Question

Discuss Ganhi;s view on the Swadeshi moment.

Answer 1

A very significant instrument of social change, in Gandhi’s view, was the precept and practice of swadeshi, which implied self-reliance and self-sufficiency at the level of the individual, the village and the nation. By following the swadeshi principle, the nation’s confidence and prosperity could be assured. It would be appropriate to quote him on the rule of swadeshi: “Swadeshi is that spirit in us which restricts us to the use and service of our immediate surroundings to the exclusion of the more remote.

Thus, as for religion …. I must restrict myself to my ancestral religion …, if I find it defective, I should serve it by purging it of its defects. In the domain of politics, I should make use of the indigenous institutions and serve them by curing them of their proved defects. In that of economics, I should use only those things that are produced by my immediate neighbours and serve those industries by making them efficient and complete where they might be found wanting. It is suggested that such swadeshi, if reduced to practice, will lead to the millennium.

Thus, all Gandhi’s wide ranging activities, whether in the sphere of Hindu-Muslim relations or the removal of untouchability or khadi and rural uplift, could be subsumed under his ideal of realizing swadeshi. However, the importance of swadeshi in the economic field was the greatest, he said, because departure from the principle resulted in loss of independence and poverty for the nation. India was a case in point. To undo the evil was not difficult, provided the thinking portion of the community took the vow of swadeshi, even though observing it could cause considerable inconve­nience for a time. It should be accepted as a religious discipline, he said. As a temporary measure, he was willing to confine swadeshi to a given set of articles.

Gandhi did not just conceptualize the instruments of change he also showed their efficacy by use. He began the manufacture of swadeshi cloth on a small experimental basis at the Sabarmati Ashram in 1917. He found five families who had been weavers till a few years ago and were willing to resume their occupation if they were given some help. The ashram supplied them with yarn and its volunteers took delivery of the cloth woven and paid them cash at the market rate.

Gandhi’s work and commitment attracted to him the resources of many wealthy and patriotic Indians. This enabled him to go ahead with many of his cherished programmes. The khadi work at the ashram grew gradually, but steadily, and hundreds of men and women, many of them untouchables, found an independent vocation. Some segments of the business community in Mumbai helped Gandhi to extend the production and sale of swadeshi cloth.