,,transcriber',s ,,note3      ,the      
author often uses the ,south ,asian     
numbering system where1 besides  the    
three least significant digits of the   
integer part1 a comma divides  every two
 rather than every three digits 7for    
example #aj1jj1jjj instead  of          
#a1jjj1jjj74 ,italic text has been      
marked with underscores4                
,inconsistencies in hyphenation and     
spelling have not been corrected4 ,a    
list of corrections to the text can be  
found at the end of the document4       
,,the ,,wheel ,,of ,,fortune            
,freedom's ,battle    ,swaraj in ,one   
,year    ,indian ,home ,rule            
,mahatma ,gandhi      ,his ,life        
writings and speeches      ,foreword by 
,mrs4 ,sarojini ,naidu      #crd        
,edition4 ,revised and ,enlarged        
,,the ,,wheel ,,of ,,fortune      ,,by  
,,mahatma ,,gandhi      ,appreciation by
    ,,dwijendranath ,,tagore            
,,madras    ,,ganesh  ,,co4    #aibb    
,,the ,,cambridge    ,,press1 ,,madras4 

,,contents                              
,page4    ,dawn of a ,new ,era          
ix      ,,swadeshi    ,non-,co-operation
 ,programme                  #a         
,khilafat and ,swadeshi                 
#e    ,the ,secret of ,swaraj           
#h    ,swadeshi                         
#af    ,swadeshi in the ,punjab         
#bf    ,swadeshi ,stores                
#ca    ,indian ,economics               
#cd    ,how to ,boycott ,foreign ,cloth 
#dd      ,,spinning    ,the ,music of   
the ,spinning ,wheel            #ec     
,handlooms or ,powermills8              
#eh    ,hand-spinning and ,hand-weaving 
#fd    ,hand-spinning again             
#ga    ,a ,plea for ,spinning           
#gf    ,the ,duty of ,spinning          
#hj    ,the ,duty of ,spinning          
#hc    ,the ,doctrine of ,charka        
#he    ,the ,message of the ,charka     
#hg    ,the ,charka in the ,gita        
#ic    ,spinning as ,famine ,relief     
#ig    ,the ,potency of the ,spinning   
,wheel         #ajg    ,the ,wheel of   

,fortune                      #aaj      
,the ,spinning ,wheel                   
#aaf      ,,appendices    ,i4  ,a ,model
 ,weaving-school                #abc    
,spinning ,department                   
#acc        ,the ,advantage of the thin 
spindle     #acf        ,hand-,looms    
#adj        ,what ,kind of ,loom8       
#add        ,sizing ,handspun ,yarn     
#adf    ,,ii4 ,the ,wheel of ,fortune   
#aef          ,,dawn ,,of ,a ,,new ,,era
      ,many critics and some friends of 
,mahatma ,gandhi have found fault with  
his desire to introduce simpler methods 
of spinning and weaving and to  do away 
with much of the complicated machinery  
of ,modern ,civilisation4  ,the reason  
why they object is that they fear such  
methods mean not  progress towards a    
higher state but relapse into a         
primitive condition  of civilisation or 
even of barbarism4 ,his denunciation of 
the age of  machinery and of the        
,industrial ,system has been criticised 
by many as  the ravings of a visionary  

and of one who is merely an             
impracticable  idealist4 ,this is a     
strange criticism to come from those who
 give their  allegiance to a form of    
civilisation or ',culture' which has led
 to the  unprecedented horrors of the   
late ,european ,war and the century-old 
disgraces of the ,industrial ,system4   
,is this present modern civilisation  so
 very desirable that we should wish it  
to continue in perpetuity8  ,every      
civilisation in the ,history of ,man has
 reached a certain point  after which   
there has been one possibility only for 
it and that was  absolute relapse into  
semi-darkness in order to give place to 
a new and  higher civilisation4 ,the    
common starting point of all the        
civilisations  is a kind of night-time4 
,in order that the ,babylonian 7or      
,despotic7  ,civilisation might give way
 to the ,roman 7or ,heroic71 and the    
,roman give  way to the ,modern 7or     
,intellectual7 ,civilisation1 it was    
necessary for  each in turn to sink     

completely into this common night-time4 
,without  this entire destruction of the
 ancient structure1 there would have    
been  only a patchwork of the old1 and  
not a harmonious building of the ,new4  
,as ,christ said3 ,ye cannot put old    
wine into new bottles4 ,the debris of   
the ,past has to be cleared away in     
order to make way for the structure  of 
the ,future4 ,now with regard to ,modern
 ,civilisation1 all the signs of  the   
times show that it has failed lamentably
 and is gradually tottering  to a       
dishonoured grave4 ,why make any        
attempts to prop up what ,nature so     
evidently has decided to throw on the   
scrap-heap8 ,such attempts are  contrary
 to the teaching of past history4 ,but  
anything1 which tends to  reach the     
common roots of all civilisations1      
should be encouraged4 ,in  order that   
the spiritual civilisation of the       
,future may have a real  chance of      
growing in an atmosphere congenial to   
it1 ,mahatma ,gandhi's  demonstration of

 the right path should be welcomed4 ,his
 emphasis on  simplicity of life and on 
the simplification of the machinery of  
living  must be realised as a supremely 
essential condition of the coming of the
  new ,era4 ,in the civilisation of the 
,future1 an ,era of natural harmonious  
living will be inaugurated1 and         
artificial1 luxurious and pompous living
  will be entirely rooted out4          
,simplicity of life being a condition of
 spiritual perfection1 we may  look     
forward to an ,era of ,civilisation in  
the ,future1 greatly superior  to all   
the civilisations of the ,past1 if only 
we accept simplicity of  life as the    
best method of living4 ,the failure and 
decline of ,western  or ,modern         
,civilisation need not alarm us2 for the
 experience of ,history  is full of     
similar declines of once powerful       
cultures4 ,when ,babylonian             
,civilisation had reached its height1 it
 had to come down to what we may  term  
the zero-point of all civilisation from 

which ,roman ,civilisation  had made its
 start4 ,but when ,roman ,civilisation  
had reached its zenith1  it was much    
superior to the zenith ,civilisation of 
,babylon1 as the  zenith ,babylonian was
 superior to the zero-civilisation4 ,and
 so also of  full-fledged ,modern       
,civilisation4 ,we may say that until it
 returns to  the common zero-point1     
there is no hope of a full and perfect  
development of a civilisation moulded by
 spiritual ideals4    ,let critics of   
,mahatma ,gandhi then look to ,history  
before they condemn  him for trying to  
bring this much belauded ,modern        
,civilisation down to  the common       
starting point of all great             
civilisations4 ,we are at the dawn  of a
 ,new ,era1 and ,mahatma ,gandhi is the 
one leader who shows to us the  right   
path4 ,he at least is watering the      
roots1 while all others who try  to keep
 alive the ,civilisation of the ,western
 nations are like foolish  gardeners who
 lavish water on the withering leaves of

 a dying tree and  never think of       
watering its roots4          ,,swadeshi 
,,the ,,wheel ,,of ,,fortune            
,,boycott ,,of ,,goods    vs4           
,,non-,,co-,,operation ,,programme      
,mr4 ,kasturi ,ranga ,aiyangar was      
pleased to answer my argument in favour 
of the details of the first stage of    
non-co-operation that ,i had the  honour
 of explaining at the great ,madras     
,beach meeting4 ,he expressed his       
dissent from all but the renunciation of
 titles4 ,he suggested boycott of       
foreign goods in the place of the other 
items4 ,even at the risk of  repeating  
arguments familiar to the readers of    
,young ,india1 ,i must  deal with the   
question of boycott which has now       
received the imprimatur  of so able a   
publicist as ,mr4 ,kasturi ,ranga       
,aiyangar4    ,in the first place1      
boycott of ,british goods has been      
conceived as a  punishment and can have 
no place in non-co-operation which is   
conceived  in a spirit of self-sacrifice

 and is a matter of sacred duty4        
,secondly1 any measure of punishment    
must be swift1 certain and adequate  for
 the effect intended to be produced4    
,resorted to by individuals1  therefore1
 boycott is ineffectual1 for1 it can    
give no satisfaction  unless it is      
productive of effect1 whereas every act 
of non-co-operation  is its own         
satisfaction4    ,thirdly1 boycott of   
,british goods is thoroughly            
unpractical1 for1 it  involves sacrifice
 of their millions by millionaires4 ,it 
is in my  opinion infinitely more       
difficult for a merchant to sacrifice   
his  millions than for a lawyer to      
suspend his practice or for a           
title-holder  to give up his title or   
for a parent to sacrifice1 if need be1  
the  literary instruction of his        
children4 ,add to this the important    
fact  that merchants have only lately   
begun to interest themselves in         
politics4 ,they are therefore yet timid 
and cautious4 ,but the class1 to  which 

the first stage of non-co-operation is  
intended to appeal1 is the  political   
class which has devoted years to        
politics and is not mentally  unprepared
 for communal sacrifice4    ,boycott of 
,british goods to be effective must be  
taken up by the whole  country at once  
or not at all4 ,it is like a siege4 ,you
 can carry out a  siege only when you   
have the requisite men and instruments  
of  destruction4 ,one man scratching a  
wall with his finger nails may hurt  his
 fingers but will produce no effect upon
 the walls4 ,one title-holder  giving up
 his title has the supreme satisfaction 
of having washed his  hands clean of the
 guilt of the donor and is unaffected by
 the refusal  of his fellows to give up 
theirs4 ,the motive of boycott being    
punitive  lacks the inherent            
practicability of non-co-operation4 ,the
 spirit of  punishment is a sign of     
weakness4 ,a strengthening of that      
spirit will  retard the process of      
regeneration4 ,the spirit of sacrifice  

is a  determination to rid ourselves of 
our weakness4 ,it is therefore an       
invigorating and purifying process and  
is therefore also calculated to  do good
 both to us and to those who evoke the  
spirit of sacrifice in us4  ,above all1 
if ,india has a mission of her own1 she 
will not fulfil it by  copying the      
doubtful example of the ,west and making
 even her sacrifice  materialistically  
utilitarian instead of offering a       
sacrifice spotless  and pleasing even in
 the sight of ,god4          ,,khilafat 
,,and ,,swadeshi      ,it was not       
without much misgiving that ,i consented
 to include ,swadeshi  as a plank in    
non-co-operation4 ,but ,maulana ,hasrat 
,mohani by his sheer  earnestness bore  
me down4 ,i fear however that his       
reasons for including  ,swadeshi are    
different from mine4 ,he is a           
protagonist of boycott of  ,british     
goods1 ,i cannot reconcile myself to the
 doctrine as ,i have  explained         
elsewhere in this issue4 ,but having    

failed to popularise  boycott1 ,mohani  
,saheb has accepted ,swadeshi as the    
lesser good4 ,it is  however necessary  
for me to explain how ,i have come to   
include ,swadeshi  in the programme of  
non-co-operation4    ,non-co-operation  
is nothing but discipline in            
self-sacrifice4 ,and ,i  believe that a 
nation that is capable of limitless     
sacrifice is capable  of rising to      
limitless heights4 ,the purer the       
sacrifice the quicker the  progress4    
,swadeshi offers every man1 woman and   
child an occasion to  make a beginning  
in self-sacrifice of a pure type4 ,it   
therefore presents  an opportunity for  
testing our capacity for sacrifice4 ,it 
is the measure  for gauging the depth of
 national feeling on the ,khilafat      
wrong4 ,does  the nation feel           
sufficiently to move it to go through   
even the  preliminary process of        
sacrifice8 ,will the nation revise its  
taste for  the ,japanese silk1 the      
,manchester calico or the ,french lace  

and find all  its decoration out of     
hand-spun and hand-woven cloth1 i4e41   
,khadi8 ,if  crores of people will      
refuse to wear or use foreign cloth and 
be  satisfied with the simple cloth that
 we can produce in our homes1 it  will  
be proof of our organising ability1     
energy1 co-operation and  self-sacrifice
 that will enable us to secure all we   
need4 ,it will be a  striking           
demonstration of national solidarity4   
,such a consummation cannot be achieved 
for the mere wish4 ,it cannot be        
achieved by one man1 no matter how      
capable and sincere he may be4 ,it      
cannot be achieved by dotting ,india    
with ,swadeshi stores4 ,it can only be  
achieved by new production and judicious
 distribution4 ,production means  lacs  
of women spinning in their own homes4   
,this requires earnest men to  be       
engaged in honestly distributing carded 
cotton and collecting yarn  and paying  
for it4 ,it means manufacture of        
thousands of spinning wheels4  ,it means

 inducing the hereditary weavers to     
return to their noble  calling and      
distributing home-spun yarn amongst them
 and selling their  manufactures4 ,it is
 thus only as an energising agent that  
,i can think of  ,swadeshi as a plank in
 non-co-operation4 ,but it is not to be 
despised in  that capacity4 ,and ,i hope
 that every worker for the cause1 even  
if he  can do nothing else1 will have   
done something if he can advance        
,swadeshi  first by increasing          
production and then distribution4 ,he   
would be simply  moving in a circle if  
he is satisfied with distributing cloth 
that is  already being manufactured in  
,india4          ,,the ,,secret ,,of    
,,swaraj      ,the ,congress resolution 
has rightly emphasised the importance of
  ,swadeshi and the amount of greater   
sacrifice by merchants4    ,india cannot
 be free so long as ,india voluntarily  
encourages or  tolerates the economic   
drain which has been going on for the   
past  century and a half4 ,boycott of   

foreign goods means no more and no less 
than boycott of foreign cloth4 ,foreign 
cloth constitutes the largest  drain    
voluntarily permitted by us4 ,it means  
sixty crores of rupees  annually paid by
 us for piece-goods4 ,if ,india could   
make a successful  effort to stop that  
drain1 she can gain ,swaraj by that one 
act4    ,india was enslaved for         
satisfying the greed of the foreign     
cloth  manufacturer4 ,when the ,east    
,india ,company came in1 we were able to
  manufacture all the cloth we needed1  
and more for export4 ,by processes  that
 need not be described here1 ,india has 
become practically wholly  dependent    
upon foreign manufacture for her        
clothing4    ,but we ought not to be    
dependent4 ,india has the ability to    
manufacture  all her cloth if her       
children will work for it4 ,fortunately 
,india has  yet enough weavers to       
supplement the out-turn of her mills4   
,the mills do  not and cannot           
immediately manufacture all the cloth we

 want4 ,the reader  may not know that1  
even at the present moment1 the weavers 
weave more  cloth than the mills4 ,but  
the latter weave five crore yards of    
fine  foreign counts1 equal to forty    
crore yards of coarser counts4 ,the way 
to  carry out a successful boycott of   
foreign cloth is to increase the        
out-put of yarn4 ,and this can only be  
done by hand-spinning4    ,to bring     
about such a boycott1 it is necessary   
for our merchants to stop  all foreign  
importation1 and to sell out1 even at a 
loss1 all foreign  cloth already stocked
 in ,india1 preferably to foreign       
buyers4 ,they must  cease to speculate  
in cotton1 and keep all the cotton      
required for home  use4 ,they must stop 
purchasing all foreign cotton4    ,the  
mill-owners should work their mills not 
for their profits but as a  national    
trust and therefore cease to spin finer 
counts1 and weave only  for the home    
market4    ,the householder has to      
revise his or her ideas of fashion and1 

at least  for the time being1 suspend   
the use of fine garments which are not  
always worn to cover the body4 ,he      
should train himself to see art and     
beauty in the spotlessly white khaddar  
and to appreciate its soft  unevenness4 
,the householder must learn to use cloth
 as a miser uses his  hoard4    ,and    
even when the householders have revised 
their tastes about dress1  somebody will
 have to spin yarn for the weavers4     
,this can only be done  by every one    
spinning during spare hours either for  
love or money4    ,we are engaged in a  
spiritual war4 ,we are not living in    
normal times4  ,normal activities are   
always suspended in abnormal times4 ,and
 if we are  out to gain ,swaraj in a    
year's time1 it means that we must      
concentrate upon our goal to the        
exclusion of every thing else4 ,i       
therefore venture to suggest to the     
students all over ,india to suspend     
their normal studies for one year and   
devote their time to the  manufacture of

 yarn by hand-spinning4 ,it will be     
their greatest act of  service to the   
motherland1 and their most natural      
contribution to the  attainment of      
,swaraj4 ,during the late war our rulers
 attempted to turn  every factory into  
an arsenal for turning out bullets of   
lead4 ,during  this war of ours1 ,i     
suggest every national school and       
college being  turned into a factory for
 preparing cones of yarns for the       
nation4 ,the  students will lose nothing
 by the occupation3 they will gain a    
kingdom  here and hereafter4 ,there is a
 famine of cloth in ,india4 ,to assist  
in  removing this dearth is surely an   
act of merit4 ,if it is sinful to use   
foreign yarn1 it is a virtue to         
manufacture more ,swadeshi yarn in order
  to enable us to cope with the want    
that would be created by the disuse  of 
foreign yarn4    ,the obvious question  
asked would be1 if it is so necessary to
  manufacture yarn1 why not pay every   
poor person to do so8 ,the answer is    

that hand spinning is not1 and never    
was1 a calling like weaving1  carpentry1
 etc4 ,under the pre-,british economy of
 ,india1 spinning was an  honourable and
 leisurely occupation for the women of  
,india4 ,it is  difficult to revive the 
art among the women in the time at our  
disposal4  ,but it is incredibly simple 
and easy for the school-goers to respond
 to  the nation's call4 ,let no one     
decry the work as being derogatory to   
the  dignity of man or students4 ,it was
 an art confined to the women of ,india 
because the latter had more leisure4    
,and being graceful1 musical1 and as  it
 did not involve any great exertion1 it 
had become the monopoly of  women4 ,but 
it is certainly as graceful for either  
sex as is music for  instance4 ,in      
hand-spinning is hidden the protection  
of women's virtue1  the insurance       
against famine1 and the cheapening of   
prices4 ,in it is  hidden the secret of 
,swaraj4 ,the revival of hand spinning  
is the least  penance we must do for the

 sin of our forefathers in having       
succumbed  to the satanic influences of 
the foreign manufacturer4    ,the       
school-goers will restore hand-spinning 
to its respectable status4  ,they will  
hasten the process of making ,khaddar   
fashionable4 ,for no  mother1 or father1
 worth the name will refuse to wear     
cloth made out of  yarn spun by their   
children4 ,and the scholars' practical  
recognition of  art will compel the     
attention of the weavers of ,india4 ,if 
we are to wean  the ,punjabi from the   
calling not of a soldier but of the     
murderer of  innocent and free people of
 other lands1 we must give back to him  
the  occupation of weaving4 ,the race of
 the peaceful ,julahis of the ,punjab is
  all but extinct4 ,it is for the       
scholars of the ,punjab to make it      
possible for the ,punjabi weaver to     
return to his innocent calling4    ,i   
hope to show in a future issue how easy 
it is to introduce this change  in the  
schools and how quickly1 on these terms1

