How has the religious history of India influenced India’s tradition of non-violence?

Hindus were very adamant about being nonviolent. One of their most important values, ahimsa, meaning "non-violence" is a vow of self-restraint and is taken very seriously by many Hindus. Hinduism bans killing or injuring any living being, including eating animals. Because Hinduism was all about pleasing the gods and following your role in life, ahimsa and being kind would result in good karmic rewards. The Mahabharata tells us that killing anything or anyone is not allowed, unless for ritual sacrifice. Most Hindus followed what their sacred texts had said, so killing and being peaceful didn't seem to be problematic for them. Also, according to the rule of dharma, if anyone deliberately killed an animal, they would be sentenced to be killed by an animal in their next life. Mohandas Gandhi, a very influential Hindu leader, started impacting the way Indians saw the world, being vegetarian and being non-violent became very important to Hinduism. Gandhi led many nonviolent protests and was very successful in bringing the ancient Hindu values back into the perspective of people everywhere. India's tradition of non-violence has influenced many cultures to be more peaceful, and Gandhi's morals has made 'ahisma' and being calm more modern than it would have been if we only learned about ancient India.