5 Foreign Origin Women who Made a Difference to India

Mother Mira/ Annai

Original Name: Mira Alfasa

Mira Alfasa was born in Paris in 1878 to Turkish and Egyptian parents. She was the spiritual partned of Aurobindo Gosh and was greatly inspired by his teachings. In 1914 the Mother voyaged to Pondicherry to meet Sri Aurobindo, whom she at once recognised as the one who for many years had inwardly guided her spiritual development. After a stay of eleven months she was obliged to return to France due to the outbreak of the First World War. A year later she went to Japan for a period of four years.where she met pet Rabindranath Tagore. Later  in 1920 April, she returned back to India, and never left.

Paying tribute to her Indiara Gandhi once said “The Mother was a dynamic lady, who came from France and adopted the Indian culture. She played an important role in motivating women like Mrs. Annie Besant and Mrs. Nellie Sen Gupta, The Mother had also contributed to enrich India’s age-old heritage and culture”