 we can nationalise our  schools and    
colleges4 ,everywhere the students have 
asked me what new  things ,i would      
introduce into our nationalised schools4
 ,i have  invariably told them ,i would 
certainly introduce spinning4 ,i feel1  
so  much more clearly than ever before  
that during the transition period1 we   
must devote exclusive attention to      
spinning and certain other things of    
immediate national use1 so as to make up
 for past neglect4 ,and the  students   
will be better able and equipped to     
enter upon the new course  of studies4  
,do ,i want to put back the hand of the 
clock of progress8 ,do ,i want to       
replace the mills by hand-spinning and  
hand-weaving8 ,do ,i want to  replace   
the railway by the country cart8 ,do ,i 
want to destroy machinery  altogether8  
,these questions have been asked by some
 journalists and  public men4 ,my answer
 is3 ,i would not weep over the         
disappearance of  machinery or consider 
it a calamity4 ,but ,i have no design   

upon machinery  as such4 ,what ,i want  
to do at the present moment is to       
supplement the  production of yarn and  
cloth through our mills1 save the       
millions we  send out of ,india1 and    
distribute them in our cottages4 ,this  
,i cannot do  unless and until the      
nation is prepared to devote its leisure
 hours to  hand-spinning4 ,to that end  
we must adopt the methods ,i have       
ventured to  suggest for popularising   
spinning as a duty rather than as a     
means of  livelihood4                   
,,swadeshi      ,in criticising my      
article entitled ',the ,music of the    
,spinning ,wheel6'  the ,leader the     
other day attributed to me the ideas    
that ,i have never  entertained4 ,and it
 is necessary for the purpose of        
understanding the  true value of        
,swadeshi1 to correct some of the       
current fallacies4 ,the  ,leader        
considers that ,i am putting back the   
hands of the clock of  progress by      
attempting to replace mill-made cloth   

and mill-spun yarn by  hand-woven and   
hand-spun yarn4 ,now1 ,i am making no   
such attempt at all4  ,i have no quarrel
 with the mills4 ,my views are          
incredibly simple4 ,india  requires     
nearly #ac yards of cloth per head per  
year4 ,she produces1 ,i  believe1 less  
than half the amount4 ,india grows all  
the cotton she  needs4 ,she exports     
several million bales of cotton to      
,japan and  ,lancashire and receives    
much of it back in manufactured calico  
although  she is capable of producing   
all the cloth and all the yarn necessary
 for  supplying her wants by            
hand-weaving and hand-spinning4 ,india  
needs to  supplement her main           
occupation1 agriculture1 with some other
 employment4  ,hand-spinning is the only
 such employment for millions4 ,it was  
the  national employment a century ago4 
,it is not true to say that economic    
pressure and modern machinery destroyed 
hand-spinning and hand-weaving4  ,this  
great industry was destroyed or almost  

destroyed by extraordinary  and immoral 
means adopted by the ,east ,india       
,company4 ,this national  industry is   
capable of being revived by exertion and
 a change in the  national taste without
 damaging the mill industry4 ,increase  
of mills is  no present remedy for      
supplying the deficiency4 ,the          
difficulty can be  easily supplied only 
by hand-spinning and hand-weaving4 ,if  
this  employment were revived1 it would 
prevent sixty million rupees from  being
 annually drained from the country and  
distribute the amount among  lacs of    
poor women in their own cottages4 ,i    
therefore consider ,swadeshi  as an     
automatic1 though partial1 solution of  
the problem of ,india's  grinding       
poverty4 ,it also constitutes a         
ready-made insurance policy in  times of
 scarcity of rain4    ,but two things   
are needful to bring about the needed   
revival--to create  a taste for ,khaddar
 and to provide an organisation for the 
distribution  of carded cotton and      

collection of yarn against payment4     
,in one year1 by the silent labour of a 
few men1 several thousand rupees  have  
been distributed in ,gujarat among      
several thousand poor women who  are    
glad enough to earn a few pice per day  
to buy milk for their  children1 etc4   
,the argument does not apply to the     
sugar industry as the ,leader has       
attempted4 ,there is not sufficient cane
 grown in ,india to supply ,india's     
wants4 ,sugar was never a national and  
supplementary industry4 ,foreign  sugar 
has not supplanted ,indian sugar4       
,india's wants of sugar have grown  and 
she therefore imports more sugar4 ,but  
this importation does not  institute a  
drain in the sense in which importation 
of foreign cloth  does4 ,production of  
more sugar means more scientific        
agriculture1 more  and better machinery 
for crushing and refining4 ,the sugar   
industry  therefore stands on a         
different platform4 ,swadeshi in sugar  
is  desirable1 ,swadeshi in cloth is an 

urgent necessity4    ,the ,swadeshi     
propaganda has been going on in a more  
or less organised  manner now for the   
past eighteen months4 ,some of its      
results are  surprising and gratifying4 
,it has taken a fairly firm hold in the 
,punjab1 ,madras and the ,bombay        
,presidency4 ,hand spinning and         
hand-weaving  are steadily increasing in
 these parts4 ,several thousand rupees  
have  been distributed in homes where   
women never did any work before4 ,and if
  more work of this kind has not been   
done1 it is due to want of workers4     
,this is however written more to note   
the mistakes of the past than to  sum up
 the bright side4 ,my observations lead 
me to the conclusion that  whilst the   
inauguration of the three vows and      
,swadeshi stores have  greatly          
stimulated the ,swadeshi spirit1 it is  
no longer possible to  advocate the     
taking of any of the three vows or the  
opening of new  ,swadeshi stores for the
 sale of mill-made cloth4 ,the result of

 the  propaganda has been to send up the
 prices of yarn and cloth rather than   
increase production4 ,it is clear that  
the purpose of ,swadeshi is not  served 
until the quantity of yarn and cloth    
produced is increased4 ,the  gain       
therefore is merely moral and not       
material4 ,the people have begun  to    
perceive the desirability of wearing    
only ,swadeshi cloth if the real        
interest of the country is to be        
advanced4    ,but it is clear that we   
must take practical steps for meeting   
the  growing demand for ,swadeshi cloth4
 ,one way1 no doubt1 is to increase the 
mills4 ,but it is obvious that          
capitalists do not need popular         
encouragement4 ,they know that ,india   
needs much more cloth than is           
manufactured by our mills4 ,but mills do
 not spring up like mushrooms4 ,it  is a
 matter of getting machinery from       
outside1 let alone the difficulty  of   
getting labour4 ,and after all1 ,india  
cannot become truly and  economically   

independent so long as she must rely on 
the supply of  machinery from outside   
for the manufacture of her cloth4       
,the cleanest and the most popular form 
of ,swadeshi1 therefore1 is to          
stimulate hand-spinning and hand-weaving
 and to arrange for a judicious         
distribution of yarn and cloth so       
manufactured4 ,with a little talent and 
a little industry this thing is easy4   
,even as each home cooks its own  food  
without difficulty1 so may each home    
weave its own yarn4 ,and just  as in    
spite of every home having its own      
kitchen1 restaurants continue  to       
flourish1 so will mills continue to     
supply our additional wants4 ,but  even 
as because of our private kitchens we   
would not starve if every  restaurant   
was through some accident closed1 so    
would we1 by reason of  domestic        
spinning1 not have to be naked even if  
every mill1 by a  blockade from the     
west1 had to stop work4 ,not long ago1  
we knew this  secret of our own economic

 independence and it is possible for us 
to  regain that independence by a little
 effort1 a little organising agency  and
 a little sacrifice4    ,therefore true 
,swadeshi consists in introducing the   
spinning wheel in  every household and  
every household spinning its own yarn4  
,many a  ,punjabi woman does it to-day4 
,and though we may not supply our own   
cloth  entirely1 we shall be saving     
yearly crores of rupees4 ,in any event  
there  is no other ,swadeshi than       
increased manufacture by hand-spinning  
and  hand-weaving4 ,whether we take up  
hand-spinning and hand-weaving or we do 
not1 it is at least necessary to        
understand what true ,swadeshi is4      
,how to kill swadeshi--,we are familiar 
with the official ban put upon  the     
,khadi cap in various parts of ,india4  
,in ,bihar1 ,i heard that a  magistrate 
actually sent hawkers to sell foreign   
cloth4 ,mr4 ,painter of  ,dharwar fame  
has gone one better1 and has issued an  
official circular in  which he says3    

,all officers subordinate to the        
,collector and ,district ,magistrate are
  desired to take steps to make people  
realise1 that in as much as ,india      
produces less than her population       
requires1 a boycott of foreign cloth    
and its destruction or export must      
inevitably lead to a serious rise in    
prices1 which may lead to a serious     
disorder and looting1 and that these    
consequences will be the result1 not of 
any action on the part of  ,government  
but of ,mr4 ,gandhi's campaign4    ,in  
two other paragraphs means are indicated
 of combating the ,swadeshi  propaganda 
i4e4 by holding meetings1 and by dealers
 who are opposed to  boycott attending  
the ,collector's office at stated hours4
 ,the ,madras  ,government have issued a
 still more pedantic circular4 ,the     
meaning of  these circulars is obvious4 
,pressure is to be put upon the dealers 
and  others not to countenance boycott4 
,the subordinate officials will take    
liberties which the authors of circulars

 may not even have contemplated4        
,fortunately for the country1 these     
threats now produce little or no        
impression upon the public1 and the     
,swadeshi movement will go on in the    
teeth of the official opposition1 be it 
secret or open1 unscrupulous or         
honourable4    ,the officials are so    
ignorant and obstinate1 that they will  
not take the  only effective course for 
avoiding the feared 'disorders and      
looting1'  viz4 making common cause with
 the public and stimulating production4 
,instead of recognising the agitation   
against foreign cloth as desirable  and 
necessary1 they regard it as an evil to 
be put down4 ,and then it is            
complained1 that ,i call a system which 
seeks to thwart healthy public          
agitation1 satanic4 ,why should there be
 any dearth of indigenous cloth8  ,is   
there not enough cotton in ,india8 ,are 
there not enough men and women  who can 
spin and weave8 ,is it not possible to  
manufacture all the  required number of 

wheels in a few days8 ,why should not   
each home  manufacture its own cloth1   
even as it cooks its own food8 ,is it   
not  enough in times of famine to       
distribute uncooked grain among the     
famine-striken8 ,why should it not be   
enough to distribute raw cotton  among  
those who need clothing8 ,why this      
hypocritical or false alarm  about the  
dearth of cloth1 when it is possible in 
,india to manufacture  enough for       
,india's needs in a month even without  
the aid of the mills8  ,the people have 
been purposely or ignorantly kept in the
 dark hitherto4  ,they have been wrongly
 taught to believe1 that all the cloth  
needed  cannot be manufactured in       
,india's homes as of yore4 ,they have   
been  figuratively amputated and then   
made to rely upon foreign or mill-made  
cloth4 ,i wish the people concerned will
 give the only dignified answer         
possible to these circulars4 ,they will 
forthwith burn or send out all  their   
foreign cloth1 and courageously make up 

their minds to spin and  weave for their
 own requirements4 ,it is incredibly    
easy for every one  who is not an idler4
         ,y4 ,i4--#ahth ,aug1 #aibj4    
,,swadeshi ,,in ,,the ,,punjab      ,the
 ,joint ,secretaries of the ,bharat     
,stri ,maha ,mandal1 ,punjab ,branch1   
send a report of the ,swadeshi          
activities of ,shrimati ,saraladevi     
,chaudhrani ever since her return to    
,lahore from ,bombay4 ,miss ,roy and    
,mrs4 ,roshandal1 the ,secretaries1     
state that meetings of women were held  
respectively on the #bcrd1 #bdth and    
#beth ,june at three different places   
in ,lahore4 ,all the meetings were      
attended by hundreds of women who were  
deeply interested in what ,shrimati     
,saraladevi had to say4 ,the burden of  
her discourses was ,india's deep        
poverty4 ,she traced the causes and     
proved that our poverty was primarily   
due to the abandonment of ,swadeshi  by 
the people4 ,the remedy therefore lay in
 reverting to ,swadeshi4    ,saraladevi 

herself writes to say that her ,khaddar 
,sari impressed her  audiences more than
 her speeches1 and her songs came next1 
her speeches  last4 ,the good ladies of 
,lahore flocked round her and felt her  
coarse  but beautifully white ,sari and 
admired it4 ,some took pity on her that 
she who only the other day was dressed  
in costly thin silk ,saris now  decked  
herself in hand-woven ,swadeshi         
,khaddar4 ,saraladevi wanted no pity    
and retorted that their thin foreign    
scarves lay heavier on their  shoulders 
with the weight of their helpless       
dependence on foreign  manufacture      
whereas her coarse ,khaddar lay light as
 a feather on her  body with the joy of 
the knowledge that she was free because 
she wore  garments in the manufacture of
 which her sisters and her brothers had 
laboured4 ,this statement so pleased her
 audience that most of the women        
present resolved to discard foreign     
clothes4 ,saraladevi has now been       
charged by these ladies to open a shop  

where they could buy ,swadeshi  goods4  
,she has since addressed more audiences4
 ,she spoke at the ,district            
,conference at ,sialkot and to a meeting
 exclusively devoted to ladies          
numbering over one thousand4 ,i hope    
that the men of ,punjab will help       
,saraladevi in her self-imposed mission4
 ,they may harness her talents and  her 
willingness in founding ,swadeshi ,sabha
 and organising ,swadeshi  propaganda on
 a sound basis4 ,both men and money are 
needed to make the  work a success4     
,swadeshi is more than reforms4 ,there  
is much waste over reforms4 ,there  is  
none in ,swadeshi4 ,every yard of yarn  
spun is so much labour well  spent and  
so much wealth added to the national    
treasury4 ,every drop  counts4 ,swadeshi
 spells first production and then       
distribution4  ,distribution without    
production means the raising of prices  
without any  corresponding benefit4 ,for
 to-day demand exceeds the supply4 ,if  
we will  not manufacture more cloth1    

more foreign imports must continue a    
painful  and sinful necessity4          
,punjab has a great opportunity4 ,punjab
 grows splendid cotton4 ,the art of     
spinning has not yet died out4 ,almost  
every ,punjabi woman knows it4 ,this    
sacred haunt of the ,rishis of old has  
thousands of weavers4 ,only the  leaders
 need to have faith in their women and  
themselves4 ,when  ,saraladevi wrote to 
me that she might want goods from       
,bombay1 ,i felt  hurt4 ,the ,punjab has
 all the time and all the labour and the
 material  necessary for producing her  
own cloth4 ,she has brave merchants4    
,she has  more than enough capital4 ,she
 has brains4 ,has she the will8 ,she can
  organise her own ,swadeshi in less    
than a year1 if the leaders will work   
at this great cause4 ,it is playing with
 ,swadeshi for the ,punjab to have  to  
import cloth from ,bombay4    ,the      
,punjab has to right herself by putting 
her ,swadeshi on a proper  basis and by 
ridding herself of ,messrs4 ,bosworth   

,smith and ,company4 ,she  will then be 
both economically and politically sound4
 ,geographically she  stands at the top4
 ,she led the way in the older times4   
,will she again do  so8 ,her men are    
virile to look at4 ,have they virility  
enough to secure  without a moment's    
delay purity of administration8 ,i have 
not strayed  from ,swadeshi to politics4
 ,my ,swadeshi spirit makes me impatient
 of  garments that denude ,india of her 
wealth and equally impatient of the     
,smiths1 the ,o',briens1 the ,shri ,rams
 and the ,maliks who denude her of her  
self-respect and insolently touch       
women's veils with their sticks1 chain  
innocent men as if they were beasts1 or 
shoot them from armoured cars or        
otherwise terrorise people into         
subjection4         ,y4 ,i4--#gth ,july 
#aibj4          ,,swadeshi ,,stores     
,in a previous issue ,i endeavoured to  
show how stores for the sake of  selling
 mill-manufactures did not advance      
,swadeshi in any way whatsoever  but on 

the contrary1 tended to send up the     
price of cloth4 ,i propose to  show in  
this article how with a small capital1  
it is possible to advance  true         
,swadeshi and earn a modest livelihood4 
,suppose that there is a family         
consisting of husband1 wife and two     
children one of whom is ten years old   
and the other five4 ,if they have a     
capital of ,rs4 #ejj they can manage a  
,khaddar ,bhandar in a small way4  ,they
 can hire1 say in a place with a        
population of #bj1jjj inhabitants a     
shop with dwelling rooms for ,rs4 #aj   
per month4 ,if they sell the whole of   
the stock at #aj p4c4 profit they can   
have ,rs4 #ej per month4 ,they have no  
servants4 ,the wife and the children in 
their spare time would be  expected to  
help in keeping the shop tidy and       
looking after it when the  husband is   
out4 ,the wife and children can also    
devote their spare time  to spinning4   
,in the initial stages the ,khaddar may 
not sell at the shop4 ,in that case  the

 husband is expected to hawk the        
,khaddar from door to door and          
popularise it4 ,he will soon find a     
custom for it4    ,the reader must not  
be surprised at my suggesting #aj p4c4  
profits4 ,the  ,khaddar ,bhandars are   
not designed for the poorest4 ,the use  
of ,khaddar  saves at least half the    
cost not necessarily because the        
,khaddar is more  durable 7though that  
it certainly is7 but because its use    
revolutionises  our tastes4 ,i know what
 saving of money its use has meant to   
me4 ,those1  who buy ,khaddar from      
patriotic motives merely1 can easily    
afford to pay  #aj p4c4 profits on      
,khaddar4 ,lastly the popularising of   
,khaddar means  much care1 devotion and 
labour4 ,and the owner of a ,khaddar    
,bhandar does  not buy it at a wholesale
 shop but he must wander to get the best
  ,khaddar1 he must meet the local      
weavers and induce them to weave hand   
spun yarn4 ,he must stimulate in his own
 district hand spinning among its       

women4 ,he must come in touch with the  
carders and get them to card  cotton4   
,all this means intelligence1           
organisation and great ability4 ,a  man 
who can exhibit these qualities has a   
right to take #aj p4c4 profits4  ,and a 
,swadeshi ,bhandar conducted on these   
lines becomes a true centre of          
,swadeshi activity4 ,i commend my       
remarks to the attention of the managers
  of ,swadeshi stores that are already  
in existence4 ,they may not             
revolutionise their method at once but  
,i have no doubt that they will  advance
 ,swadeshi only to the extent that they 
sell ,khaddar4         ,y4 ,i4--#gth    
,july1 #aibj4          ,,indian         
,,economics      ,a friend has placed in
 my hands a bulletin on ,indian ,piece  
,goods ,trade  prepared by ,mr4 ,a4 ,c4 
,coubrough ,c4 ,b4 ,e4 by order of the  
,government of  ,india4 ,it contains the
 following prefatory note3 ',the        
,government of  ,india desire it to be  
understood that the statements made and 

