Sevagram Ashram and Propagation of Khadi
Sevagram Ashram and Propagation of Khadi
Introduction
The historic Salt March of Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 from Satyagraha Ashram premises to Dandi finally led to disbanding of the ashram at Ahmedabad. At that historical juncture, Gandhi took a solemn vow that he will return to the Ashram only when India gets independence from British rule. It goes to the credit of Jamnalal Bajaj, who was regarded as the fifth son of Mahatma, for persuading Gandhi to settle down in Wardha. He offered support to Gandhi to establish the Ashram and for his activities. Gandhi on his release from Yervada Jail came to Wardha on September 23, 1933. He stayed in Bajajwadi, which was the residence of Jamnalal Bajaj. Gandhi started his tour for uplifting of Harijans from here on November 7 and returned to Wardha again on August 7, 1934 and stayed in Satyagraha Ashram (presently known as Mahila Ashram) which was set up by Vinoba Bhave in 1921 in pursuance of Jamnalal Bajaj’s request to Gandhi to start a branch of Satyagraha Ashram at Wardha
Retiring from Indian National Congress and uplift of Khadi and Village Industries
It was during this
period Gandhi decided to retire from the Indian National
Congress. He expressed the growing and vital difference of outlook
between many Congressmen and himself on the question of uplift of Indian villages through revival of Khadi and village Industries. In
his Statement to the Press on September 17, 1934 he pinpointed some of the fundamental
differences between the Congress intelligentsia and him on the same.
“I put the spinning-wheel and khadi in the forefront. ... Nevertheless my conviction is growing that if India is to win complete independence in terms of the toiling millions and through unadulterated non-violence, the spinning-wheel and khadi have to be as natural to the educated few as to the partially unemployed and semi-starved millions, who, for not using their hands for the purpose for which nature has endowed man with them, have become almost like beasts of burden. The spinning-wheel is thus an emblem of human dignity and equality in the truest sense of the term. It is the handmaid of agriculture. It is the nation’s second lung. We are perishing because we are using only one lung. Yet only a few Congressmen have a living faith in the India wide potency of the wheel.
The removal of the khadi clause in the constitution would mean a removal of the living link between the Congress and the millions whom it has from its inception sought to represent and yet if it remains it has to be rightly enforced; but it cannot be, if a substantial majority of Congressmen have no living faith in it." Finally, he formally resigned from the Congress on 30th of October1934.
At the Bombay session, the Congress agreed to Gandhi’s proposal of the revival of khadi and village industries and on 28 October 1934, Pattabhi Sitaramayya moved a resolution proposing the formation of the All-India Village Industries Association or the Akhil Bharat Gram Udyog Sangh. It authorised J. C. Kumarappa to form the association under the advice and guidance of Gandhiji. On December 15, 1934, Gandhi while staying at Satyagraha Ashram, Wardha,the All India Village Industries Association was formed. Jamnalal Bajaj had donated twenty acres of land and a house to Gandhi at Wardha. Gandhi after shifting to this house renamed it as Maganwadi in the memory of Maganlal Gandhi. It became the headquarters of All India Village Industries Association .
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Kumarappa and Gandhi at inaugural function of Magan Sangrahalaya , Wardha December 1938
Establishment of Sevagram Ashram
It was on April 30, 1936 Gandhi moved to Segaon and made this remote village as home. It was during his stay here the Basic Education Scheme of 1937 was shaped under his guidance which made craft as the centre and pivot of all educational activities. In December 1938 the very first museum of Khadi and Village Industries (Magan Sangrahalaya) was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi at the premises of Maganvadi. It showcases different types of Charkha dating from 1930 onwards and various village industries. The revival of Khadi and village Industries was one of the items of his Constructive Programme. The music of spinning wheel gave rhythm to life and activities of Gandhi's stay in Sevagram Ashram from 1936 to 1946.
The Music of Spinning Wheel
The music of spinning wheel continued even after Gandhi left the ashram with the mission of communal harmony. Mahatma was assassinated on January 30 1948 . Even after assassination Sevagram Ashram continues his mission of propagation of Khadi. The resident members of the Ashram continues the tradition of spinning as a part and parcel of daily life. Khadi work has been continuing in a symbolic manner in all these years in the ashram
Self sufficiency in clothing
The resident members of the Ashram engaged in spinning on a daily basis and achieve the goal of self sufficiency in clothing an ideal of Gandhi. Some staff members also follow this practice .
