I appreciate Mahatmaji’s thoughts on dress code. I had already written a poem on this topic (see Secular Song 511) along with extended comments based on a real incident. Mahatmaji’s perspective speaks for itself and needs no further elaboration.
202. SHRIMATI SAROJINI AND KHADI
I received a letter from East Africa when I was in the hospital in Poona. It purported to give Shrimati Sarojini Naidu’s views on whether Indians in East Africa should wear khadi. The letter has been lost, but the following is a summary of the views attributed to Shrimati Naidu in that letter :
“It is Gandhi’s view that the vow of khadi applies only within India. Not only is there no need to wear khadi outside India, but actually it should be avoided and one should dress like an English-man. If Gandhi himself went to East Africa, he would not wear a khadi loin-cloth but, like Mr. Verma, put on English dress, and you also should do the same.”
I doubt if Shrimati Naidu spoke in this vein. The correspondent from East Africa has asked for my comments on these views. He says that a number of Indians in East Africa dress in khadi and also wear khadi caps. They have been confused by Shrimati Naidu’s speech.
I do believe that the vow of khadi is intended to be observed in foreign countries. In some cases, it may be altogether impossible to keep it. Moreover, the object of this vow is to secure economic freedom for India; it is, therefore, not necessary to observe it outside India. But it has never been my view, nor is it today, that khadi should not be used outside India even if it can be used conveniently. I feel, too, that Shrimati Naidu would never express such a view. In countries like East Africa or a place like Aden, khadi can be used without any inconvenience. In South Africa, too, it can be used in summer. That is, there will be no difficulty in wearing it in hot countries. Further, most of the articles for use in the home should be of khadi.
I would, however, take the view that, if we go to a country which grows cotton and which weaves its own khadi, we should wear the cloth produced locally. We should follow in other countries the rule which we apply in our own. When foreigners come to India, it is desirable that they should use goods produced here. We should, therefore, act on the same principle in foreign countries. In countries (p.189) like East Africa, all cloth is imported from outside. I have never heard that they produce their own cloth. Not only, therefore, do we have every right to wear khadi in those countries, but actually it is our duty, I believe, to do so to the greatest extent possible. As my views developed with the progress of the satyagraha struggle [in South Africa] and the more I felt the need to embrace poverty, I increasingly adopted simplicity in my life. Ultimately, I adopted a dress resembling the Indian labourer’s and made of cloth imported from India, the lungi1 and shirt in the Madras style, and kept it up afterwards. Inwinter, I wore two shirts which I would get stitched from coarse cloth. I had discarded the cap there. I used to meet all Government officials in this very dress. I did not notice that my English friends or the officials took offence at it. Many of my English friends even congratulated me when they saw that I was adopting the mode of life and dress of the labourers whose fight I was leading. My only aim in telling this story here is to explain that it will suffice if we wear in foreign countries a dress which will cover our limbs adequately.
In that passage from Shrimati Naidu’s speech, there was one point which deserves notice. Her speech dealt with our undesirable habits. It described many of our shabby and untidy ways. To some extent, this criticism is justified. If a khadi dress, or for that matter any other dress, is soiled or shapeless, it does not please the eye. Tidiness is necessary, not as adornment, but for the sake of cleanliness and decorum. One person may wear a dress made from a particular material carelessly and appear untidy and another person may wear a dress made from the same material properly and appear tidy. A proper dress keeps up decorum and shows our regard for others. We should not fail in these. The border line between a becoming tidiness and adornment is very thin, but it is essential that the distinction should be maintained. It is not at all my intention to suggest that men and women must every now and then look into a mirror and arrange their dress. I have, of course, no such fear about friends in East Africa. The clothes we wear must not be the least dirty. White khadi clothes should be regularly washed. In India, it is considered decent enough to wear a short dhoti. Indian civilization is so liberal that it is not considered the least indecent if anyone wears, as I do, a very short loin-cloth. In our country, we do not judge a man by his dress. The loin-cloth would not, however, be looked on with favour in other
- Dhoti stitched but plaitless
(p.190)
countries. If I had to go to a foreign land, I would by all means put away my loin-cloth in a trunk. In foreign countries, it is necessary to cover the legs up to the knee. ‘Do in Rome as the Romans do’ is no idle saying. Everyone would consider us guilty of lack of consideration if we unnecessarily do something that offends the susceptibility of people in foreign lands. I would regard such conduct as a form of violence. There is certainly violence in showing no consideration for others.
While discussing the letter from East Africa, I may also say how khadi could be popularized there. Ready-made dresses are imported in East and South Africa in large quantities. We may have dresses stitched here which will suit the native inhabitants of these countries and the Indians there, and carry them with us. Resourceful traders there can, with patience, sell khadi worth lakhs of rupees. India does not, however, produce enough khadi to meet her own requirements. I am not unaware of the fact that the quantity of khadi produced and sold is no more than a drop in the ocean. The use of khadi is sprea-ding at such a slow pace still that stocks of khadi have accumulated at many places. How strange and how sad! I made the suggestion above with this fact in mind. A single Gujarati trader in South Africa can easily lift the entire stock of khadi which has accumulated in Gujarat.
From Gujarati, Navajivan, 6-4-1924, CWMG, vol. 27, pp. 189-190
For my view see: https://dayanandbharati.in/tradition-dress-code-and-the-challenge-of-modernity/
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