the views  expressed in this bulletin   
are those of the author himself4' ,if   
so1 why  has the ,government of ,india  
burdened the tax-payer with the expense 
of  such bulletins8 ,the one before me  
is #afth in the series4 ,do they publish
  both the sides of the question8       
,the bulletin under review is intended  
to be an answer to the ,swadeshi        
movement4 ,it is an elaborate note      
containing a number of charts showing   
the condition of imports and home       
manufacture of piece goods including    
hand-woven4 ,but it does not assist the 
reader in studying the movement4  ,the  
painstaking author has bestowed no pains
 upon a study of the  present movement  
or its scope4 ,that the ,government of  
,india treats the  greatest constructive
 and co-operative movement in the       
country with  supreme contempt and      
devotes people's money to a vain        
refutation instead  of a sympathetic    
study and treatment is perhaps the best 
condemnation  that can be pronounced    

upon the system under which it is       
carried4    ,the author's argument is3  
7#a7 ,the movement if successful will   
act not as a protective but a           
prohibitive tariff4    7#b7 ,this must  
result in merely enriching the ,indian  
capitalist and  punishing the consumer4 
7#c7 ,the imports are non-competitive in
 that the bulk of the kind of  piece    
goods imported are not manufactured in  
,india4    7#d7 ,the result of          
boycotting such piece goods must be high
 prices  without corresponding benefit4 
7#e7 ,the boycott therefore being       
against the law of supply and demand and
  against the consumer must fail in the 
end4    7#f7 ,the destruction of hand   
spinning which ,i have deplored is due  
to  natural causes1 viz4 the invention  
of time-saving appliances and was       
therefore inevitable4    7#g7 ,the      
,indian farmer is responsible for his   
own ruin in that he has  indolently     
neglected cotton culture which was once 
so good4    7#h7 ,the best service ,i   

can render is therefore to induce the   
agriculturist to improve the quality of 
cotton4    7#i7 ,the author concludes1  
',if instead of filling homes with      
useless  ,charkhas he were to start a   
propaganda for the more intensive       
cultivation of cotton and particularly  
for the production of longer  staple    
cotton1 his influence would be felt not 
only at the present day  but for many   
generations to come4'    ,the reader    
will thus see1 that what ,i regard as   
the supreme necessity  for the          
economical salvation of ,india1 the     
author considers to be rank  folly4     
,there is therefore no meeting ground   
here4 ,and in spite of the  prefatory   
note of the ,government of ,india       
reproduced by me1 the author  does      
represent the ,government attitude4 ,i  
have invited them and the  co-operators 
definitely to make common cause with the
 people in this  movement at any rate4  
,they may not mind its political        
implications  because they do not       

believe in them4 ,and surely they need  
not feel sorry  if contrary to their    
expectation1 the rise of the ,charkha   
results in  an increase in the political
 power of the people4 ,instead of waging
 war  against ,khadi1 they might have   
popularised its use and disarmed the    
terrible suspicion they labour under of 
wishing to benefit the foreign          
manufacturer at the expense of the      
,indian cultivator4 ,my invitation is   
open for all time4 ,i prophesy that     
whatever happens to the other parts  of 
the national programme1 ,swadeshi in its
 present shape will bide for  ever and  
must if ,india's pauperism is to be     
banished4    ,even though ,i am a       
layman1 ,i make bold to say that the    
so-called laws  laid down in books on   
economics are not immutable like the    
laws of ,medes  and ,persians1 nor are  
they universal4 ,the economics of       
,england are  different from those of   
,germany4 ,germany enriched herself by  
bounty-fed  beet sugar4 ,england        

enriched herself by exploiting foreign  
markets4 ,what  was possible for a      
compact area is not possible for an area
 #a1ijj miles  long and #a1ejj broad4   
,the economics of a nation are          
determined by its  climatic1 geological 
and temperamental conditions4 ,the      
,indian conditions  are different from  
the ,english in all these essentials4   
,what is meat for  ,england is in many  
cases poison for ,india4 ,beef tea in   
the ,english  climate may be good1 it is
 poison for the hot climate of religious
  ,india4 ,fiery whisky in the north of 
the ,british ,isles may be a  necessity1
 it renders an ,indian unfit for work or
 society4 ,fur-coats in  ,scotland are  
indispensable1 they will be an          
intolerable burden in ,india4  ,free    
trade for a country which has become    
industrial1 whose population  can and   
does live in cities1 whose people do not
 mind preying upon other  nations and   
therefore sustain the biggest navy to   
protect their  unnatural commerce1 may  

be economically sound 7though as the    
reader  perceives1 ,i question its      
morality74 ,free trade for ,india has   
proved  her curse and held her in       
bondage4    ,and now for ,mr4           
,coubrough's propositions4    7#a7 ,the 
movement is intended to serve the       
purpose of a voluntary  prohibitive     
tariff4    7#b7 ,but it is so conceived 
as neither unduly to benefit the        
capitalist  nor to injure the consumer4 
,during the very brief transition stage 
the  prices of home manufactures may be1
 as they are1 inflated4 ,but the rise   
can only be temporary as the vast       
majority of consumers must become  their
 own manufacturers4 ,this cottage       
manufacture of yarn and cloth  cannot be
 expensive even as domestic cookery is  
not expensive and cannot  be replaced by
 hotel cookery4 ,over twenty-five crores
 of the population  will be doing their 
own hand-spinning and having yarn thus  
manufactured  woven in neighbouring     
localities4 ,this population is rooted  

to the soil  and has at least four      
months in the year to remain idle4      
,if they spin during those hours and    
have the yarn woven and wear it1 no     
mill-made cloth can compete with their  
,khadi4 ,the cloth thus  manufactured   
will be the cheapest possible for them4 
,if the rest of the  population did not 
take part in the process1 it could      
easily be supplied  out of the surplus  
manufactured by the twenty-five crores4 
7#c7 ,it is true that non-competitive   
imports are larger than those that      
compete with the manufactures of ,indian
 mills4 ,in the scheme proposed by  me  
the question does not arise1 because the
 central idea is not so much  to carry  
on a commercial war against foreign     
countries as to utilise the  idle hours 
of the nation and thus by natural       
processes to help it to get  rid of her 
growing pauperism4    7#d7 ,i have      
already shown that the result of boycott
 cannot in the end be  a rise in the    
price of cloth4    7#e7 ,the proposed   

boycott is not against the law of supply
 and demand1  because it does away with 
the law by manufacturing enough for the 
supply4 ,the movement does require a    
change of taste on the part of those    
who have adopted finer variety and who  
patronise fantastic combinations  of    
colours and designs4    7#f7 ,i have    
shown in these pages1 that the          
destruction of hand-spinning  was       
designed and carried out in a most      
inhuman manner by the agents of  the    
,east ,india ,company4 ,no amount of    
appliances would ever have  displaced   
this national art and industry but for  
this artificial and  systematically     
cruel manner of carrying out the        
destruction4    7#g7 ,i am unable to    
hold the ,indian farmer responsible for 
the  deterioration in cotton culture4   
,the whole incentive was taken away when
  hand-spinning was destroyed4 ,the     
,state never cared for the cultivator4  
7#h7 ,my activity1 ,i am proud to think1
 has already turned the  cultivator's   

attention to the improvement of cotton4 
,the artistic sense  of the nation will 
insist on fine counts for which long    
staple is a  necessity4 ,cotton culture 
by itself cannot solve the problem of   
,india's  poverty4 ,for it will still   
leave the question of enforced idleness 
untouched4    7#i7 ,i therefore claim   
for the ,charkha the honour of being    
able to  solve the problem of economic  
distress in a most natural1 simple1     
unexpensive and business-like manner4   
,the ,charkha1 therefore1 is not  only  
not useless as the writer ignorantly    
suggests1 but it is a useful  and       
indispensable article for every home4   
,it is the symbol of the  nation's      
prosperity and therefore1 freedom4 ,it  
is a symbol not of  commercial war but  
of commercial peace4 ,it bears not a    
message of  ill-will towards the nations
 of the earth but of good-will and      
self-help4 ,it will not need the        
protection of a navy threatening a      
world's peace and exploiting its        

resources1 but it needs the religious   
determination of millions to spin their 
yarn in their own homes as  to-day they 
cook their food in their own homes4 ,i  
may deserve the curses  of posterity for
 many mistakes of omission and          
commission but ,i am  confident of      
earning its blessings for suggesting a  
revival of the  ,charkha4 ,i stake my   
all on it4 ,for every revolution of the 
wheel spins  peace1 good-will and love4 
,and with all that1 inasmuch as the loss
 of  it brought about ,india's slavery1 
its voluntary revival with all its      
implications must mean ,india's freedom4
         ,y4 ,i4--#hth ,dec4 #aiba4     
,,how ,,to ,,boycott ,,foreign ,,cloth  
,it is needless to say at this time of  
the day1 that the proposed boycott  of  
foreign cloth is not a vindictive       
measure1 but is as necessary for        
national existence as breath is for     
life4 ,the quicker1 therefore1 it can   
be brought about1 the better for the    
country4 ,without it1 ,swaraj cannot  be

 established or retained after          
establishment4 ,it is of the highest    
importance to know how it can be brought
 about even before the first day  of    
,august next4    ,to arrive at the      
boycott quickly1 it is necessary 7#a7   
for the  mill-owners to regulate their  
profits and to manufacture principally  
for  the ,indian market1 7#b7 for       
importers to cease to buy foreign goods4
 ,a  beginning has already been made by 
three principal merchants1 7#c7 for  the
 consumers to refuse to buy any foreign 
cloth and to buy ,khadi  wherever       
possible1 7#d7 for the consumers to wear
 only ,khadi cloth1  mill cloth being   
retained for the poor who do not know   
the distinction  between ,swadeshi and  
,pardeshi1 7#e7 for the consumers to    
use1 till ,swaraj  is established and   
,khadi manufacture increased1 ,khadi    
just enough  for covering the body1 7#f7
 for the consumers to destroy ,pardeshi 
cloth1  as they would destroy           
intoxicating liquors on taking the vow  

of  abstinence1 or to sell it for use   
abroad1 or to wear it out for all  dirty
 work or during private hours4    ,it is
 to be hoped that all the parties       
referred to in the foregoing  clauses   
will respond well and simultaneously4   
,but in the end success  depends upon   
the persistent determination of the     
consumer4 ,he has simply  to decline to 
wear the badge of his slavery4          
,abusing the khaddar--,a friend draws   
attention to the fact that many  who    
have adopted the khaddar costume are    
using it as a passport for  arrogance1  
insolence1 and1 what is worse1 fraud4   
,he says that they have  neither the    
spirit of non-co-operation in them nor  
the spirit of truth4  ,they simply use  
the khaddar dress as a cloak for their  
deceit4 ,all  this is likely1 especially
 during the transition stage1 i4e41     
whilst  khaddar is beginning to become  
fashionable4 ,i would only suggest to my
  correspondent that such abuse of      
khaddar must not even unconsciously  be 

allowed to be used as an argument       
against its use4 ,its use to-day is     
obligatory on those who believe that    
there is not sufficient ,indian         
mill-made cloth to supply the wants of  
the nation1 that the wants must  be     
supplied in the quickest way possible by
 increasing home manufacture1  and that 
such manufacture is possible only by    
making home-spinning  universal4 ,the   
use of khaddar represents nothing more  
than a most  practical recognition of   
the greatest economic necessity of the  
country4  ,even a scoundrel may         
recognise this necessity1 and has       
therefore a  perfect right to wear it4  
,and if a ,government spy wore it to    
deceive  people1 ,i would welcome his   
use of khaddar as so much economic gain 
to  the country4 ,only ,i would not give
 the wearer of the khaddar more than    
his due4 ,and ,i would therefore not    
ascribe to him any piety or special     
virtue4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that    
co-operationists or government  servants

 may wear khaddar without incurring the 
danger of being  mistaken for           
non-co-operationists4 ,we may no more   
shun khaddar1 than a  devout church-goer
 may renounce his church because bad    
characters go to  it for duping gullible
 people4 ,i recall the name of an ,m4   
,p4 who  successfully cloaked many of   
his vices by pretending to be a staunch 
temperance man4 ,not very long ago a    
bold and unscrupulous speculator  found 
entry into most respectable circles by  
becoming a temperance  advocate4 ,well  
has a poet said that 'hypocricy is an   
ode to virtue4'    ,some 'ifs'--,if you 
are a weaver feeling for the country1   
the  ,khilafat and the ,punjab1    7#a7 
,you should weave only hand-spun yarn1  
and charge so as to give you a  living4 
,you should overcome all the            
difficulties of sizing and adjusting    
your loom to the requirements of coarse 
yarn4    7#b7 ,if you cannot possibly   
tackle hand-spun yarn for warp1 you must
 use  ,indian mill-spun yarn for it and 

use hand-spun for woof4    7#c7 ,where  
even the second alternative is not      
possible1 you should use  mill-spun yarn
 for both warp and woof4    ,but you    
should henceforth cease to use any      
foreign yarn1 whether it is  silk or    
cotton4    ,if you are a ,congress      
official or worker1 you should get hold 
of the  weavers within your             
jurisdiction1 and place the foregoing   
propositions  before them for acceptance
 and help them to the best of your      
ability4    ,if you are a buyer1 insist 
upon the first class of cloth1 but if   
you  have not the sense or the courage  
to do so1 take up the second or the     
third1 but on no account purchase       
foreign cloth or cloth woven in ,india  
but made of foreign yarn4    ,if you are
 a householder1    7#a7 ,you should make
 a fixed determination henceforth not to
 buy any  foreign cloth4    7#b7 ,you   
should interview the weaver in your     
neighbourhood1 and get him  to weave for
 you enough khadi out of home-spun and  

failing that to  weave out of ,indian   
mill-spun yarn4    7#c7 ,you should     
deliver to the ,congress ,committee all 
your foreign cloth  for destruction or  
sending to ,smyrna or elsewhere outside 
,india4    7#d7 ,if you have not the    
courage to give up your foreign cloth1  
you may  wear it out at home for all    
dirty work1 but never go out in foreign 
cloth4    7#e7 ,if you have any leisure1
 you should devote it to learning the   
art of  spinning even1 properly-twisted 
yarn for the sake of the nation4    ,if 
you are a schoolboy or schoolgirl1 you  
should consider it a sin to  receive    
literary training1 before you have spun1
 carded or woven for the  nation for at 
least four hours per day till the       
establishment of ,swaraj4         ,y4   
,i4--#fth ,july #aiba4                  
,,spinning          ,,the ,,music ,,of  
,,the ,,spinning ,,wheel      ,slowly   
but surely the music of perhaps the most
 ancient machine of ,india  is once more
 permeating society4 ,pandit ,malaviyaji

 has stated that he is  not going to be 
satisfied until the ,ranis and the      
,maharanis of ,india  spin yarn for the 
nation1 and the ,ranas and the          
,maharanas sit behind the  handlooms and
 weave cloth for the nation4 ,they have 
the example of  ,aurangzeb who made his 
own caps4 ,a greater                    
emperor--,kabir--was himself a  weaver  
and has immortalised the art in his     
poems4 ,the queens of ,europe1  before  
,europe was caught in ,satan's trap1    
spun yarn and considered it a  noble    
calling4 ,the very words1 spinster and  
wife1 prove the ancient  dignity of the 
art of spinning and weaving4 ',when     
,adam delved and ,eve  span1 who was    
then a gentleman1' also reminds one of  
the same fact4 ,well  may ,panditji hope
 to persuade the royalty of ,india to   
return to the  ancient calling of this  
sacred land of ours4 ,not on the clatter
 of arms  depends the revival of her    
prosperity and true independence4 ,it   
depends  most largely upon              

re-introduction1 in every home1 of the  
music of the  spinning wheel4 ,it gives 
sweeter music and is more profitable    
than the  execrable harmonium1          
concertina and the accordian4    ,whilst
 ,panditji is endeavouring in his       
inimitably suave manner to  persuade the
 ,indian royalty to take up the spinning
 wheel1 ,shrimati  ,sarala ,devi        
,chaudhrani1 who is herself a member of 
the ,indian nobility1  has learnt the   
art and has thrown herself heart and    
soul into the  movement4 ,from all the  
accounts received from her and others1  
,swadeshi  has become a passion with    
her4 ,she says she feels uncomfortable  
in her  muslin saris and is content to  
wear her khaddar saris even in the hot  
weather4 ,her khaddar saris continue to 
preach true ,swadeshi more  eloquently  
than her tongue4 ,she has spoken to     
audiences in ,amritsar1  ,ludhiana and  
elsewhere and has succeeded in enlisting
 the services1 for  her ,spinning       
,committee at ,amritsar1 of ,mrs4       