Cotton to Cloth Workshop of the Ashram
Khadi unit of the ashram is engaged in production of cotton , spinning and weaving. Recently it has started the stitching unit also. One can see the various processes involved in the production of Khadi cloth . It provides employment about 25 women mainly from Sevagram village. It uses only organic and eco-friendly methods in the production process . The produced cloth is used in various units of the ashram and rest of the production is sold in Ashram shop for those who are visiting the Sevagram Ashram. It was decided by the board of the ashram that it will not sell Khadi produced by others through its shop. This was to ensure pure and genuine Khadi cloth .
A recent video of Khadi Unit prepared by lokmat.news18.com
Internship Facility
Ashram provides Internship facility for students who are engaged in studies on related subjects . This facility is mainly used by colleges in Wardha and sometime from other parts of Maharashtra. Every year a batch of limited number of students were given internship facility.
Continuous Spinning of 12 hours
National Level Workshop on Relevance of Khadi
Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan and Sarva Seva Sangh , Sevagram, Wardha jointly organised a Workshop on relevance of Khadi and recent legislations of Government of India on June 23-24 June 2022. It discussed the key issues in the sector including Khadi Mark Regulations 2003, GST, Modified Marketing Development Assistance (MMDA) Scheme, equitable mortgage, direct benefit transfer (DBT) of wages and payments, loan waiver, amendment flag code of India and all other issues related to the sector. In the course of two days the participants briefed the audience about the Khadi work of their organization or network and highlighted the key issues in the sector due to bureaucratic control, red tapism and corrupt practices. About 50 persons including representatives of certified Khadi institutions, institutions/ and those who have not taken khadi certification/mark, professionals/organizations/ networks working in the sector, representatives of Gandhian organizations and institutions, young persons who have keen interest in the field participated. Some important resolutions/ follow up actions were passed in the Workshop.
Demonstration of Spinning
As a follow-up of the workshop organized Demonstration of Spinning in India in different parts of India coinciding with 75 th anniversary of India's independence from 9 am to11.5 am. Sevagram Ashram and Sarva Seva Sangh organised spinning programmes in Bapukuti , Yatri Niwas and Charkha Griha of Sevagram Ashram. Many organizations engaged in Khadi work joined in this mission from different parts of India.
Campaign for use of Khadi Flag
Sevagram Ashram spearheaded campaign for the use of Khadi flag on the occasion 75 th anniversary of India's independence especially among young generations.
Social media campaigns by students
Sessions on Khadi and practical Training in Spinning
The spinning practice and sessions on Khadi are part of training programmes/camps organised by the Ashram at the regional and national level. In the activity session of the programmes spinning is the main attraction for youngsters.
The following is a page from the Report of Short term course on Gandhian Thought for University Students from all over India 2021. The session was on theme Why should wear Khadi?
Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan G20/ C20 Exhibition Stall
Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan arranged an exhibition stall in the venue of G20 / C-20 Summit , Nagpur on March 20-21, 2023.The central theme of the stall centred around the spinning wheel. In the stall, literature on Gandhian Thought, Book Charkha, and replicas of Spinning wheel , Mahatma Gandhi spinning inside the Bapu Kuti of Sevagram Ashram, etc. were kept. Those who were visiting the stall had the opportunity to engage in spinning through book charkha, box charkha and kisan charkha .
The Times of India described the portable charkha at the exhibition as the star attraction of G20 venue.
In the month of July 2023 an exhibition of portraits made by Hyderabad based artist Susheel Kumar Gotla was inaugurated at Library and Research Centre of Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan. Spinning wheel is one of the portraits of Gandhi. The spinning-wheel is the symbol of green economy.
New Initiatives to Propagate Khadi
Charkha
Griha
The Charkha Griha campus of Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan was developed recently coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi. It is situated on Sevagram Wardha road, near the petrol pump and opposite the Hutatma Smarak. It is approximately 1.5 km away from Sevagram Ashram and 6 km from Wardha town. The new facilities in the land owned by the Ashram were constructed under the Sevagram Development Plan by the Government. The campus is spread over 8 acres of land which houses the world’s largest Charkha, Charkhagriha Museum, Sabhagriha ( multi-purpose hall) and statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave completely made up of scrap materials.
