Indian Pride- In homage to Mahatma Gandhi

In colonial India, who could have imagined that someone would liberate the nation through the khadi cloth. Yesterday India celebrated Gandhi Jayanti to commemorate the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and with it celebrated the ideas of non-violence that he championed in liberating India from colonial rule.

Look at any photo of Gandhi, and you'll see him draped with a khadi cloth that was made using hand spun cotton often made on a charka. Gandhi pioneered the 'Swadeshi' movement as an act of rebellion against British power over manufacturing in India and called his fellow Indians to adopt wearing and using Indian garments and products. In this simple act of choosing khadi, the idea of Swadeshi was crystalized in the minds of Indians. How amazing that the core of a freedom movement was driven by something as humble as a simple woven piece of cloth.

Khadi was so integral to the freedom movement, that forerunners of the Indian flag design used by the Indian National Congress in 1931 included the charkha or the spinning wheel as the central image.

In the simple act of choosing khadi, Indians decided to stand against British Raj through non-violent means. This showed how their choices made an impact. Their decisions spoke louder than their words. What they chose to wear was as important in propagating the ideas of non-violence as anything else in the movement.

As Indians, we celebrate Independence day, Gandhi Jayanti, Republic day and many other national holidays with great patriotic reverence. Yet, we so often fall away from the principles that these leaders fought for. Mahatma Gandhi and many others fought to uphold the priceless traditions and crafts that exist within India, that they found to be fundamental to the identity of India. We ought to be able to champion those same values and expectations today. I'd imagine that Mahatma Gandhi would want us to do that today too. To encourage Indians to be people of principle and values and to remember that our choices speak louder than our words.