,ratanchand and ,bugga  ,chowdhry and   
the famous ,ratan ,devi who during the  
frightful night of the  #acth ,april    
despite the ,curfew ,order of ,general  
,dyer sat1 all alone in  the midst of   
the hundreds of the dead and dying1 with
 her dead husband's  cold head in her   
lap4 ,i venture to tender my            
congratulations to these  ladies4 ,may  
they find solace in the music of the    
spinning wheel and in  the thought that 
they are doing national work4 ,i hope   
that the other  ladies of ,amritsar will
 help ,sarala ,devi in her efforts and  
that the men  of ,amritsar will realise 
their own duty in the matter4    ,in    
,bombay the readers are aware that      
ladies of noted families have  already  
taken up spinning4 ,their ranks have    
been joined by  ,dr4 ,mrs4 ,manekbai    
,bahudarji who has already learnt the   
art and who is  now trying to introduce 
it in the ,sevasadan4 ,her ,highness the
 ,begum  ,saheba of ,janjira and her    
sister ,mrs4 ,atia ,begum ,rahiman1 have

 also  undertaken to learn the art4 ,i  
trust that these good ladies will1      
having learnt spinning1 religiously     
contribute to the nation their daily    
quota of yarn4    ,i know that there are
 friends who laugh at this attempt to   
revive this  great art4 ,they remind me 
that in these days of mills1 sewing     
machines  or typewriters1 only a lunatic
 can hope to succeed in reviving the    
rusticated spinning wheel4 ,these       
friends forget that the needle has not  
yet given place to the sewing machine   
nor has the hand lost its cunning  in   
spite of the typewriter4 ,there is not  
the slightest reason why the  spinning  
wheel may not co-exist with the spinning
 mill even as the  domestic kitchen     
co-exists with the hotels4 ,indeed      
typewriters and  sewing machines may go1
 but the needle and the reed pen will   
survive4  ,the mills may suffer         
destruction4 ,the spinning wheel is a   
national  necessity4 ,i would ask       
sceptics to go to the many poor homes   

where the  spinning wheel is again      
supplementing their slender resources   
and ask  the inmates whether the        
spinning wheel has not brought joy to   
their  homes4    ,thank ,god1 the reward
 issued by ,mr4 ,rewashanker ,jagjiwan  
bids fair to  bear fruit4 ,in a short   
time ,india will possess a renovated    
spinning  wheel--a wonderful invention  
of a patient ,deccan artisan4 ,it is    
made out  of simple materials4 ,there is
 no great complication about it4 ,it    
will be  cheap and capable of being     
easily mended4 ,it will give more yarn  
than  the ordinary wheel and is capable 
of being worked by a five years old  boy
 or girl4 ,but whether the new machine  
proves what it claims to be or  it does 
not1 ,i feel convinced that the revival 
of hand-spinning and  hand-weaving will 
make the largest contribution to the    
economic and the  moral regeneration of 
,india4 ,the millions must have a simple
 industry to  supplement agriculture4   
,spinning was the cottage industry years

 ago and  if the millions are to be     
saved from starvation1 they must be     
enabled to  reintroduce spinning in     
their homes1 and every village must     
repossess  its own weaver4         ,y4  
,i4--#bast ,july #aibj4                 
,,handlooms ,,or ,,powermills8          
,whenever an attempt has been made1 as  
it is being made to-day1 to  encourage  
the use and production of hand-spun and 
hand-woven cloth1 many  have looked     
askance whether it is intended in this  
age of mechanical  industrialism to     
supplant the latter by medieval         
handlooms4 ,the issue is  placed between
 the hand power and the power mill4 ,a  
correspondent of the  ,janmabhumi falls 
into this common error4 ,apparently     
agitated at the  idea of reviving the   
home industries1 he exclaims1 ,the real 
question  for consideration with us or  
with any people to-day is not whether   
the  handloom will or will not be able  
to hold its own against the power  loom1
 or whether it cannot feed millions of  

families or clothe millions  more in    
home-made dress2 but which will         
contribute to the economic and          
political power of a nation or country1 
whether it is the handloom or  the      
power-mill8 ,handicrafts or machine     
industries--that is the real  issue4    
,it is not quite clear from the above   
what the notions of the  correspondent  
are about the economic and political    
power of this  country4 ,we cannot      
imagine him to seriously believe--though
 his argument  runs as if he does--that 
that power can be achieved without      
feeding and  clothing the millions of   
our half-starving and half-naked men1   
women and  children4 ,the political and 
economic power of a nation depends even 
in  this age of mechanical              
industrialism1 not on its powerful      
machines but  on its powerful men4      
,germany was equipped with the best and 
most  powerful and modern machinery1 but
 it failed because at the last moment   
the power of its nation failed4 ,we want

 to organise our national power4  ,this 
can be done not by adopting the best    
methods of production only but  by the  
best method of both the production and  
the distribution4  ,production that is  
the manufacture of cloth in this        
particular instance  can be brought     
about in two ways2 7#a7 by establishing 
new mills and  increasing the output or 
producing capacity of each mill and 7#b7
 by  increasing the number of hand-looms
 and improving them4 ,all these         
activities can go together4 ,the notion 
of a competition between the  hand-loom 
and the power mill has been shown by    
such an eminent economist  as ,prof4    
,radha ,kamal ,mukerjea to be altogether
 wrong4 ,says  ,mr4 ,mukerjea in his    
,foundations of ,indian ,economics3     
,the hand-loom does not compete with the
 mill1 it supplements it in the         
following way3    7#a7 ,it produces     
special kinds of goods which cannot be  
woven in the  mills4    7#b7 ,it        
utilizes yarn below and above certain   

counts which cannot at  present be used 
on the power-mill4    7#c7 ,it will     
consume the surplus stock of ,indian    
spinning mills which  need not then be  
sent out of the country4    7#d7 ,being 
mainly a village-industry1 it supplies  
the local demand1 at  the same time     
gives employment to small capitalists1  
weavers and other  village workmen and  
7#e7 lastly it will supply the long-felt
 want of1 and honest field of1  work and
 livelihood for educated ,indians4      
,but even this is not all that can be   
said in favour of hand-loom  industry4  
,mill industry no doubt can be a        
powerful aid to the promotion  of       
,swadeshi4 ,but apart from the bitter   
struggle1 strife and  demoralisation of 
the capitalist and the workman 7as      
explained by the  eminent scholar1      
administrator and economist1 the late   
,mr4 ,romesh  ,chundra ,dutt7 it has led
 to1 the question is3 ,can it solve the 
problem  which pure ,swadeshi is        
designed and sought to do and which     

arises only  because of its abandonment8
 ,every writer of note on the industries
 of  ,india1 whatever his ideas and     
conclusions about the future of ,indian 
,industrialism may be1 has shown that   
there was a time and that was even  till
 the ,early ,british ,rule in           
,india--where spinning and weaving1 only
  next to agriculture1 were the great   
national industries of ,india1 when  all
 the cotton was spun by hand and every  
portion of the work was done  by the    
farming population which augmented its  
resources by spinning and  weaving4 ,mr4
 ,dutt has given extracts from the      
statistical observations  of ,dr4       
,francis ,buchanan's economic enquiries 
in ,southern and ,northern  ,india1     
conducted between #agih and #ahad4 ,they
 show how many hundreds of  thousands of
 our men1 women and children worked on  
this industry--mostly  in their leisure 
time--each day and earned crores of     
rupees annually4    ,how our            
home-industries came to the sad plight  

they are in to-day is an  open secret1  
admitted by all authorities and need not
 be repeated here4  ,suffice it to say  
that the problem to-day is not to bring 
about that  political and economic      
re-organisation of our country1 which   
disturbs  the ,west to-day--an          
organisation which has led to the       
breaking up of the  society by ceaseless
 struggles1 bitterness and rupture      
between ,capital  and ,labour4 ,we want 
to work out the real political and      
economic  regeneration of the country by
 ,swadeshi4 ,and the problem of the     
,swadeshi  is the problem of #hj per    
cent4 of our population who spend more  
than six  months of the year in enforced
 idleness1 eking1 throughout the year1 a
  miserable1 half-starving and          
half-naked existence4 ,we must find out 
suitable work for them during their idle
 hours4 ,we must make them a real  asset
 and power to the nation4 ,pure         
,swadeshi alone can do it4         ,y4  
,i4--#bhth ,july #aibj4                 

,,hand-,,spinning ,,and ,,hand-,,weaving
      ,some people spurn the idea of    
making in this age of mechanism         
hand-spinning and hand-weaving a        
national industry1 but they forget      
there are millions of their countrymen  
in this age who1 for want of  suitable  
occupation1 are eking out a most        
miserable existence1 and  thousands who 
die of starvation and underfeeding every
 year1 whereas  only a hundred years ago
 hand-spinning and hand-weaving proved  
an  insurance against a pauper's death4 
,the extent to which relief was         
provided by this industry is recorded by
 ,mr4 ,dutt in his ,history of  ,india3 
,victorian age from the investigations  
conducted by ,dr4 ,buchanan  for seven  
years1 #ahac-ahbj4 ,dr4 ,buchanan       
travelled throughout of the  whole      
country4 ,and his observations and      
statistics convinced him that  next to  
agriculture1 hand-spinning and          
hand-weaving were the great  national   
industries4 ,we make no apology for     

giving some of the facts and  figures   
collected by ,dr4 ,buchanan3    ,in the 
districts of ,patna and ,behar with a   
population of #c1cfd1dbj  souls1 the    
number of spinners was #ccj1dbf4 ,by far
 the greater part of  these1 observed   
,dr4 ,buchanan1 spin only a few hours in
 the afternoon1  and upon the average   
estimate the whole value of the thread  
that each  spins in a year is worth ,rs4
 #g-b-h giving a total annual income of 
,rs4 #bc1fg1bgg and by a similar        
calculation the raw material at the     
retail  price will amount to ,rs4       
#ab1hf1bgb1 leaving a profit of ,rs4    
#aj1ha1jje  for the spinners or ,rs4    
#c-d-j per spinner4444    ,in the       
district of ,shahbad1 spinning was the  
chief industry4 #aei1ejj  women were    
employed in spinning and spun yarn to   
the value of  ,rs4 #ab1ej1jjj a year4   
,deducting the value of cotton each     
woman had some  thing left to her to add
 to the income of the family to which   
she  belonged4    ,in the ,bhagalpur    

district 7with a population of          
#b1jai1ijj7 where all  castes were      
permitted to spin1 #afj1jjj women spent 
a part of their time  in spinning and   
each made an annual income of ,rs4      
#d-a_/b after deducting  the cost of    
cotton4 ,this was added to the family   
income4 ,in the  ,gorakhpur district    
7population #a1che1die7 #age1fjj women  
found employment  in spinning and made  
an annual income of ,rs4 #b-a_/b per    
head4 ,in the  ,dinjapur district 7with 
a population of #cjj1jjj7               
cotton-spinning which  was the principal
 manufacture occupied the leisure hours 
'of all women  of higher rank and of the
 greater part of the farmers' wives4'   
,three  rupees was the annual income    
each woman made by spinning in her      
afternoon hours4    ,in the ,purniya    
district 7population #b1ijd1chj7 all    
castes considered  spinning honourable  
and a very large population of women of 
the district  did some spinning in their
 leisure hours4    ,in eastern ,mysore  

women of all castes except ,brahmans    
bought cotton and  wool at weekly       
markets1 spun at home1 and sold the     
thread to weavers4  ,men and women thus 
found a profitable occupation4 ,in      
,coimbatore1 the  wives of all the low  
class cultivators were great spinners4  
,the statistics of weavers show that    
they also were as numerous as the       
spinners4 ,in the ,patna city and ,behar
 district1 the total number of  looms   
employed in the manufacture of chaddars 
and table cloths was #gej1  and the     
value of the annual manufactures was    
,rs4 #e1dj1jjj leaving a  profit of ,rs4
 #ha1djj1 deducting the value of thread4
 ,this gave a profit  of ,rs4 #ajh for  
each loom worked by three persons or an 
income of ,rs4 #cf  a year for each     
person4 ,but the greater part of the    
cloth-weavers made  coarse cloth for    
country use to the value of ,rs4        
#bd1chf1fba after  deducting the cost of
 thread4 ,this gave a profit of ,rs4 #bh
 for each  loom4    ,in ,shahabad       

weavers worked in cotton only4 #g1jbe   
houses of weavers  worked in cotton and 
had #g1iej looms4 ,each loom made an    
annual income of  ,rs4 #bj-c_/d a year  
and each loom required the labour of a  
man and his  wife as well as one boy or 
girl4 ,but as a family could not be     
supported  for less than ,rs4 #dh a     
year1 ,dr4 ,buchanan suspected that the 
income of  each loom given above was    
understated4    ,in the ,bhagalpur      
district some worked in silk alone4 ,a  
great many near  the town made ,tasar   
fabrics of silk and cotton intermixed2  
#c1bge looms  were so employed that the 
annual profit of each weaver employed in
 the  mixed silk and cotton industry was
 calculated to be ,rs4 #df besides what 
the woman made4    ,for the weaving of  
cotton-cloth1 there were #g1bgi looms4  
,each loom  yielded a profit of ,rs4 #bj
 a year4 ,but by another calculation1   
,dr4  ,buchanan estimated it to be ,rs4 
#cb a year4    ,in the ,gorakhpur       
district there were #e1dcd families of  

weavers  possessing #f1agd looms and    
each loom brought an income of ,rs4     
#bc-a_/b4  ,dr4 ,buchanan thought this  
was too low an estimate and believed    
that each  loom brought an income of    
,rs4 #hh in the year4    ,in the        
,dungarpur district ,maldai cloth was   
manufactured4 ,it consisted  of silk    
warp and cotton woof4 #d1jjj looms were 
employed in this work  and it was said  
that each loom made ,rs4 #bj worth of   
cloth in a month1  which ,dr4 ,buchanan 
considered too high an estimate4 ,about 
#hjj looms were  employed in making     
larger pieces in the form of ,elachis4  
,in the ,purniya district weavers were  
numerous4444 ,in ,eastern ,mysore       
cotton-weavers made cloth for home-use  
as silk weavers produced a strong  rich 
fabric4 ,workmen who made cloth with    
silk borders earned ,as4 #f a day  and  
those who made silk cloth earned ,as4   
#d4    ,thus we see that crores of      
rupees were earned by these spinners and
  weavers by following their noble and  

honest calling4 ,the  decentralisation  
of the industry--every village1 town and
 district  having always at its command 
as much supply as it                    
needed--automatically  facilitated its  
distribution and saved the consumer from
 ,railway ,excise  and all sorts of     
tariffs and middlemen's profits that he 
is a victim to  to-day4 ,if we cannot   
return to these days--though there is no
 reason1  except our own bias and doubt 
why we should not--can we not at least  
so  organise our industries as to do    
away without much delay with the        
foreign cloth with which our markets are
 being dumped to-day8         ,y4       
,i4--#aeth ,sep4 #aibj4                 
,,hand-,,spinning ,,again      ,the     
,servant of ,india has a fling too at   
spinning and that is based as  ,i shall 
presently show on ignorance of the      
facts4 ,spinning does protect  a woman's
 virtue1 because it enables women1 who  
are to-day working on  public roads and 
are often in danger of having their     

modesty outraged1  to protect           
themselves1 and ,i know no other        
occupation that lacs of women  can      
follow save spinning4 ,let me inform the
 jesting writer that several  women have
 already returned to the sanctity of    
their homes and taken to  spinning which
 they say is the one occupation which   
means so much  barkat 7blessing74 ,i    
claim for it the properties of a musical
  instrument1 for whilst a hungry and a 
naked woman will refuse to dance  to the
 accompaniment of a piano1 ,i have seen 
women beaming with joy to  see the      
spinning wheel work1 for they know that 
they can through that  rustic instrument
 both feed and clothe themselves4       
,yes1 it does solve the problem of      
,india's chronic poverty and is an      
insurance against famine4 ,the writer of
 the jests may not know the  scandals   
that ,i know about irrigation and relief
 works4 ,these works are  largely a     
fraud4 ,but if my wise counsellors will 
devote themselves to  introducing the   

wheel in every home1 ,i promise that the
 wheel will be an  almost complete      
protection against famine4 ,it is idle  
to cite ,austria4 ,i  admit the poverty 
and limitations of my humanity4 ,i can  
only think of  ,india's ,kamadhenu1 and 
the spinning wheel is that for ,india4  
,for ,india  had the spinning wheel in  
every home before the advent of the     
,east ,india  ,company4 ,india being a  
cotton growing country1 it must be      
considered a  crime to import a single  
yard of yarn from outside4 ,the figures 
quoted  by the writer are irrelevant4   
,the fact is that in spite of the       
manufacture of #fb4g crores pounds of   
yarn in #aiag-ah ,india imported several
 crore yards of foreign yarn  which were
 woven by the mills as well as the      
weavers4 ,the writer does  not also seem
 to know that more cloth is to-day woven
 by our weavers  than by mills1 but the 
bulk of it is foreign yarn and therefore
 our  weavers are supporting foreign    
spinners4 ,i would not mind it much if  

we  were doing something else instead4  
,when spinning was almost compulsorily  
stopped nothing replaced it save slavery
 and idleness4 ,our mills cannot  to-day
 spin enough for our wants1 and if they 
did1 they will not keep  down prices    
unless they were compelled4 ,they are   
frankly money-makers  and will not      
therefore regulate prices according to  
the needs of the  nations4              
,hand-spinning is therefore designed to 
put millions of rupees  in the hands of 
poor villagers4 ,every agricultural     
country requires a  supplementary       
industry to enable the peasants to      
utilise the spare  hours4 ,such industry
 for ,india has always been spinning4   
,is it such a  visionary ideal--an      
attempt to revive an ancient occupation 
whose  destruction has brought on       
slavery1 pauperism and disappearance of 
the  inimitable artistic talents which  
was once all expressed in the  wonderful
 fabric of ,india and which was the envy
 of the world8    ,and now a few        

figures4 ,one boy could1 if he worked   
say four hours daily1  spin #a_/d lb4 of
 yarn4 #fd1jjj students would1          
therefore1 spin #af1jjj lbs4  per day1  
and therefore feed #h1jjj weavers if a  
weaver wove two lbs4 of  hand-spun yarn4
 ,but the students and others are       
required to spin during  this year of   
purification by way of penance in order 
to popularise  spinning and to add to   
the manufacture of hand-spun yarn so as 
to  overtake full manufacture during the
 current year4 ,the nation may be too   
lazy to do it4 ,but if all put their    
hands to this work1 it is incredibly    
easy1 it involves very little sacrifice 
and saves an annual drain of  sixty     
crores even if it does nothing else4 ,i 
have discussed the matter  with many    
mill-owners1 several economists1 men of 
business and no one  has yet been able  
to challenge the position herein set    
forth4 ,i do  expect the ',servant of   
,india' to treat a serious subject with 
seriousness and accuracy of information4

