Question

Name the type of fabric closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. Why did Gandhiji want all of us to use this fabric?

Answer 1

The type of fabric closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi is khadi. Before Independence, the British would buy cotton from India at cheap prices and export 1t to Britain, where 1t was woven into cloth. This cloth was then brought back to India and sold to Indians at a high price. Gandhiji wanted to stop this and make Indians self-reliant. The khadi movement aimed at boycotting foreign-made cloth and promoting Indian made goods. Therefore he wanted all Indians to spin and use khadi. Another reason was to provide employment to poor farmers. Farmers may not have enough work to earn their living throughout the year. About four months during the dry season they may be idle. Spinning and. then making khadi cloth would provide them enough clothes for their own use. It would also teach Indians the dignity of labour.