Identity of a fabric and connecting threads..

Seeing the connection between the readings on Buddhist economics and Gandhi’s Khadi happened quite naturally. I could see how sustenance on what an individual or a community produces themselves (an underlying principle in Buddhist philosophy, and therefore Buddhist economy), relates directly to the movement that Gandhi so fiercely pushed.

One of the most grasping points from the article was

to do with Gandhi’s perspective on why he propagated dressing in Khadi. As most of us perceive it now, the fabric was to be an ‘identity marker’ of sorts – a homogeneous uniform to be adorned by all the Indians. However, we see that the agenda was to create a divide, not homogeneity. The divide between the Indians that had the true goal of Swaraj (or self rule) , and those who enjoyed the indulgences provided by the British empire.

Another point that drew my attention was how the Charkha attained the supreme position of being a symbol of spirituality. To move away from being a means of living or part of the ‘economic’ structure and transform into something that people engage with as a ‘sedative for a troubled mind’ or ‘protection from passion or anger’ are qualities that few objects, or crafts, has acquired.

The teachings of Buddha have great emphasis on sympathy, freedom non-violence and peace – attributes commonly associated with the Khadi movement. Freedom in turns of economic freedom for millions of Indians that were idle for half the year, sympathy and a feeling of fraternity amongst different sects of Indians, non-violence and patience, through the action of spinning, and of course, peace.

We have discussed the changing identity of a fabric throughout this class. It is important to see the difference in what Khadi was – its symbolism and perception against what it is today. When one sees the cloth adorned now, the focus may be on a stereotype (is he/she intellectual? ) , the consumer (is he/she classy or ‘tasteful?) or in the manner it is draped, as opposed to the pure form of the undraped fabric associated with the early days of the freedom struggle. It is both exciting and challenging to understand how the fabric was forced to change with a changing nation, one geared now, foremost, towards capitalization and a growing economy.