         ,y4 ,i4--#afth ,feb4 #aiba4    
,a ,,plea ,,for ,,spinning      ,a      
determined opposition was put up against
 the conditions regarding  ,swadeshi    
that were laid down in the civil        
disobedience resolution passed  by the  
,all-,india ,congress ,committee at     
,delhi4 ,it was directed against  two   
requirements1 namely1 that the civil    
resister offering resistance in  terms  
of that resolution was bound to know    
hand-spinning and use only  hand-spun   
and hand-woven khadi2 and that in the   
event of a district or  tahsil offering 
civil disobedience en masse the district
 or the tahsil  concerned must          
manufacture its own yarn and cloth by   
the hand4 ,the  opposition betrayed     
woeful ignorance of the importance of   
hand-spinning4  ,nothing but            
hand-spinning can banish pauperism from 
the land4 ,paupers  cannot become       
willing sufferers4 ,they have never     
known the pain of  plenty to appreciate 
the happiness of voluntarily suffering  

hunger or  other bodily discomfort4     
,swaraj for them can only mean ability  
to  support themselves without begging4 
,to awaken among them a feeling of      
discontent with their lot without       
providing them with the means of        
removing the cause thereof is to court  
certain destruction1 anarchy1  outrage  
and plunder in which they themselves    
will be the chief victims4              
,hand-spinning alone can possibly supply
 them with supplementary and  additional
 earnings4 ,hand-weaving for many and   
carding for a limited  number can       
provide complete livelihood4 ,but       
hand-weaving is not a lost  art4        
,several million men know hand-weaving4 
,but very few know  hand-spinning in the
 true sense of the term4 ,tens of       
thousands are1 it  is true1 turning the 
wheel to-day but only a few are spinning
 yarn4 ,the  cry all over is that       
hand-spun yarn is not good enough for   
warp4 ,just as  half-baked bread is no  
bread1 even so ill-spun weak thread is  

no yarn4  ,thousands of men must know   
hand-spinning to be able in their       
respective  districts to improve the    
quality of the yarn that is now being   
spun in  the country4 ,therefore those  
who offer civil disobedience for the    
sake  of establishing ,swaraj must know 
hand-spinning4 ,mark1 they are not      
required to turn out yarn every day4 ,it
 would be well if they did4 ,but  they  
must know how to spin even properly     
twisted yarn4 ,it was a happy  omen to  
me1 that in spite of the opposition the 
amendment was rejected  by a large      
majority4 ,one argument advanced in     
favour of rejection was1  that the ,sikh
 men considered it an undignified       
occupation to spin and  looked down upon
 hand-weaving4 ,i do hope that the      
sentiment is not  representative of the 
brave community4 ,any community that    
despises  occupations that bring an     
honest livelihood is a community going  
down an  incline4 ,if spinning has been 
the speciality of women1 it is because  

they have more leisure and not because  
it is an inferior occupation4 ,the      
underlying suggestion that a wielder of 
the sword will not wield the  wheel is  
to take a distorted view of a soldier's 
calling4 ,a man who  lives by the sword 
does not serve his community even as the
 soldiers  in the employ of the         
,government do not serve the country4   
,the wielding  of the sword is an       
unnatural occupation resorted to among  
civilized  people only on extraordinary 
occasions and only for self-defence4 ,to
  live by hand-spinning and hand-weaving
 is any day more manly than to  live by 
killing4 ,aurangzeb was not the less a  
soldier for sewing caps4  ,what we prize
 in the ,sikhs is not their ability to  
kill4 ,the late ,sardar  ,lachman ,singh
 will go down to posterity as a hero1   
because he knew how  to die4 ,the       
,mahant of ,nankhana ,saheb will go down
 to posterity as a  murderer4 ,i hope   
therefore that no man will decline to   
learn the  beautiful life-giving art of 

hand-spinning on the ground of its      
supposed  inferiority4         ,y4      
,i4--#ajth ,nov4 #aiba4          ,,the  
,,duty ,,of ,,spinning      ,in ,the    
,secret of ,swaraj ,i have endeavoured  
to show what home spinning  means for   
our country4 ,in any curriculum of the  
future1 spinning must be  a compulsory  
subject4 ,just as we cannot live without
 breathing and  without eating1 so is it
 impossible for us to attain economic   
independence and banish pauperism from  
this ancient land without  reviving     
home-spinning4 ,i hold the spinning     
wheel to be as much a  necessity in     
every household as the hearth4 ,no other
 scheme that can be  devised will ever  
solve the problem of the deepening      
poverty of the  people4    ,how then can
 spinning be introduced in every home8  
,i have already  suggested the          
introduction of spinning and systematic 
production of yarn  in every national   
school4 ,once our boys and girls have   
learnt the art  they can easily carry it

 to their homes4    ,but this requires  
organisation4 ,a spinning wheel must be 
worked for  twelve hours per day4 ,a    
practised spinner can spin two tolas and
 a half  per hour4 ,the price that is   
being paid at present is on an average  
four  annas per forty tolas or one pound
 of yarn i4e41 one pice per hour4  ,each
 wheel therefore should give three annas
 per day4 ,a strong one costs  seven    
rupees4 ,working1 therefore1 at the rate
 of twelve hours per day it  can pay for
 itself in less than #ch days4 ,i have  
given enough figures to  work upon4 ,any
 one working at them will find the      
results to be  startling4    ,if every  
school introduced spinning1 it would    
revolutionize our ideas of  financing   
education4 ,we can work a school for six
 hours per day and give  free education 
to the pupils4 ,supposing a boy works at
 the wheel for  four hours daily1 he    
will produce every day #aj tolas of yarn
 and thus  earn for his school one anna 
per day4 ,suppose further that he       

manufactures very little during the     
first month1 and that the school  works 
only twenty six days in the month4 ,he  
can earn after the first  month ,rs4    
#a-aj per month4 ,a class of thirty boys
 would yield1 after the  first month1 an
 income of ,rs4 #dh-ab per month4    ,i 
have said nothing about literary        
training4 ,it can be given during the   
two hours out of the six4 ,it is easy to
 see that every school can be  made self
 supporting without much effort and the 
nation can engage  experienced teachers 
for its schools4    ,the chief          
difficulty in working out the scheme is 
the spinning wheel4 ,we  require        
thousands of wheels if the art becomes  
popular4 ,fortunately1  every village   
carpenter can easily construct the      
machine4 ,it is a  serious mistake to   
order them from the ,ashram or any other
 place4 ,the  beauty of spinning is that
 it is incredibly simple1 easily learnt1
 and  can be cheaply introduced in every
 village4    ,the course suggested by me

 is intended only for this year of      
purification and probation4 ,when normal
 times are reached and ,swaraj is       
established one hour only may be given  
to spinning and the rest to  literary   
training4         ,y4 ,i4--#bnd ,feb4   
#aiba4          ,,the ,,duty ,,of       
,,spinning      ,speaking at a monster  
meeting of students held in ,mirzapur   
,park1  ,calcutta1 ,mahatma ,gandhi     
appealed to them to withdraw from       
educational  institutions4 ,in the      
course of that speech he spoke on the   
duty of  spinning1 which portion is     
printed here4    ,our education has been
 the most deficient in two things4      
,those who  framed our education code   
neglected the training of the body and  
the  soul4 ,you are receiving the       
education of the soul but the very fact 
of  non-co-operation for                
non-co-operation is nothing less and    
nothing more  than withdrawing from     
participation in the evil that this     
,government is  doing and continuing to 

do4 ,and if we are withdrawing from evil
  conscientiously1 deliberately1 it     
means that we are walking with our  face
 towards ,god4 ,that completes or begins
 the soul training4 ,but  seeing that   
our bodily education has been neglected1
 and seeing that  ,india has become     
enslaved because ,india forgot the      
spinning wheel1 and  because ,india sold
 herself for a mess of pottage1 ,i am   
not afraid to  place before you1 the    
young men of ,bengal1 the spinning wheel
 for  adoption4 ,and let a training in  
spinning and production of as much yarn 
as you can ever do constitute your main 
purpose and your main training  during  
this year of probation4 ,let your       
ordinary education commence  after      
,swaraj is established1 but let every   
young man1 and every girl1 of  ,bengal  
consider it to be their sacred duty to  
devote all their time and  energy to    
spinning4 ,i have drawn attention to the
 parallel1 that  presents itself before 
us1 from the war4         ,y4 ,i4--#bnd 

,feb4 #aiba4          ,,the ,,doctrine  
,,of ,,charka      ,the opening session 
of the ,national ,college1 ,calcutta1   
under the  auspices of the ,board of    
,education1 formed by ,srijuts          
,chittaranjan ,das1  ,jitendralal       
,banerjee and other non-co-operation    
leaders1 took place on  ,friday the #dth
 ,february #aiba4 ,in opening this      
,college1 ,mahatma ,gandhi  addressed   
the students and professors1 from which 
the following is  culled4    ,we have   
sufficiently talked about ,charka and   
how it is going to free  ,india--how a  
nation that came through the ,charka to 
this country as  traders1 merchants and 
travellers settled themselves down as   
rulers with  our co-operation1 and how  
non-co-operation and by means of that   
very  ,indian ,charka they will go back 
to their own country if they cannot     
live as fellow-citizens in ,india4      
,there are peoples who say--how can you 
expect the ,mahomedans to be            
non-violent4 ,how1 ,i do not want to    

speak out4 ,i want the ,charka  itself  
to speak out4 ,the whole ,europe will   
know when we place these  ,charkas in   
our mosques4 ,something like #hjj       
,charkas had been ordered for  the      
mosques so that the people who come     
there should be able to produce  ,indian
 yarn with which ,indian clothes should 
be woven by ,indian hands in  ,indian   
homes to clothe our nakedness or at     
least to provide home-spun  shrouds for 
us4 ,thus every revolution of the       
,charka ,i can assure you1  will bring  
the success of this bloodless revolution
 the nearer every  day4 ,that is the    
doctrine of ,charka4 ,therefore ,i ask  
you to work up  this doctrine which will
 be a great advertisement both of our   
determination to win freedom1 and if    
possible1 through peaceful means4    ,if
 you are determined to have the freedom 
of your country1 if you want  to see the
 cessation of our slavery in which we   
are living for close  upon two          
centuries1 it requires from you a       

peaceful battle--the battle  of the     
,charka4         ,y4 ,i4--#ith ,feb4    
#aiba4          ,,the ,,message ,,of    
,,the ,,charka      ,the ,indian ,social
 ,reformer has published a note from a  
correspondent  in praise of the         
spinning-wheel4 ,the correspondent in   
the course of his  remarks hopes1 that  
the movement will be so organised that  
the spinners  may not weary of it4 ,mr4 
,amritlal ,thakkar in his valuable note 
7published in the ,servant of ,india7 on
 the experiment which he is  conducting 
in ,kathiawad1 says that the charkha has
 been taken up by the  peasant women4   
,they are not likely to weary1 for to   
them it is a source  of livelihood to   
which they were used before4 ,it had    
dried up1 because  there was no demand  
for their yarn4 ,townspeople who have   
taken to  spinning may weary1 if they   
have done so as a craze or a fashion4   
,those  only will be faithful1 who      
consider it their duty to devote their  
spare  hours to doing what is to-day the

 most useful work for the country4 ,the 
third class of spinners are the         
school-going children4 ,i expect the    
greatest results from the experiment of 
introducing the charkha in the          
,national ,schools4 ,if it is conducted 
on scientific lines by teachers who     
believe in the charkha as the most      
efficient means of making education     
available to the seven and a half lacs  
of villages in ,india1 there is  not    
only no danger of weariness1 but every  
prospect of the nation being  able to   
solve the problem of financing mass     
education without any extra  taxation   
and without having to fall back upon    
immoral sources of  revenue4    ,the    
writer in the ,indian ,social ,reformer 
suggests1 that an attempt  should be    
made to produce finer counts on the     
spinning-wheel4 ,i may  assure him that 
the process has already begun1 but it   
will be some time  before we arrive at  
the finish of the ,dacca muslin or even 
twenty  counts4 ,seeing that            

hand-spinning was only revived last     
,september1 and  ,india began to believe
 in it somewhat only in ,december1 the  
progress it  has made may be regarded as
 phenomenal4    ,the writer's complaint 
that hand-spun yarn is not being woven  
as fast as  it is spun1 is partly true4 
,but the remedy is not so much to       
increase  the number of looms1 as to    
persuade the existing weavers to use    
hand-spun yarn4 ,weaving is a much more 
complex process than spinning4 ,it  is  
not1 like spinning1 only a supplementary
 industry1 but a complete  means of     
livelihood4 ,it therefore never died    
out4 ,there are enough  weavers and     
enough looms in ,india to replace the   
whole of the foreign  import of cloth4  
,it should be understood that our       
looms--thousands of  them in ,madras1   
,maharashtra and ,bengal--are engaged in
 weaving the fine  yarn imported from   
,japan and ,manchester4 ,we must utilize
 these for  weaving hand-spun yarn4 ,and
 for that purpose1 the nation has to    

revise  its taste for the thin tawdry   
and useless muslins4 ,i see no art in   
weaving muslins1 that do not cover but  
only expose the body4 ,our ideas  of art
 must undergo a change4 ,but even if the
 universal weaving of thin  fabric be   
considered desirable in normal          
conditions1 at the present  moment      
whilst we are making a mighty effort to 
become free and  self-supporting1 we    
must be content to wear the cloth that  
our hand-spun  yarn may yield4 ,we have 
therefore to ask the fashionable on the 
one hand  to be satisfied with coarser  
garments2 we must educate the spinners  
on  the other hand to spin finer and    
more even yarn4    ,the writer pleads   
for a reduction in the prices charged by
 mill-owners  for their manufactures4   
,when lovers of ,swadeshi begin to      
consider it  their duty to wear khaddar1
 when the required number of            
spinning-wheels  are working and the    
weavers are weaving hand-spun yarn1 the 
mill-owners  will be bound to reduce    

prices4 ,it seems almost hopeless merely
 to  appeal to the patriotism of those  
whose chief aim is to increase their    
own profits4    ,incongruities pointed  
out by the writer such as the wearing of
 khaddar  on public occasions and at    
other times of the most fashionable     
,english  suits1 and the smoking of most
 expensive cigars by wearers of khaddar1
  must disappear in course of time1 as  
the new fashion gains strength4 ,it  is 
my claim that as soon as we have        
completed the boycott of foreign  cloth1
 we shall have evolved so far that we   
shall necessarily give up  the present  
absurdities and remodel national life in
 keeping with the  ideal of simplicity  
and domesticity implanted in the bosom  
of the  masses4 ,we will not then be    
dragged into an imperialism1 which is   
built  upon exploitation of the weaker  
races of the earth1 and the acceptance  
of a giddy materialistic civilization   
protected by naval and air forces  that 
have made peaceful living almost        

impossible4 ,on the contrary1 we  shall 
then refine that imperialism1 into a    
common wealth of nations  which will    
combine1 if they do1 for the purpose of 
giving their best to  the world and of  
protecting1 not by brute force but by   
self-suffering1  the weaker nations or  
races of the earth4 ,non-co-operation   
aims at  nothing less than this         
revolution in the thought-world4 ,such a
  transformation can come only after the
 complete success of the                
spinning-wheel4 ,india can become fit   
for delivering such a message1  when she
 has become proof against temptation and
 therefore attacks from  outside1 by    
becoming self-contained regarding two of
 her chief  needs--food and clothing4   
,y4 ,i4--#bith ,june #aiba4             
,,the ,,charka ,,in ,,the ,,gita        
,in the last issue ,i have endeavoured  
to answer the objections raised by  the 
,poet against spinning as a sacrament to
 be performed by all4 ,i have  done so  
in all humility and with the desire to  

convince the ,poet and  those who think 
like him4 ,the reader will be interested
 in knowing1 that  my belief is derived 
largely from the ,bhagavadgita4 ,i have 
quoted the  relevant verses in the      
article itself4 ,i give below ,edwin    
,arnold's  rendering of the verses from 
his ,song ,celestial for the benefit of 
those  who do not read ,sanskrit4       
,work is more excellent than idleness2  
,the body's life proceeds not1 lacking  
work4      ,there is a task of holiness 
to do1        ,unlike world-binding     
toil1 which bindeth not      ,the       
faithful soul2 such earthly duty do     
,free from desire1 and thou shalt well  
perform      ,thy heavenly purpose4     
,spake ,prajapati        ,in the        
beginning1 when all men were made1      
,and1 with mankind1 the sacrifice--,do  
this6        ,work6 ,sacrifice6         
,increase and multiply      ,with       
sacrifice6 ,this shall be ,kamadhuk1    
,your ',cow of ,plenty'1 giving back her
 milk      ,of all abundance4 ,worship  

the gods thereby2        ,the gods shall
 yield ye grace4 ,those meats ye crave  
,the gods will grant to ,labour1 when it
 pays        ,tithes in the altar-flame4
 ,but if one eats      ,fruits of the   
earth1 rendering to kindly heaven1      
,no gift of toil1 that thief steals from
 his world4      ,who eat of food after 
their sacrifice        ,are quit of     
fault1 but they that spread a feast     
,all for themselves1 eat sin and drink  
of sin4        ,by food the living live2
 food comes of rain4      ,and rain     
comes by the pious sacrifice1           
,and sacrifice is paid with tithes of   
toil2      ,thus action is of ,brahma1  
who is one1        ,the ,only1          
,all--pervading2 at all times           
,present in sacrifice4 ,he that abstains
        ,to help the rolling wheels of  
this great world1      ,glutting his    
idle sense1 lives a lost life1          
,shameful and vain4    ,work here       
undoubtedly refers to physical labour1  
and work by way of  sacrifice can only  

be work to be done by all for the common
 benefit4  ,such work--such sacrifice   
can only be spinning4 ,i do not wish to 
suggest1 that the author of the ,divine 
,song had the spinning wheel in  mind4  
,he merely laid down a fundamental      
principle of conduct4 ,and  reading in  
and applying it to ,india ,i can only   
think of spinning as the  fittest and   
most acceptable sacrificial body labour4
 ,i cannot imagine  anything nobler or  
more national than that for say one hour
 in the day  we should all do the labour
 that the poor must do1 and thus        
identify  ourselves with them and       
through them with all mankind4 ,i cannot
 imagine  better worship of ,god than   
that in ,his name ,i should labour for  
the poor  even as they do4 ,the spinning
 wheel spells a more equitable          
distribution  of the riches of the      
earth4         ,y4 ,i4--#bjth ,oct4     
#aiba4          ,,spinning ,,as ,,famine
 ,,relief      ,mrs4 ,jaiji ,petit has  
sent the following notes of an          

experiment being  conducted in spinning 
among the famine-stricken people at     
,miri near  ,ahmednagar4 ,i gladly      
publish the notes as the experiment is  
being  conducted under the supervision  
of an ,englishwoman4 ,the reader will   
not  fail to observe the methodical     
manner in which the work is being done4 
,all the difficulties have been met and 
provided for4 ,even the very small      
experiment shows what a potent          
instrument the spinning wheel is for    
famine relief4 ,properly organised it   
cannot but yield startling              
results4--,m4 ,k4 ,g4    ,in the month  
of ,august #aibj1 when the severity of  
the famine was being  felt1 the idea of 
introducing spinning as a famine relief 
to respectable  middle class people was 
started and ,miss ,latham kindly gave a 
spinning  wheel to introduce the work4  
,attempts were made to introduce the    
work  especially among the ,dhangars who
 were used to spinning wool but they    
proved futile4 ,spinning a thin thread  

of cotton was thought an  impossibility 
in a village which did not know anything
 about it4 ,doubts  were also           
entertained as to whether the work if   
taken up would be paying  or at least   
helpful4 ,in such different difficulties
 and objections1 the  wheel remained    
idle for nearly three months1 and in    
spite of vigorous  efforts no body      
seemed willing to take up the work4 ,in 
,december #aibj1  ,miss ,latham again   
sent four more wheels through the       
kindness of  ,mrs4 ,j4 ,petit and some  
cotton4 ,they were given for trial to   
different  persons4 ,signs now seemed a 
little hopeful and at last one ,ramoshi 
woman  was prevailed upon to take up the
 work seriously4 ,this was about the    
#bjth of ,january #aiba1 since when the 
work has assumed a different shape4     
,the example of this woman was copied by
 two more who undertook to take  the    
work4 ,through great perseverance #d    
lbs4 of yarn were prepared by  these    
three spinners and it was sent for sale4

