ravage
v[Tn]
1 damage (sth) badly; destroy 严重损坏(某物); 毁坏
forests ravaged by fire 毁於火灾的森林
(fig 比喻) a face ravaged by disease, eg covered with marks after smallpox 因疾病而破相(如患天花後留有麻子).
2 (of armies, etc) rob and plunder (sth) with violence (指军队等)抢劫, 掠夺(某物)
Bands of soldiers ravaged the countryside. 成群的士兵洗劫了乡村.
Even before India won independence from its British rulers, it was clear that Gandhi was the key figure and leader in the struggle of 380 million Indians to govern themselves.