of land that was a tea estate originally. She also sent him another shipment of saplings of golden delicious apples. In about 5 years the apples bloomed and were an instant hit with the local population. They continue to be hit with apple lovers till date.
Snapshot
Stokes also carved a niche for himself in the Indian freedom struggle, with his notable contributions. The Jallaiwala Bagh massacre in 1919 made a profound impact on him, prompting him to join the Indian National Congress; holding the unique distinction of being the only American member of the All India Congress Committee. In 1920, he represented Kotgarh at the Nagpur session of the All India Congress Committee.
In the following year, he was instrumental in signing the Congress manifesto of giving up government jobs and exhorting them to join the freedom struggler.
He was charged with “sedition” during the protest against the Prince of Wales Edward VIII’s visit to India and was imprisoned in Lahore (now in Pakistan) jail. This made him the only American to be imprisoned by the British in the Indian struggle for Independence.
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