 ,in the meantime many  women began to  
make the inquiries and expressed a      
desire to take it up  if it helped them 
financially in some way4 ,a rate of     
spinning #f as4 a  lb4 was therefore    
fixed and it helped other spinners to   
join the work4    ,here another         
difficulty viz4 that of funds came in   
the way4 ,all the five  wheels were     
engaged and five more prepared locally  
were also engaged4  ,the stock of cotton
 was also exhausted4 ,it seemed that the
 work would  suffer for want of funds to
 prepare wheels1 purchase cotton1 and   
pay the  workers4 ,rao ,bahadur ,chitale
 personally saw this difficulty and     
helped  the work with a grant of ,rs4   
#ajj4 ,miss ,latham1 when she knew of   
this  difficulty1 kindly sent another   
hundred4 ,these two grants came at the  
right time and gave a stimulus to the   
work4 ,local gentlemen helped with      
their own cotton4    ,the demand for    
wheels went on increasing day by day4   
,people being too  poor to pay for the  

wheels1 it became necessary to get the  
wheels  prepared locally and lend them  
to the workers4 ,twenty seven more      
wheels  were prepared which also gave   
work to local carpenters who had no work
  on account of famine4 ,one carpenter  
improved the wheel by making it more    
light and useful for finer yarn4 ,the   
prices of the wheel were paid at  ,rs4  
#c1 ,rs4 #c-h1 and ,rs4 #d per wheel    
according to the quality4 ,three of     
these wheels have been sold for ,rs4    
#i-h4 ,the total sum spent on these     
wheels is ,rs4 #ajc-h-j which includes  
the sum for the wheels kindly sent  by  
,mrs4 ,petit4    ,though local cotton   
was secured for the work1 it proved too 
bad for  beginners4 ,a new method       
therefore was introduced to improve the 
local  cotton1 which not only helped the
 work but also provided work for a few  
more persons4 ,raw cotton was secured   
and the dirt and the dry leaves in  it  
were carefully removed before it was    
ginned4 ,the rate for this work  was    

fixed at one pice per lb4 ,any old man  
who did this work got an  opportunity of
 earning one anna a day1 by cleaning #d 
lbs4 of raw  cotton4 ,after it was thus 
cleaned1 it was ginned with a hand-gin  
which  gave work to some women who      
ginned1 at the rate of one anna per #aj 
lbs4  ,one woman could thus earn #b as4 
and #f pies each day4 ,this ginned      
cotton  was then cleaned by a pinjari   
who charged at the rate of one anna per 
pound and earned about #h as4 per day4  
,it would have been better and  easier  
too1 if cotton had been purchased from  
the mills1 but as this  cleaning process
 of the local cotton provided work for a
 few workers1 it  was thought the more  
desirable in these days4 ,a major       
portion of these  cleaning charges is   
however made up by the sale of cotton   
seed secured  after ginning4 ,the       
following statement will show the       
expenses incurred  for this and the     
price of raw cotton for every #fj lbs4  
,,rs4 ,a4 ,p4      ,price of #fj lbs4 of

 raw cotton     #bj ,rs4 a patia 7#bdj  
lbs474             #e--j--j             
,removal of dirt1 waste and dry         
leaves  #a pice per pound               
#j-ae--j      ,ginning of #eb lbs4 of   
raw clean    cotton  #a an4 per #aj lbs4
             #j--e--c      ,cleaning the
 ,lint 7#ag lbs47 by a    pinjari  #a   
,anna per lb4               #a--a--j    
--------                                
,total #g--d--c      ,deduct price of   
cotton seed #ce lbs4     #bj lbs4 per   
,re4                      #a-ab--j      
--------    ,net charges for #ag lbs4 of
 clean    cotton                        
#e--i--c    ,thus the cost of one pound 
of cotton comes to #e as4 and #c pies   
only4 ,the  proportion of waste viz4 #h 
lbs4 in #fj lbs4 of raw cotton is too   
high and  could be avoided by securing  
better and cleaner cotton4    ,there are
 at present #bi wheels going and there  
is still a great demand  for wheels4    
,but the funds being limited1 more      
wheels could not be  prepared and       

provided4 ,spinning is done by those who
 absolutely knew  nothing about it      
previously4 ,consequently the yarn is   
still of an  inferior sort4 ,it is      
improving day by day but if a competent 
teacher  could be secured1 it would     
improve rapidly4 ,amongst the spinners1 
some  are full-time workers and others  
are leisure-time workers4    ,about two 
lbs4 of yarn are now prepared every day 
and the quantity will  increase as the  
spinners get used to the work4 ,the rate
 for spinning is  fixed at #f as4 a lb41
 though many workers complain that it is
 not  enough4 ,as the yarn sent for sale
 realised a price of ,as4 #ab a pound1  
the spinning charges could not be       
increased without a loss4 ,every lb4 of 
yarn requires ,annas #aa pies #c for    
expenses1 as #j-e-c for cotton and      
#j-f-j for spinning4 ,thus every lb4    
leaves a profit of #i pies only4 ,the   
establishment and other charges are not 
calculated4 ,with the present  rate of  
spinning at #f as4 a lb41 one spinner   

earns #c as4 per day by  spinning #bj to
 #bd tolas1 more earn #b as4 a day by   
spinning #ae tolas and  the rest #a-a_/b
 as4 a day for #aj tolas1 the beginners 
excluded4 ,the more  the spinner is used
 to the work1 the more he will earn4    
,an attempt was made to prepare cloth   
out of the yarn and three and a  half   
lbs4 of yarn were given to a weaver for 
weaving4 ,he however charged  an        
exorbitant rate for weaving4 ,he        
prepared nine and a half yards of  cloth
 and charged ,rs4 #c-i for it1          
practically #a rupee a lb4 ,the cloth   
cost ,rs4 #f-j-f and was sold at ,rs4   
#f-c-j1 with a profit of as4 #b and     
pies #f only4 ,to obviate the difficulty
 about weaving1 a separate loom  with   
one teacher to teach weaving to local   
persons is urgently required4  ,many    
local people wish to learn this art4 ,a 
separate loom will reduce  the cost of  
the cloth prepared on it below the      
prevailing market rate4  ,about #f lbs4 
of yarn are given to different weavers  

to ascertain the  exact charges1 but all
 this difficulty can only be removed by 
having a  special loom4    ,when there  
was a shortage of cotton and the workers
 had no work1 wool  was introduced for  
spinning till cotton was ready4 ,this   
work was  willingly taken up by the     
,dhangar4 ,they were however required to
 spin  finer thread of wool than they   
usually prepared4 ,they took some time  
to  pick up the work1 and now there are 
#aj wool spinners working fine  thread4 
,they are also paid at #f as4 a lb4 for 
spinning4 ,wool worth  ,rs4 #ca  #b lbs4
 a rupee was purchased1 and though the  
cotton was ready1 the  wool spinning was
 continued by starting a separate       
department1 as the  ,dhangars readily   
took up the work4 ,the whole process of 
cleaning the  wool is also done by the  
,dhangar women1 who get an extra anna   
per lb4  for it4 ,the sorting of wool is
 carefully looked to4 ,the majority of  
wool  spinners use their own spinning   
wheels but a few are now asking for the 

improved wheel for preparing finer      
threads4    ,dhangar weavers being      
locally available blankets after the    
,pandharpur  and ,dawangiri pattern are 
being prepared from this finer thread   
and  different designs have been        
suggested to them4 ,the ,dhangars being 
a  stubborn race do not readily adopt   
the new improvement4 ,but this work  has
 set them to work up new designs of     
blankets which will permanently  help   
them in their own profession4 ,they now 
require a broader and  improved loom and
 instruction in colouring wool4 ,efforts
 are made to  secure a clever full time 
weaver who will introduce a better      
method of  weaving4 ,two blankets were  
prepared and sold at cost price1 one for
  ,rs4 #e-ac-f and the other for ,rs4   
#f-f-j4 ,orders are being received for  
blankets now1 but to continue the work  
would require some funds4    ,to keep so
 many persons working is not only an    
ideal form of famine  relief1 but a     
means to promote village industries1 and

 remove the  demoralising effects of    
successive famines4 ,thus stands the    
work of  about one month4 ,it now       
requires an improved handloom1 a good   
teacher1 a  special loom for wool1 more 
spinning wheels 7which the neighbouring 
villagers are also demanding7 and many  
other things4 ,the work is going  on    
vigorously and it is hoped will not be  
allowed to suffer for want of  funds4   
,y4 ,i4--#aath ,may #aiba4              
,,the ,,potency ,,of ,,the              
,,spinning-,,wheel      ,no amount of   
human ingenuity can manage to distribute
 water over the  whole land1 as a shower
 of rain can4 ,no irrigation department1
 no rules  of precedence1 no inspection 
and no water-cess4 ,every thing is done 
with  an ease and a gentleness that by  
their very perfection evade notice4 ,the
  spinning-wheel1 too1 has got the same 
power of distributing work and  wealth  
in millions of houses in the simplest   
way imaginable4 ,those of us  who do not
 know what it is to earn a livelihood by

 the sweat of one's  brow1 may consider 
the three annas a day as a pittance     
beneath the  consideration of any man4  
,they do not know that even in these    
days of  high prices1 there are         
districts in ,india where even three    
annas a day  would be a boon to the     
poor4 ,but we must not consider the     
question of  the spinning-wheel merely  
from the point of individual earnings4  
,the  spinning-wheel is a force in      
national regeneration4 ,if we wish for  
real  ,swaraj1 we must achieve economic 
independence4 ,boycott of foreign cloth 
is its negative aspect4 ,for this we    
must produce cloth sufficient to  clothe
 the country4 ,this can only be done by 
hand-spinning4 ,all the  mills that we  
have got1 will not be able together to  
cope with the  situation4 ,if all rush  
for the thin mill-made cloth1 it will   
rise in  price beyond the capacity of   
the poor1 and the experience of #aijg-jh
  will be repeated4 ,moreover1 the cloth
 best suited for the three seasons  of  

,india is ,khadi4 ,those who have used  
,khadi during this summer1  have come to
 realise1 that after the soft clean     
touch of ,khadi it is  impossible to use
 sticky ,malmal or twills4 ,khadi can   
enable its wearer  to withstand the cold
 of an average winter as even wool      
cannot4 ,the  climate of ,india demands 
that clothes be washed as often as      
possible4  ,only ,khadi can stand this  
constant wash4 ,khadi was once the dress
 of  the nation at large4 ,one must see 
to believe how venerable the old        
,patels and ,deshmukhs looked when      
dressed in home-spun ,khadi4 ,there are 
instances of whole villages taking a    
legitimate pride in the fact that  they 
had to import nothing but salt in the   
whole round of the six  seasons4 ,with  
such conditions1 there could be no      
drain1 no exploitation  and therefore no
 ,para-raj4 ,a little village could make
 terms with the  rulers of the land     
consistent with its self-respect1       
dignity and  independence4 ,is our love 

of luxury so inveterate1 that we cannot 
control it even for the sake of ,swaraj8
         ,y4 ,i4--#fth ,july #aiba4     
,,the ,,wheel ,,of ,,fortune      ,a    
certain correspondent from ,sindh       
writing to ,mahatma ,gandhi puts the    
question1 ,will the spinning wheel solve
 the problem of ,india's poverty8  ,if  
it will1 how8 ,here is his answer4    ,i
 am more than ever convinced that       
without the spinning wheel the  problem 
of ,india's poverty cannot be solved4   
,millions of ,india's  peasants starve  
for want of supplementary occupation4   
,if they have  spinning to add to their 
slender resources1 they can fight       
successfully  against pauperism and     
famine4 ,mills cannot solve the problem4
 ,only  hand-spinning--and nothing      
else--can4 ,when ,india was forced to   
give up  hand-spinning1 she had no other
 occupation in return4 ,imagine what    
would  happen to a man who found himself
 suddenly deprived of a quarter of his  
bare livelihood4 ,over eighty-five      

percent of ,her population have more    
than a quarter of their time lying idle4
 ,and1 therefore1 even apart from  the  
terrible drain rightly pointed out by   
the ,grand ,old ,man of ,india1  she has
 steadily grown poorer because of this  
enforced idleness4 ,the  problem is how 
to utilise these billions of hours of   
the nation without  disturbing the rest4
 ,restoration of the spinning wheel is  
the only  possible answer4 ,this has    
nothing to do with my special views on  
machinery or with the boycott of foreign
 goods in general1 ,india is  likely to 
accept the answer in full during this   
year4 ,it is madness to  tinker with the
 problem4 ,i am writing this in ,puri in
 front of the  murmuring waves4 ,the    
picture of the crowd of men1 women1 and 
children1  with their fleshless ribs    
under the very shadow of ,jagannath1    
haunts me4  ,if ,i had the power1 ,i    
would suspend every other activity in   
schools1 and  colleges1 and everywhere  
else1 and popularise spinning2 prepare  

out of  these lads and lasses spinning  
teachers3 inspire every carpenter to    
prepare spinning wheels2 and ask the    
teachers to take these life-going       
machines to every home1 and teach them  
spinning4 ,if ,i had the power1 ,i      
would stop an ounce of cotton from being
 exported and would have it  turned into
 yarn in these homes4 ,i would dot      
,india with depots for  receiving this  
yarn and distributing it among weavers4 
,given sufficient  steady and trained   
workers1 ,i would undertake to drive    
pauperism out of  ,india during this    
year4 ,this undoubtedly requires a      
change in the angle  of vision and in   
the national taste4 ,i regard the       
,reforms and everything  else in the    
nature of opiates to deaden our         
conscience4 ,we must refuse  to wait for
 generations to furnish us with a       
patient solution of a  problem which is 
ever-growing in seriousness4 ,nature    
knows no mercy in  dealing stern        
justice4 ,if we do not wake up before   

long1 we shall be  wiped out of         
existence4 ,i invite the sceptics to    
visit ,orissa1 penetrate  its villages1 
and find out for themselves where ,india
 stands4 ,they will  then believe with  
me that to possess1 or to wear1 an ounce
 of foreign  cloth is a crime against   
,india and humanity4 ,i am able to      
restrain  myself from committing suicide
 by starvation1 only because ,i have    
faith  in ,india's awakening1 and her   
ability to put herself on the way to    
freedom from this desolating pauperism4 
,without faith in such a  possibility1  
,i should cease to take interest in     
living4 ,i invite the  questioner1 and  
every other intelligent lover of his    
country1 to take  part in this          
privileged national service in making   
spinning universal by  introducing it in
 every home1 and make it profitable for 
the nation by  helping to bring about a 
complete boycott of foreign cloth during
 this  year4 ,i have finished the       
questions and endeavoured to answer     

them4 ,the  most important from the     
practical stand-point was the one       
regarding  spinning4 ,i hope1 ,i have   
demonstrated the necessity of           
home-spinning as  the only means of     
dealing with ,india's poverty4 ,i know1 
however1 that  innumerable difficulties 
face a worker in putting the doctrine   
into  execution4 ,the most difficult1   
perhaps1 is that of getting a proper    
wheel4 ,save in the ,punjab where the   
art is still alive1 the difficulty  is  
very real4 ,the carpenters have         
forgotten the construction and the      
innocent workers are at their wit's end4
 ,the chief thing undoubtedly1          
therefore1 is for the worker to make    
himself acquainted with the art and  the
 handling of spinning wheels4 ,i lay    
down some simple tests for  testing     
them4 ,no machine that fails to satisfy 
the tests should be  accepted or        
distributed4        7#a7 ,the wheel must
 turn easily1 freely1 and noiselessly4  
7#b7 ,the turning handle must be rigidly

 fixed to the axle4        7#c7 ,the    
post must be properly driven home and   
joints      well-fixed4        7#d7 ,the
 spindle must turn noiselessly and      
without a throb in      its holders4    
,jarring sound cannot be avoided unless 
the      holders are made of knit straw 
as in the ,punjab1 or of tough          
leather4        7#e7 ,no machine is     
properly made unless it manufactures in 
the      hands of a practised spinner at
 least #b-a_/b tolas of even and        
properly twisted yarn of six counts in  
an hour4 ,i know a      youngster1 who  
has not had more than perhaps three     
months'      practice1 having been able 
to spin #b-a_/b tolas of the above      
quality of yarn in #ce minutes4 ,no     
machine should be given      until it   
has been worked at least full one hour  
in the manner      suggested and found  
satisfactory4         ,y4 ,i4--#fth     
,april #aiba4          ,,the ,,spinning 
,,wheel      ,on ,february #ae1 #aibb1  
,mahatma ,gandhi has addressed the      

following letter  to ,sir ,daniel       
,hamilton from ,bardoli on the ,spinning
 ,wheel4    ,,dear ,,sir1    ,mr4 ,hodge
 writes to me to say that you would like
 to have an hour's chat  with me1 and he
 has suggested that ,i should open the  
ground which ,i  gladly do4 ,i will not 
take up your time by trying to interest 
you in any  other activity of mine      
except the spinning wheel4 ,of all my   
outward  activities1 ,i do believe that 
the spinning wheel is of the most       
permanent and the most beneficial4 ,i   
have abundant proof now to support  my  
statement that the spinning wheel will  
solve the problem of economic  distress 
in millions of ,india's homes1 and it   
constitutes an effective  insurance1    
against famines4    ,you know the great 
,scientist ,dr4 ,p4 ,c4 ,ray1 but you   
may not know that he  has also become an
 enthusiast on behalf of the spinning   
wheel4 ,india  does not need to be      
industrialized in the modern sense of   
the term4 ,it  has #g1ej1jjj villages   

scattered over a vast area #a1ijj miles 
long1 #a1ejj  miles broad4 ,the people  
are rooted to the soil1 and the vast    
majority  are living a hand-to-mouth    
life4 ,whatever may be said to the      
contrary1  having travelled throughout  
the length and breadth of the land with 
eyes  open1 and having mixed with       
millions1 there can be no doubt that    
pauperism is growing4 ,there is no doubt
 also that the millions are  living in  
enforced idleness for at least #d months
 in the year4  ,agriculture does not    
need revolutionary changes4 ,the ,indian
 peasant  requires a supplementary      
industry4 ,the most natural is the      
introduction  of the spinning wheel1 not
 the hand-loom4 ,the latter cannot be   
introduced in every home1 whereas the   
former can1 and it used to be so  even a
 century ago4 ,it was driven out not by 
economic pressure but by  force         
deliberately used as can be proved from 
authentic records4 ,the  restoration1   
therefore1 of the spinning wheel solves 

the economic  problem of ,india at a    
stroke4 ,i know that you are a lover of 
,india1 that  you are deeply interested 
in the economic and moral uplift of my  
country4 ,i know too that you have great
 influence4 ,i would like to  enlist it 
on behalf of the spinning wheel4 ,it is 
the most effective  force for           
introducing successful ,co-,operative   
,societies4 ,without honest             
co-operation of the millions1 the       
enterprise can never be successful1  and
 as it is already proving a means of    
weaning thousands of women from  a life 
of shame1 it is as moral an instrument  
as it is economic4    ,i hope you will  
not allow yourself to be prejudiced by  
anything you  might have heard about my 
strange views about machinery4 ,i have  
nothing  to say against the development 
of any other industry in ,india by means
  of machinery but ,i do say that to    
supply ,india with cloth manufactured   
either outside or inside through        
gigantic mills is an economic blunder   

