ABSTRACT
One of the most prominent but unlikely Americans to make the trek was Margaret Sanger. At the time of her visit in 1936, Sanger was renowned as the world's leading crusader for birth control and women's rights. When Sanger received an invitation to speak from the All-India Women's Conference, she immediately wrote to Gandhi and asked for a meeting. Gandhi readily agreed, and the stage was set for an encounter between two of the most important leaders for social progress of the twentieth century. Birth control was absolutely necessary for the freedom of women and the progress of human civilization. Gandhi considered birth control a Western vice and saw no relation between sexual liberation and the struggle for India's emancipation. Gandhi championed the rights of women. He encouraged his wife, Kasturba, and other women to participate in the struggle for freedom. He supported political equality for women as one of the essential elements of his program for liberation.
