importance of khadi

Importance of Khadi

Khadi is a coarse material. It is hand spun on ‘charkha’, the spinning wheel. It stays cool in summers and warm in winters.

Khadi in the history of India is known to be a major factor in starting a movement. Mahatma Gandhi the father of our nation used to wear only khadi which he himself spun and made.

Cotton was grown majorly in India during the British rule. It was transported to Manchester where it was woven and clothes were made in the industries and sent back to India where it was sold at exorbitant prices. This along with other factors was leading to a drop in the Indian economy.

Gandhi saw khadi as a source to help the poor living in villages to earn a living. He saw khadi as a self-sufficient material.  This became a movement that aimed at boycotting foreign goods and promoting the Indian goods which would intern boost the Indian economy. This movement gave birth to swaraj. Khadi also became a symbol for political agendas during India’s independence struggle. Hence khadi became the weapon of non-violence and played a major role in India’s independence. 

The spinning wheel came to be considered as sedative and which brought peace of mind and also became the emblem of human dignity and equality.

Khadi today is not very well promoted. We don’t look at it as a self-sufficiency anymore. It is mostly associated with politicians. Some designers have tried their hands on khadi clothing line but according to me it hasn't yet become a fashion statement. 

It is available in stores like khadi bhandar, khadi emporium, fabindia and many projects have been taken up by various organisations to revive khadi.