of the first magnitude just as it would 
be to supply cheap bread  through huge  
bakeries established in the chief       
centres in ,india and to  destroy the   
family stove4         ,yours faithfully1
         ,m4 ,k4 ,,gandhi4              
,,appendices    ,,by    ,,maganlal ,k4  
,,gandhi          ,i    ,a ,,model      
,,weaving-,,school      ,all the        
external activities of ,satyagrahashram 
in connection with  ,swadeshi have for  
some time now been taken over by the    
,gujarat  ,provincial ,congress         
,committee4 ,people1 who are in need of 
or wish to  know anything about         
ginning-wheels1 spinning-wheels1 looms  
and ,khadi1  are requested to correspond
 with the ,secretary of the ,khadi      
department  of that ,committee4 ,the    
,ashram now only conducts a             
weaving-school1 which  teaches all the  
processes from ginning right up to      
weaving4 ,the boys of  the ,ashram      
school are at present taking the full   
course of instruction  here1 and we have

 not the room to take up students from  
outside4 ,some  description of the work 
done is given here in the hope1 that it 
may  perhaps furnish suggestions to     
outside students and to schools desirous
  of having spinning-classes attached to
 them4    ,forty-nine spinning wheels   
are here regularly at work1 over and    
above  twenty-five others which are     
reserved for beginners4 ,all these are  
worked three to six hours per day4 ,some
 are worked for even seven or  eight    
hours4 ,after a month's training1 a     
friend worked twelve to  fourteen hours 
daily for a number of days and thus     
proved the  possibility of earning three
 annas a day4 ,another1 a sister1 spun  
nine  to ten hours daily for some days  
after finishing her round of domestic   
business4 ,in a month and a half1 she   
had spun enough to get sadlas and  other
 cloth woven out of yarn spun by        
herself1 and actually began  wearing    
these things4 ,she is now-a-days        
spinning at the rate of eight  hours a  

day4 ,one day there was something wrong 
with this lady's  rentia4 ,she referred 
the matter to the present writer who set
 it  right4 ,but she was not satisfied4 
,she complained again1 and again was    
the rentia operated upon4 ,but the wheel
 apparently suffered from some  occult  
malady1 which she was at a loss to      
diagnose4 ,every time its  spinning     
power would get enfeebled4 ,at last the 
poor lady lost all  patience and was    
almost ready to weep4 ,this was reported
 to me1 and this  time ,i examined the  
wheel very critically and effected a    
perfect cure4  ,it now moved merrily1   
and merrily did the sister proceed with 
her work4  ,it is very desirable that   
all the wheels in a spinning-class be   
kept in  a perfect condition4 ,when that
 is the case1 the spinner does not tire 
and works cheerfully and speedily4 ,our 
class is attended by five ladies1  who  
spin five or six hours every day1 and by
 twenty-three students of  the ,ashram  
school1 of whom eighteen are boys and   

five are girls4 ,the  conduct of this   
class is not an easy job4 ,their spirits
 are in continual  need of cheering4    
,some of them spin very rapidly4 ,but   
sometimes there is  a grievous attack of
 head-ache1 at other times the still    
more grievous  attack of idleness4      
,sometimes the hand is fatigued1 at     
other times the  wheel gets out of      
repair4    ,we are now replacing the    
thick by a thin spindle4 ,it is true    
that with  the slightest interference or
 rough handling1 this thin spindle bends
  and begins to wobble4 ,but it makes   
the movement of the wheel very smooth   
and easy1 and also adds to its speed1 as
 the revolutions are doubled  from the  
fifty of the thick spindle to a hundred 
in the thin spindle  following from one 
revolution of the large wheel4 ,the     
doubling of  revolutions does not mean a
 double output1 but there is certainly a
  considerable increase4 ,with the thick
 spindle1 the wheel must go through  #h 
or #aj revolutions for the drawing and  

winding of one length of yarn2  with the
 thin spindle1 the revolutions of the   
wheel needed for that  purpose are      
reduced to #d or #e4 ,hence with the    
thin spindle1 there is an  economy of   
labour4 ,the speed of drawing the yarn  
by the hand is clearly  limited1 so that
 #bjj or #cjj revolutions of the spindle
 instead of #ajj  would not double or   
treble the speed or the output4         
,advanced students  draw and wind two   
feet to two feet and a half of yarn     
every five  seconds4 ,this comes to #h  
to #aj yards a minute4 ,if the sliver is
 good and  the student in a             
spinning-mood1 there is less breakage of
 yarn4 ,even  considering the time lost 
on account of breakage and joining1 some
  students are easily able to spin #djj 
to #ejj yards of yarn of about #ab      
counts1 fit for warp4 ,this approximates
 to the speed of a mill spindle1  and is
 therefore quite satisfactory4 ,when the
 work is over1 the student  removes the 
spindle from the wheel and keeps it in  

good preservation4  ,yet accidents do   
occur4 ,the class master must know how  
to repair a  spindle which has thus gone
 wrong4 ,he must also know how to put   
the  wheel in good working order4 ,the  
string which makes the spindle revolve  
often breaks1 but if it is well-twisted1
 treated with wax1 and then  rubbed well
 with a piece of cloth1 it becomes more 
durable and lasts for  a number of days4
    ,the students generally like to work
 on the rentia4 ,but the moment it  gets
 a little wrong and cannot be soon      
corrected1 they rise and flee4  ,not    
only the beginners but even advanced    
scholars are sometimes  confused1 when  
called upon to set right such a simple  
machine as the  spinning-wheel4 ,a      
veteran leader who set the              
non-co-operating students  of           
engineering at work upon the            
spinning-wheel1 made the remark that    
,english education has incapacitated our
 young men4 ,it was with great  pain    
that he said this4 ,and it is the simple

 truth of the matter4 ,we can  clearly  
see1 that as a result of this education1
 we have not only lost  the power of our
 hands and feet1 but we also lack in    
patience and  perseverance4 ,we cannot  
bear to take the trouble of correcting  
anything  that is wrong4 ,newspaper     
leader-writers question the educative   
value of  spinning and doubt its        
efficacy in driving away poverty from   
our midst4  ,their doubts would vanish  
if ever they tried and saw for          
themselves what  children gain from the 
spinning-wheel4 ,but these writers are  
themselves  the product of ,english     
education4 ,to expect them to be        
patient1 is to  forget the character of 
the discipline to which they have been  
subject4  ,there is no better test than 
the spinning-wheel1 if we wish to       
ascertain whether our children are      
educated in the real and the proper     
sense of that term4    ,many people     
still question the economic value of    
hand spinning4 ,but ,i  believe that the

 results of our experiments may perhaps 
lead them to  reconsider their views4 ,i
 will here put down the statistics of   
our own  class4 ,among our students     
there are five playful children1 who    
spin only  when the spirit possesses    
them4 ,but all of them spin good yarn   
fit for  warp4 ,hardly any spin yarn    
below #aj counts4 ,many spin yarn of    
about #ae  counts4 ,now-a-days the boys 
are giving four hours to spinning4      
,formerly  they used to work six hours  
daily1 but then there was a tendency to 
occasional slackness4 ,now we have ruled
 that when once a student has  spun a   
length of #ajjj yards1 he may be allowed
 to leave the spinning  class1 and learn
 carding etc4 ,this arrangement has had 
excellent  efforts4 ,all spin without   
losing a moment and spin #ajjj yards in 
two to  four hours according to the     
skill acquired4 ,and the yarn thus      
produced  is pretty uniform1 well       
twisted1 and fit for warp4 ,we have     
fixed a round  wire frame on the axle of

 the wheel just near the handle1 with a 
circumference of #d feet4 ,this frame is
 used for opening the cone into a  hank4
 #gej revolutions of this mean a        
thousand yards of yarn4 ,most  students 
count the revolutions1 while they are   
moving the frame1 and  hence do not take
 much additional time for calculations4 
,some are not  able to practice this1   
and they count the length after they    
have  prepared the hank4    #ajjj yards 
of yarn of six counts weigh #h tolas4   
7#hdj yards make a  hank4 ,if six such  
hanks weigh a pound1 the yarn is of #f  
counts4 ,hence  #hdj yards of six count 
of yarn weigh #f-b_/c tolas47 #d annas  
is a quite  proper wage for spinning one
 pound of six-count yarn of a standard  
quality4 ,this means a wage of nine pies
 and a half for spinning #h  tolas4 ,but
 most of our students spin yarn of #ab  
to #ae counts1 and even  finer4 ,and    
this is quite good and fit for weaving4 
,the wage for a  thousand yards of finer
 yarn must be proportionately higher2 as

 the  finer the yarn1 the greater the   
number of twists to be given to it4     
,twelve-count yarn requires nearly half 
as much twisting again as  six-count    
yarn4 ,hence the wage of a thousand     
yards of twelve-count yarn  must be half
 as much again as that of the same      
length of six-count yarn4  ,but this    
proportionately higher wage makes the   
hand-spun yarn much  dearer than the    
mill-made yarn of the same count4 ,if we
 take #h and #ab  annas to be the wage  
for spinning a pound of yarn of #ab and 
#af counts  respectively1 the wage for  
spinning a length of #ajjj yards of the 
same  counts will be #aj or #aa pies4   
,one student spins this amount in #b    
hours1  several in #c hours and the rest
 in #d4    ,on the last ,amavasya it was
 twenty two days since the students set 
regularly to work after the vaishaka    
vacation4 ,deducting three  holidays on 
,sundays and three half-holidays on     
,wednesdays1 we get  seventeen and a    
half working days4 ,there was an average

 attendance of  twenty two students out 
of twenty three4 ,twenty two students   
spun in  seventeen days and a half      
twenty four shers and a half of yarn of 
about fourteen counts4 ,if we take ten  
annas to be the average wage for        
spinning a sher1 this comes to fifteen  
rupees and four annas4 ,this is         
exclusive of ,rs4 #a-aa-j which is the  
wage of #ah pounds of cotton carded  and
 made into slivers by one student in #ab
 days1 calculated at an anna  and a half
 per pound4 ,it is also exclusive of the
 extra work put in by  students on five 
or six days after finishing their daily 
quota of #ajjj  yds4 of yarn by way of  
carding and opening yarn for weaving    
tapes and  carpets4 ,these students gave
 some of their private time also to this
  work4    ,there is no doubt1 that the 
figures will mount higher when the      
students  acquire the habit of          
methodical work4 ,but whatever the      
pecuniary value  of their work might be1
 method in work itself will be an       

acquisition  beyond all price4    ,so   
much for the spinning department4 ,i    
hope to be able to deal with the        
weaving department on another occasion4 
,y4 ,i4--#bast ,july #aiba4             
,,spinning ,,department      ,i should  
like to add a few more facts about the  
spinning department1  before ,i come to 
weaving4    ,in ,ashadha the students   
were more energetic than before4 ,the   
number of  regular students was #ba1 and
 these in #bc working days 7there being 
six  holidays in the month7 spun #cj    
pounds and #bd tolas of yarn of about   
#ab  counts on the average1 fit for     
warp4 ,at ten annas a pound1 this means 
a  wage of ,rs4 #ai-b-j4 ,the total     
number of hours of spinning was #accg4  
,at #d  hours a day it should have been 
#aicb 7#bc number of days  #ba number of
  students  #d74 ,this deficiency is not
 due to idleness1 nor to headache4      
,complaints of idleness have now quite  
ceased4 ,and students now  understand   
that headache may prevent one from      

reading or working sums  but not from   
spinning4 ,they have also realised that 
if the arms are  fatigued by fetching   
water or swimming1 there is nothing like
 spinning  for removing the fatigue4    
,the thing is that those students who   
have  mastered spinning were engaged in 
carding and other process4 ,if full     
time had been given to spinning1 we     
would have turned out a  proportionately
 bigger quantity of yarn4    ,the       
spinning power of the students is       
increasing every day4 ,the student  who 
spun #g tolas an hour during the        
,satyagraha week is now no longer a     
prodigy and others are fast overtaking  
him4 ,one day a girl spun #i  tolas of  
uniform and well-twisted #ab-;count yarn
 in #f hours4 ,at the  above rate this  
means a wage of #b annas #c pies4 ,for  
#h hours therefore  the wage would be #c
 annas1 for #ab hours #d annas #f pies1 
for #ad hours #e  annas #c pies4 ,but it
 is hardly necessary to emphasise the   
pecuniary  value of the work1 so far as 

schools are concerned4 ,the point is    
that by  constituting spinning as a     
permanent part of our school curricula  
we  provide manual training of the      
highest kind and at the same time       
prepare  for the re-advent of a day when
 spinning will be as much a part of our 
domestic economy as say cooking4        
,y4 ,i4--#aath ,aug4 '#ba4              
,,the ,,advantage ,,of ,,the ,,thin     
,,spindle      ,since we introduced the 
thin ,spindle1 we have been keeping a   
number of  them in reserve4 ,when a     
student has his spindle bent1 it is not 
corrected there and then but he is at   
once given one of the spare good  ones1 
so there is no delay4 ,afterwards all   
the spindles that have gone  wrong are  
collected and corrected together4       
,the sadi1 i4e4 the wrapping on the     
spindle which serves as a pulley1  is   
often cut by itself and has sometimes to
 be cut off in order to  correct the    
spindle4 ,a new sadi has to be wrapped  
and for this a  bottle of thick gum is  

kept ready at hand4 ,it must be made of 
fine  strong yarn1 and be wrapped very  
tight4 ,if it is loose1 the string which
  revolves the spindle 7mala7 sinks in  
it and cuts it asunder1 and at  once the
 spindle stops4 ,if the sadi is made of 
coarse yarn1 it  becomes rough1 and so  
the mala does not run smoothly1 and the 
spindle  throbs and causes breakage of  
the yarn while it is being spun4        
,pairs of chamarakhan 7leather-bearing7 
also are kept in reserve4 ,when  these  
become too soft by an excess of oiling  
or by rough handling1 they  must be     
changed4 ,now-a-days we make them from  
raw hides and not from  leather or      
bamboo1 and so they keep longer4        
,formerly a round piece of wood or      
cardboard used to serve as a rest for   
winding the cone4 ,but now we have      
substituted a piece of horn which is    
more durable4 ,wax is kept in stock for 
treating the mala4 ,besides  these      
things we have a small oil-can1 a       
pen-knife1 a hammer1 a chisel1  and a   

small anvil4    ,the students bring the 
hank twisted hard in the shape of a     
stick4 ,the  hank weighs two tolas1     
which is the standard weight of the     
sliver  provided4 ,a bigger hank causes 
trouble while we open it1 and the yarn  
is  spoilt4 ,the yarn spun by each      
student is kept separate with his name  
upon a wooden tag attached to it4 ,every
 student is asked to stick to  one      
particular count all along till he has  
spun out enough for a length  of warp2  
and then the yarn is sent to the weaving
 department4 ,every one  is anxious to  
see when his yarn is sent out for       
weaving4 ,three such  lengths of warp   
are being woven at present4 ,about seven
 are ready  waiting to be woven4 ,an    
eleven year old girl will soon get a    
piece #bj  yards long and #db inches    
wide out of yarn spun by herself in the 
course  of three months4 ,this will     
provide her with two suits of clothing  
of two  small sadis1 #b blouses and #b  
petticoats4 ,her father had put in a    

pound  of yarn spun by himself1 to      
finish up the piece1 and in return for  
this1  she is going to spare a dhoti for
 him too4 ,she is as much pleased to    
see the cloth woven from her own yarn as
 most girls would be to see  brocade4   
,two other girls have combined their    
stock of yarn and are daily  asking for 
it to be woven4 ,those students who have
 passed out from the  spinning class are
 engaged in other departments1 and have 
not much time  to spare for spinning2 so
 they work on holidays and prepare woof 
for  their own warps1 which are waiting 
to be woven4 ,so in the second month1   
the spinning department is in full      
swing4         ,y4 ,i4--#ahth ,aug4     
#aiba4          ,,hand-,,looms      ,the
 working of the spinning class having   
been fully described in the  first two  
articles1 the process next to be taken  
up is carding2 but  having received a   
number of queries as to the working of  
hand-looms1 ,i  propose to deal with    
this before going into intermediate     

processes4    ,questions are asked as to
 which will be the most useful loom for 
weaving  hand-spun yarn4 ,some want our 
opinion about the automatic looms2      
others  insist upon the necessity of    
inventing a new swift-working machine1  
while still others ask for monetary help
 to prepare such after their own        
designs4    ,my humble but firm opinion 
is that the old pit-loom is the best1   
especially for weaving hand-spun yarn4  
,no doubt it is the slowest  working    
instrument but is the surest of all1 and
 just as our old  spinning-wheel in     
spite of its being the slowest          
instrument is  absolutely capable of    
spinning out all the cotton that ,india 
produces  to-day1 so the old pit-loom is
 perfectly capable of weaving out all   
the  yarn that ,india can produce by    
means of the spinning wheels and the    
mills4    ,this is not the time to enter
 into the figures in support of my      
statement4 ,i shall only try to show the
 usefulness of the pit-loom4 ,the       

fly-shuttle loom has its place in the   
sphere of home industry as well as  of  
the factory1 but the automatic looms    
have no room in this industry4  ,its    
drawbacks can only be realized by a     
study of the facts and figures          
regarding concerns which employ such    
looms4 ,people who newly take up  this  
industry should beware of flashy        
advertisements4 ,they should not be     
misled by professed calculations of the 
working of such looms4    ,the          
fly-shuttle looms have varying          
adjustments4 ,in the ,muzzaffarpur      
spinning and weaving exhibition held in 
,may last1 a party from this  school was
 present with its wheel and loom4 ,of   
all the fly-shuttle  looms exhibited1   
the one from this school was selected as
 the simplest  and lightest of all4 ,it 
is all made of wood1 with the exception 
of nails  and screws required for       
joining4 ,the pickers are also made     
entirely of  wood4 ,the shuttle and     
perns are home-made4 ,other looms had   

iron bars in  their boxes1 were operated
 with foreign shuttles1 and their perns 
were  unwieldy4 ,our loom is modelled   
upon a type of looms working in         
thousands  in the ,madras ,presidency4  
,the whole loom with a wooden frame to  
fit on a  pit1 with the exception of the
 shields and reed costs ,rs4 #de4 ,these
  latter things are not supplied1 as    
there is no fixed standard of the  yarn 
to be used on it4    ,i wish some public
 spirited person or firm will come      
forward in ,madras  or elsewhere in that
 presidency and undertake to supply the 
fly-shuttle  loom as described above    
promptly and at reasonable rates4 ,any  
one  desirous of taking up this work may
 correspond with the head of the  ,khadi
 ,department1 ,gujarat ,provincial      
,congress ,committee ,ahmedabad4        
,thus far as regards the fly-shuttle    
looms4 ,i suggest to new  manufacturers 
that they cannot do better than start   
with the old  fashioned pit-looms4 ,it  
is our experience that on account of    

