Khadi - A way of Life..

"We cannot claim to have understood the meaning of swaraj till khadi becomes as universal as currency."

(Navajivan, 12-3-1922; 23:77)

 Khadi is an Indian fabric. Khadi is also known by another name Khaddar. It is made by spinning the threads on an instrument known as Charkha. During pre-independence era the movement of Khadi manufacturing gained momentum under the guidance of father of nation Mahatma Gandhi. This movement of Khadi manufacturing and wearing started as to discourage the Indians from wearing of foreign clothes. As in all cases, there were believers and non believers. Those that did not believe in wearing or in Khadi were those that were supporting the English rule.

For Indians, Khadi was never just a cloth and will never be. It was a whole movement started by the father of our nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The Khadi movement was not a revolt. It was more of an ideology, and idea that Indians could be self reliant and free from the costly goods that the British were selling to us. The British had a funny way of production. They would extract the raw materials, (in this case, cotton) from India at a really very cheap price and export them to Britain where they were woven to make clothes. These clothes were then brought back to India to be sold at hefty prices. So, the Khadi movement basically aimed at boycotting foreign goods and promoting Indian goods. Gandhi began promoting Indian goods, especially cloth as it is something that gives a person an identity, thereby improving India’s economy, thus making Khadi an integral part and icon of the Swadeshi movement. It symbolized the political ideas and independence itself.

Gandhi saw it as the end of dependency on foreign materials (symbolizing foreign rule) and thus giving a first lesson or real independence. Gandhi also felt that in a county where manual labor was looked down upon, it was an occupation to bring high and low, rich and poor together, to show them the dignity of hand-labor. He asked not only of those in need, but of every person to do spinning at least about one hour per day as sacrifice to his county, as duty towards the poor. He hoped for a certain bond of unity between the classes and masses by bridging the gap with a common occupation, and he saw great social value in hand-spinning. And as discussed in class with Ravindra, hand spinning can also be very meditative. It gives a person time for reflection. As Gandhi mentioned in Gandhi’s Khadi “when your wife gets angry, just spin”.  It was for economic, cultural and social reasons and not merely political that Gandhi established the Khadi Movement. He expanded the idea from helping the poor individual to self-reliance of whole villages...Thus Khadi was not merely a piece of cloth but it became a way of life.