The article from the website mentioned below, clearly states that Gandhi was not responsible for the origination of this concept. He learned it from the Sikhs!
It states, "As fate would have it, Mahatma Gandhi is credited with starting the non-violent movement to oust the British from India, which later was to inspire leaders all around the world, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of the United States, in the liberation of other oppressed peoples. Gandhi deserves a little praise since he did have a later role in the implementation of non-violence, but he certainly was not the originator of that concept. He learnt that from the Sikhs. The Sikhs, in turn, drew their inspiration from their Gurus, two of whom had willingly and peacefully accepted execution when it was appropriate to make their point about the tyranny of the Islamic regime. Over time, when the situation deemed it necessary and appropriate, the Sikhs used the principle of non-violence again and again."
The same article further articulates in its concluding paragraph that non-violence originated with the Sikhs. It states, "Gandhi's name has since been trumpeted throughout India and later throughout the world, yet the Sikhs have been virtually forgotten. Many people have never even heard of them. The time has come to give credit where it is due. The concept of nonviolence, which has led to extraordinary changes across the globe, originated with the Sikhs." *
* http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Origin_of_non_violence
And, of course the indispensable, https://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/philosophy/ahimsa
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