less  breakage of yarn1 especially      
hand-spun yarn1 the output of a pit-loom
  almost equals and in some cases even  
exceeds that of the fly-shuttle  loom4  
,in weaving broader width1 however1 the 
fly-shuttle is certainly  more          
convenient4 ,and when the hand-spun yarn
 is of good test1 it enjoys  a decided  
advantage over the old loom in point of 
swiftness4 ,but we have  to remember    
that we have got to deal with hand-spun 
yarn which is not  likely to have a good
 test for some time to come4 ,it is     
therefore that  the old loom is the     
safest and surest weaving instrument to 
go on with  for the present4         ,y4
 ,i4--#beth ,aug4 #aiba4          ,,what
 ,,kind ,,of ,,loom8      ,questions are
 asked as to the production of cloths in
 an old-fashioned  loom from handspun   
yarn4 ,the experience in our school is1 
that a  well-practised worker weaves on 
a pit-loom one yard cloth of #cj inches 
width and of fairly thick texture in one
 hour4 ,cloth of greater or  smaller    

width varies in proportion4 ,our        
fly-shuttle pit-loom has not  exceeded  
this figure in handspun yarn so far4    
,when formerly we used  mill-made yarn1 
it yielded about half as much cloth     
again as the old  pit-loom4 ,however in 
weaving dhotiyans and sadis from        
handspun as  well as mill-made yarn the 
flyshuttle is very handy4    ,then there
 is a question as to the necessity of   
beaming the yarn4 ,we  believe1 that    
where there is no question of room1     
beaming should be  dispensed with4      
,hand-loom weaving factories situated in
 thickly  populated towns where rates of
 house-rent are very high1 have reason  
to  resort to beaming2 but where space  
allows stretching of the yarn as        
practised by the professional weavers1  
it is a time-saving method and is       
artistic as well4 ,there is an argument 
in favour of beaming that it  allows of 
the handling of warp as long as #bjj or 
even #cjj yards4 ,but if  such length of
 handspun yarn can be prepared1 it is   

equally easy1 if not  easier1 to stretch
 it in the old style4          ,,sizing 
,,handspun ,,yarn      ,it is said1 that
 the difficulty of sizing handspun yarn 
is a serious  handicap from which the   
movement suffers4 ,as a matter of fact1 
the  method of sizing it should be no   
different from that of sizing mill-made 
yarn4 ,it is slipshod spinning which is 
at the bottom of this difficulty4  ,the 
best way out of it is to organise and   
improve the production of  handspun     
yarn4 ,it is superstition to say that   
the yarn spun on the  charkha cannot be 
strong and even4 ,where proper care is  
taken1 it does  improve and even surpass
 mill-made yarn in some respects4       
,punjab and  ,marwad1 where spinning has
 been carried on from past times1 have  
also to  improve their yarn4 ,not that  
the spinners there do not know their    
work1  but they as well as the merchants
 who purchase their yarn are careless   
about the quality of the yarn turned    
out4 ,unless this work is taken up  by  

men imbued with the true ,swadeshi      
spirit1 the condition is not likely  to 
improve4 ,the spinners should be visited
 at their work from time to  time1 and  
proper instructions as to the required  
twist and test to be  given to the yarn 
should be imparted to them4 ,the payment
 of a  reasonably higher wage than the  
present is another way of improving the 
yarn4 ,the wages we have arranged for   
our guidance are given below in the     
form of a table4 ,where living is       
cheaper than in ,gujarat1 they can be   
adjusted accordingly4 ,the yarn having  
improved1 the difficulty of sizing  will
 disappear4    ,when a country weaver   
shows inability to weave hand-spun yarn1
 it means  that he cannot weave it in   
the same reed space as he uses for the  
mill-made yarn4 ,this is quite evident4 
,the hand-spun yarn not being  even1 it 
requires wider reed space4 ,the table   
given below also shows the  number of   
ends of different counts to be drawn in 
an inch of a reed4  ,then if the cloth  

to be woven is meant for shirting or    
coating and not  for dhotiyan or sadi1  
and if the yarn has a good test1 two to 
four  ends can be added to the number   
denoted in the table4      ,column      
headings3      ,c3 ,count4    ,t3       
,approximate twist per inch4    ,r3     
,rounds on #d feet hank frame4          
----------------------------------------
------------------------                
,number of   ,number of     ,rates of   
,wage            ends in an    double   
weaving per       ,c  ,test4  per    ,t 
,r    inch of    ends in an  square     
yard4               pound4              
reed4       inch4     ,rs4  ,a4  ,p4    
----------------------------------------
------------------------     #f  ,warp  
#j  #d #j  #aj   #if   #bd to #bh    #ah
 to #bb    #j   #d   #j                 
#f  ,weft  #j  #c #j   #h          444  
444         444                         
#i  ,warp  #j  #f #j  #ab  #add   #bf to
 #cb    #bj to #bd    #j   #d   #f      
#i  ,weft  #j  #d #f  #aj          444  

444         444                         
#ab  ,warp  #j #aj #j  #ad  #aib   #cj  
to #cd    #bb to #bf    #j   #e   #j    
#ab  ,weft  #j  #h #j  #ab          444 
444         444                         
#af  ,warp  #j #ab #j  #af  #bef   #cd  
to #ch    #bd to #bh    #j   #e   #f    
#af  ,weft  #j #aj #j  #ac          444 
444         444                         
#bj  ,warp  #a  #j #j  #ah  #cbj   #dj  
to #dd    #bh to #cb    #j   #f   #j    
#bj  ,weft  #j #ac #j  #ae          444 
444         444                         
----------------------------------------
------------------------    ,if the yarn
 is very weak and uneven1 it should be  
woven with two ends in  warp as well as 
in weft4 ,this will give a strong       
texture to the cloth1  making the       
process of weaving easy at the same     
time4 ,the proportion in  this case of  
ends to be drawn in an inch of the reed 
space is also given  in the above table4
 ,if this course is adopted1 heaps of   
handspun yarn  that have accumulated all

 over the country can be woven out      
without much  difficulty4    ,as a fact1
 the method of sizing traditionally     
followed by the weavers  cannot be      
improved upon4 ,their selection of the  
sizing material is  appropriate to the  
climate1 season and circumstances4 ,for 
the most part  they use the staple corn4
 ,jawari and maize being the cheapest   
are used  in many parts4 ,in the rainy  
season1 however1 they use wheat flour as
 a  stronger sizing material to         
counteract the over-softening influence 
of  the moisture present in the air4 ,in
 the ,madras ,presidency1 a cereal      
called ragi with a yellowish flour is   
used for coarse counts1 while  rice is  
used for finer counts4 ,rice and wheat  
are the best ingredients  for sizing4   
,the proportion used is from #aj per    
cent required for fine  yarn to #bj per 
cent for coarse yarn4    ,different     
preparations of various sizing materials
 are as follow3--    ,wheat3 ,weigh the 
warp first4 ,then according to its      

fineness or  coarseness1 take fine wheat
 flour or ,menda from #aj to #bj per    
cent of  its weight1 knead it well with 
water to form a thin paste1 taking care 
that no lump remains4 ,boil some water  
just enough to soak the warp1 then  add 
the paste previously prepared and keep  
on stirring till the granules  are      
well-cooked and the whole substance is  
reduced to the form of thin  gruel4 ,to 
every such preparation of one pound of  
flour1 one ounce of  sesamum or sweet   
oil should be added4 ,this will give    
softness and  smoothness to the threads 
of the warp and keep them from sticking 
to one  another4 ,cocoanut or castor oil
 is also used as a lubricant4 ,any of   
these is good1 except only that the     
castor oil will give a bad odour and  a 
dull colour to the warp4 ,the size thus 
prepared is then slowly poured  on to   
the warp1 which is kept folded on a     
gunny cloth or a clean slab4  ,the warp 
is beaten with both the hands1 while the
 process of pouring is  going on1 and   

when it is thoroughly saturated all     
over1 it is spread out  in the open and 
brushed repeatedly in one direction1    
often bringing the  down side up till it
 gets dried4 ,one or two or more persons
 according to  the length of the warp   
are engaged in brushing1 while several  
others are  joining broken threads and  
shifting the sticks in the warp from one
  lease to another4    ,this is the most
 thorough of all the methods of sizing4 
,the ends of  fibres lying loose on     
every thread of the warp are            
straightened1 and  stuck fast round the 
thread by the process of brushing4 ,the 
thread is  rendered smooth and strong   
like wire1 and the work of weaving is   
made  all the easier by it4 ,thus       
swiftness in weaving is ensured4 ,to    
master  this requires long practice but 
it is worth the while of every student  
to do so4 ,for an energetic youth about 
three hours' work under an expert  every
 morning for two months or so is        
sufficient4 ,with two assistants or     

more he will then be able to manage the 
brush-sizing himself without  the aid of
 an expert4 ,a less active person will  
take four or six months'  practice4     
,the preparation of size from jawari and
 maize flour is just the same as  from  
wheat flour1 except that the flour of   
these cereals not being so  fine as     
wheat flour1 a larger quantity is       
required in their case4    ,some people 
advise that wheat flour should be soaked
 for at least two  days before it is    
boiled with water4 ,it is said that the 
adherent  quality of the flour is       
enhanced by this process4    ,rice4 ,the
 preparation from rice is simpler still4
 ,the required  quantity of rice is     
boiled well with a quantity of water    
larger than  that used for ordinary     
cooking and is allowed to remain for #ab
 to #bd  hours4 ,it is then strained    
through a piece of cloth tied over or   
into  the mouth of a large vessel1 more 
water being added as required in the    
process of straining4 ,the strained     

matter is then reduced to consistent    
thinness2 then oil is added to it in    
proportion as described above4    ,rice 
is sometimes preferred to wheat1 as it  
gives besides strength a  fine gloss to 
the warp4    ,the thing to be borne in  
mind is that the yarn meant for         
preparing warp  must be made thoroughly 
absorbent beforehand4 ,for this1 all the
 hanks  must be connected in the form of
 one chain4 ,it is then folded together1
  placed into a big vessel1 whether of  
earth or metal1 containing water  enough
 to soak the yarn and then well pressed 
with both the feet for  some time4 ,it  
is left in this condition for two or    
three days1 during  which period it is  
beaten with a wooden club on a slab     
twice every day4  ,it should be         
remembered that1 unless it is beaten1 it
 does not soak  through for days4 ,if it
 is not soaked well1 it is incapable of 
absorbing  the sizing material1 and is  
imperfectly sized4 ,the cotton fibre has
 a  natural oily coating on it1 which is

 removed by soaking it as described     
before or by boiling it for some time4  
,it does not become thoroughly          
absorbent1 till it is treated in this   
manner4 ,after two or three days1  when 
the yarn is well soaked1 the chain is   
opened out and dried in  shade1 every   
hank being hung separately on a bamboo4 
,before it gets  completely dried1 it is
 well shaken with both the hands twice  
or thrice1  so that the threads do not  
stick to one another4 ,the ,madrasi     
weavers are  used to pouring rice water 
7generally thrown away when the rice is 
boiled7 on the yarn1 before it is dried 
out in the manner described  above4     
,this gives greater strength to the     
yarn1 and causes less breakage  in the  
process of winding and preparing it into
 warp4    ,the other method of sizing   
resorted to by the weavers is called    
hank-sizing4 ,it is an easy process1 and
 though not so efficient as             
brush-sizing1 it answers well if        
carefully performed4 ,in this case the  

yarn1 before it is made up into a warp1 
is soaked1 hank by hank1 into  the size 
prepared from wheat or rice as described
 above1 and after  pressing off the size
 a little from the hank with the thumb  
and a  finger1 the hank1 wet as it is1  
is wound up on a bobbin4 ,the warp is   
prepared immediately while the bobbin is
 wet1 each thread drying on the  warping
 sticks as soon as another is drawn out4
 ,the warp thus prepared  is fit for    
weaving4    ,we have tried hank-sizing  
in a weak solution of ordinary gum4 ,it 
works  well in dry season1 but makes the
 yarn moist in wet season on account of 
its absorbent quality4          ,,ii    
,,the ,,wheel ,,of ,,fortune      ,mr4  
,gandhi during his visit to ,assam and  
,eastern ,bengal has observed1  that the
 type of charkha in use in those parts  
is deficient in many  ways4 ,the same is
 perhaps the case in other provinces4   
,as we believe  that the charkha in the 
,satyagrahashram is a model of its kind1
 we  give below a diagram with          

measurements of all its parts with an   
explanation of their relative functions4
    ,illustration    ,the rear base with
 mark #a is one foot #i inches long1 #d 
inches wide and  #c inches high4    ,the
 front base with mark #b is #i inches   
long1 #d inches wide and #c  inches     
high4    ,the long piece which joins the
 two bases1 marked #c1 is #c feet long  
7including joints71 #c inches wide and  
#b inches high4    ,the large uprights  
marked #d are #a foot #f inches long    
including joints1  #b inches wide1 and  
#c inches deep4 ,they are fixed on the  
back base #i  inches apart4 ,the holes  
in which the axle rests are made #b     
inches below  the top4 ,these holes     
contain bearings of thin iron plates to 
secure easy  motion of the axle4 ,the   
bearings are kept open at the top to    
allow  access of oil through a slanting 
hole bored on the outward sides of both 
the uprights1 one inch above the axle4  
,the small uprights marked #e are #i    
inches long with joints #a-a_/b inches  

wide and #a-a_/b inches deep1 with holes
 #d inches below the top to contain  the
 leather bearings which bear the        
spindle4 ,they are fixed #c inches      
apart on the front base and are         
connected together #b inches above the  
base with a piece of a wood of the same 
thickness4 ,this joining piece  contains
 in the middle #b sticks half an inch   
apart to regulate the  position of the  
mala 7the string which revolves the     
spindle7 on the  spindle4    ,another   
piece marked #f and joined parallelly to
 the left upright is  meant to bear a   
hole for leather bearing when a thin    
spindle is to be  used4    ,the drum or 
wheel consists of #h planks such as the 
one marked #g1 each  being #b feet long1
 #d inches wide and #c_/d inch thick4   
,they are divided in  two wings of #d   
planks each1 each containing two couples
 of planks joined  diametrically with a 
groove in the middle4    ,both the wings
 are nailed on to the wooden shaft      
marked #h1 its size  being #d-a_/b      

inches long and #d inches diameter4     
,through the middle of this shaft passes
 a long round iron bar1 which  serves as
 an axle4 ,it is #ai inches long and    
half an inch thick4 ,its end1  where the
 handle is fixed is made square to      
ensure firmness of the  handle4    ,a   
wooden washer one inch thick is fixed to
 the axle on either side of  the drum to
 avoid its contact with the uprights4   
,the handle is shaped put of a wooden   
piece of #b inches  #b inches   #a-a_/b 
feet long4    ,the reel noticed in the  
diagram between the drum and the handle 
is  composed of a wooden disc marked #i 
made out of #a inch thick and #f  inches
 square piece of wood4 ,six brackets    
made of galvanized wire of #aj  gauge   
radiate from the centre of the disc so  
as to make a circumference  of #d feet4 
,the brackets are fixed in the back of  
the disc with bent ends  and are further
 secured with small nails near the      
circumference of the  disc4    ,a wire  
noose is fixed on the back base just    

below the reel to regulate  the yarn    
when wound up on the reel from a bobbin 
or directly from the  spindle4    ,a #d 
inches long bamboo pin is fixed in the  
inward side of the front base           
parallelly to the long plank marked #c4 
,it is meant to hold the bobbin  while  
opening out yarn from it4 ,when the yarn
 is opened from the  spindle directly1  
it is held in the left hand with the    
point towards the  reel4 ,the right hand
 is employed in turning the reel by the 
handle of  the charkha4    ,the figure  
#aj1 indicates the position of the      
spinner4          ,,corrections3        
,page  ,original                        
,correction    ----  --------           
----------    vii   ,indian ,economics  
#cc                ,indian ,economics   
#cd    viii  ,hand ,looms  #adj         
,hand-,looms  #adj    #g     and setting
 their manufactures      and selling    
their manufactures    #aj    as a miser 
uses his horde4          as a miser uses
 his hoard4    #bg    and left her      

coarse                 and felt her     
coarse    #bh    organasing ,swadeshi   
propaganda      organising ,swadeshi    
propaganda    #bh    ,every drop counts 
,swadeshi          ,every drop counts4  
,swadeshi    #cb    from patroitic      
motives              from patriotic     
motives    #cd    expressed in this     
buelletin         expressed in this     
bulletin    #ce    being aginst the law 
being against the law    #cf    the     
another does represent          the     
author does represent    #dj    utlise  
the idle hours               utilise the
 idle hours    #dd    ,it is needness to
 say               ,it is needless to   
say    #df    more than his due ,and ,i 
more than his due4 ,and ,i    #ed       
,shrimati ,sarala ,devi ,choudhrani     
,shrimati ,sarala ,devi ,chaudhrani     
#eg    bids fare to bear fruit4         
bids fair to bear fruit4    #fi         
earned ,as4 #d                          
earned ,as4 #d4    #fi    he is a victim
 to-day4              he is a victim to 

to-day4    #gb    of #fbg crores pounds 
of #fb4g crores pounds    #ha    that he
 maufactures                 that he    
manufactures    #hb    about literary   
trainning4           about literary     
training4    #hg    ,mr1 ,amritlal      
,thakkar                ,mr4 ,amritlal  
,thakkar    #ig    potent instrument1   
the spinning     potent instrument the  
spinning    #ajb   who absolutely know  
nothing         who absolutely knew     
nothing    #ajc   ,rs4 #c-i for it      
practically          ,rs4 #c-i for it1  
practically    #ajd   about weaving1 a  
separate room      about weaving1 a     
separate loom    #abc   missing ,a      
,,model                   ,i new line ,a
 ,,model    #acb   will be an           
acpuisition              will be an     
acquisition    #acd   ,the students who 
spun 444 is      ,the student who spun  
444 is    #acd   for #ab hours #d annas 
#fpies          for #ab hours #d annas  
#f pies    #acf   and cuts it as under1 
and cuts it asunder1    #ach   too suits

 of clothing               two suits of 
clothing    #ach   as most girl would be
               as most girls would be   
#aci   ,y4,i4--#ahth ,aug4 #aiba4       
,y4 not in italics    #adb   of the     
hields                       of the     
shields    #adb   costs ,rs4 #de        
costs ,rs4 #de4    #adb   ,provincial   
,congress ,commitee        ,provincial  
,congress ,committee