The World’s biggest Charkha
According
to the Limca Book of Records, this Charkha sculpture is the biggest in the
world. This Charkha is 31 feet long and 18.6 feet high weighing 5.5 tons.
Charkha has 16 leaves and there are messages on every leaf. This charkha
rotates with the help of an electric motor. The color of the wheel could be
changed according to the occasion. So the color would be green on World
Environment Day and on 15th August and 26th January, the Charkha would be
tricolor.
Charkhagriha Museum
It exhibits different models of charkha in seven cubicles. They are equipped with informative audio-visuals of 100-120 seconds duration. The exhibition provides a brief history of the evolution of the Charkha and the spinning industry in India, with its resurrection by Gandhiji. It has also a small theatre with a sitting facility of 40 equipped with15 minutes 3D documentary depicting the life and work of Gandhi in Marathi with English subtitles
Khadi Mark Regulations, 2013, Khadi India Trade Mark: An Analysis
Khadi: The heart of the National Flag of India
भारत सरकार के गृह मंत्रालय (सार्वजनिक अनुभाग) ने 30 दिसंबर, 2021 के एक आदेश में भारतीय ध्वज संहिता (परिशिष्ट-2 देखें) में संशोधन किया। भारतीय ध्वज संहिता-2002 के भाग- I के नए संशोधित पैराग्राफ 1.2 में लिखा है कि- ‘1.2 भारत का राष्ट्रीय ध्वज हाथ से काते और हाथ से बुने हुए सूत या मशीन से बने कपास/पॉलिएस्टर/ऊन/रेशम खादी से बना होगा।’ भारतीय ध्वज संहिता- 2002 का संशोधित संस्करण गृह मंत्रालय की वेबसाइट (www.mha.gov.in) पर उपलब्ध है। खादी से बना राष्ट्रीय ध्वज भारत की विशिष्ट पहचान था और यह देश के स्वतंत्रता आंदोलन के मूल्यों का प्रतीक था। खादी स्वतंत्रता का ताना-बाना थी और गांधी जी चाहते थे कि तिरंगा झंडा हाथ से काती और हाथ से बुनी हुई खादी का ही हो। इस प्रकार यह नया संशोधन स्वतंत्रता आंदोलन के मूल्यों और गांधी जी की इच्छा के एकदम खिलाफ है।
The Recent Amendment of Flag Code of India: A Sacrilege? | Siby K. Joseph
Friday 27 May 2022
Mainstream, Vol LX No 23, New Delhi, May 28, 2022
The National Flag of India has a special place in the hearts of every Indian. It was unique due to the Khadi fabric with which it was made and one could easily distinguish it from flags of other countries. It was a symbol of the historic struggle of freedom led under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and other great patriots of India. When Gandhi took the leadership of the country in 1920s, he called the British Government and it flag as Satanic which made us slaves in our own country. He felt the need to have a common flag to live and to die for all people following different religious traditions. He placed before the nation the ’flag of swaraj’ with a spinning wheel. When he reflected on the idea of “The National Flag ’’ in Young India in 1921, he made the spinning wheel and khaddar intertwined to it because he wanted India independent of foreign markets. According to Gandhi, three stripes of the flag represented all the communities and the charkha was the symbol of non-violence. Gandhi was ready to accept the wheel instead of Charkha for the flag of independent India. He wanted to continue the spirit of spinning and Khadi in the new flag. He even went to the extent of saying that he will refuse to salute the flag that is modified compromising the basic values however artistic it may appear. His dictum in this regard was “This tricolour flag with the wheel will certainly consist of hand-spun and hand woven khadi. Our country has called it khadi whether it is woven from hand-spun cotton or silk.”
Call for ‘Har Ghar Khadi Tiranga’
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav was launched by the Prime Minister of India on 12th March 2021 from Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram and it will end post a year on 15th August 2023. The Home Minister who oversees all efforts under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav has approved the programme of ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ to further honour our national flag because it is a symbol of national pride for the entire nation.
This report was prepared by Dr.Siby K Joseph, Director Sri Jamanlal Bajaj Memorial Library and Research Centre of Sevagram Ashram Pratishthan Wardha, Maharashtra with focus on 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023. Email directorjbmlrc@gmail.com
Very nice post... Detailed overview of Khadi
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