Mahatma Ghandi [...] was married at 13. Though he took a vow of sexual abstinence at 37, a vow that he found difficult to observe and that he once described as "walking on the sword's edge," this vow did not stop him from later fondling girls, both pubescent and prepubescent. In his later years, Ghandi took to taking such girls to bed with him to overcome his "shivering fits" in the night. His female companions, who came from his inner circle - all certified virgins or young brides - entered his bed naked in order to warm him with their bodies. Some of them also administered enemas to him. Among the young girls, there was a rivalry as to who would sleep with him, and one of his girl disciples reported that his bed companiong had a difficult time in restraining themselves and repressing their sexual impulses since he often rubbed against them and touched them (Bullough, 1981).
Though his disciples were fearful of public reaction if news of these "pedophiliac sexual" interactions was publicized, Ghandi continued to engage with them until his death. Here, there was no sexual intercourse, and most of the girls were postpubertal, but some were younger. In modern Western society, such activity would be a criminal offense.