Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/934



THE SPINNING WHEEL

[On February 16th, 1922, Mr. Gandhi addressed the following letter to Sir Daniel Hamilton from Bardoli.]

Mr. Hodge writes to me to say that you would like to have an hour’s chat with me, and he has suggested that I should open the ground which I gladly do. I will not take up your time by trying to interest you in any other activity of mine except the spinning wheel. Of all my outward activities, I do believe that of the spinning wheel is the most permanent and the most beneficial. I have abundant proof now to support my statement that the spinning wheel will save the problem of economic distress in millions of India's homes, and it constitutes an effective insurance against famines.

You know the great Scientist, Dr. P. C. Bay, but you may not know that he has also become an enthusiast on behalf of the spinning wheel. India does not need to be industrialized in the modern sense of the term. It has 7,50,000 villages scattered over a vast area 1,900 miles long, 1.500 miles broad. The people are rooted to the soil, and the vast majority are living a hand-to-mouth life. Whatever may be said to the contrary, having travelled throughout the length and breadth of the land with eyes open, having mixed with millions, there can be no doubt that pauperism is growing. There is no doubt also that the millions are living in enforced idleness for at least 4 months in the year. Agriculture does not need revolutionary changes. The Indian peasant requires a supplementary industry. The most natural is the introduction of the spinning wheel, not the hand-