1. WHAT COMPRISES FOREIGN GOODS? A gentleman asks: “Should we boycott all foreign goods or only some select ones?” This question has been asked many times and I have answered it many times. And the question does not come from only one person. I face it at many places even during my tour. In my view, the only thing to be boycotted thoroughly and despite all hardships is foreign cloth, and that can and should be done through khadi alone. Boycott of all foreign things is neither possible nor proper. The difference between swadeshi and foreign cannot hold for all time, cannot hold even now in regard to all things. Even the swadeshi character of khadi is due to circumstances. Suppose there is flood in India and only one island remains on which a few persons alone survive and not a single tree stands; at such a time the swadeshi dharma of the marooned would be to wear what clothes are provided and eat what food is sent by generous people across the sea. This of course is an extreme instance. So it is for us to consider what our swadeshi dharma is. Today many things which we need for our sustenance and which are not imposed upon us come from abroad. As for example, some of the foreign medicines, pens, needles, useful tools, etc., etc. But those who wear khadi and consider it an honour or are not ashamed to have all other things of foreign make fail to understand the significance of khadi. The significance of khadi is that it is our dharma to use those things which can be or are easily made in our country and on which depends the livelihood of poor people; the boycott of such things and deliberate preference of foreign things is adharma. A person who loves his country and has concern for the poor would pass in review the foreign things he uses and would use indigenous articles in place of those foreign articles which he liked more and had been using so far for his pleasure. On this tour itself I have observed that people place before me cakes of foreign soap, and never a single one produced in Madras, Mysore, Bombay and Bengal. Those who do this are all khadi-weavers. These days wherever I go for propagating khadi, I ask for a khadi- VOL. 46 : 12 MAY, 1929 - 31 AUGUST, 1929 1 clad barber. It is with some effort that such a barber is found. Much of his equipment is foreign-made: razor, brush, soap and mirror, and they are arranged in a foreign-made box. So I pay the barber his wages and explain to him the swadeshi dharma. I can recount many such experience. At present ink, fountain-pens, etc., are manufactured in our country. The thoughtful should be on the look out for such things and as far as possible use only those articles which are produced in the country. If it is argued that not all the things made in the country are good, that of course is true. But there are difficulties in the observance of dharma as such. What is the value of practising something which offers no trouble? Wise people can help remove the inconveniences if they use swadeshi things of their own will even putting up with hardships. If I use indigenous soap, notice its shortcomings and draw the makers’ attention to them, they may perhaps try to remove them. It is only thus that things have improved in quality and design and are still being improved. At this stage we have to consider one thing more. Do foreign goods mean only British goods or anything made outside India? I know there is a difference of opinion about this. I do not wish to discuss the problem from the point of view of non-violence but to put it before you from the practical point of view. We shall merely exhibit our weakness if we threaten to do something which we cannot do and will never be able to do. It is my belief that we use many British things even against our will. Those who are familiar with the figures of India’s imports know that the Government itself imports British goods worth crores of rupees and we use them; e.g., the rails for the track and a lot of other equipment for railways. We use English books of our own will. Another objection from the practical point of view is that, while differentiating between British and other foreign goods, there is a danger of our using British goods under the label of other foreign goods. This has happened in the past and may happen in future. Who can prevent a British manufacturer of fountain-pens from writing on his products ‘Made in Australia’? Some traitors among cloth merchants have torn off the British labels on British dhotis and have sold them as swadeshi dhotis. Who can prevent British cloth from coming in via Japan as Japanese cloth? We are not going to benefit in the least by importing articles other than British. Then we shall have to make a second attempt to boycott this other foreign cloth and it may be difficult to do so. Our aim is swaraj, independence. We do not want other people’s 2 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI domination after getting rid of British rule. Considered from all angles and from the practical point of view, we can take but one decision. Pure khadi is pure swadeshi and one who realizes this will satisfy even his other needs by means of things produced in the country, giving up the use of those superfluous things that are not manufactured here. [From Gujarati] Navajivan, 12-5-1929 2. LETTER TO MIRABEHN NELLORE, May 13, 1929 CHI. MIRA, I do hope you got the detailed programme that was sent to you. There is no letter from you today. I hope you have plenty of congenial work at the Vidyapith. I want your criticism on my article in reply[to] de Ligt’s second open letter which has been published in Young India.1 I have made a change in my diet which I do not describe as we shall soon meet. The change has been made purely by way of experiment as I like it and as I have met a man who knows all about it. Of course there is nothing to worry about in this. If it does not agree with me, I shall give it up. Love. BAPU From the original: C.W. 5375. Courtesy: Mirabehn 1 Vide “A Complex Problem”, 9-5-1929 VOL. 46 : 12 MAY, 1929 - 31 AUGUST, 1929 3 3. LETTER TO ASHRAM WOMEN NELLORE, Silence Day, May 13, 1929 SISTERS, There are only a few days to go before we meet again. It is getting hotter here every day, as it must be there. I don’t feel the heat much. Your firmness in keeping up with the prayer classes, the infant- school and the kitchen is, I think, a good gesture. All the three are imperfect, and will remain so for ever. It will be enough if we remain vigilant and keep improving them. Even if we try to keep them going, some improvement will take place automatically. All of you shouldlearn the verses which make up the women’s prayers and understand their meaning correctly. Blessings from BAPU From a photostat of the Gujarati: G.N. 3698 4. LETTER TO CHHAGANLAL JOSHI Silence Day, May 13, 1929 CHI. CHHAGANLAL, Three letters from you of the 6th, the 8th and the 9th have piled up. It is all right if you have changed the time for prayers and meals; you have done nothing wrong in that. You must have sent an acknowledgment to Lady Ramanathan. Has not the sum been sent to Tiruchengodu? Has it not been acknowledged in Young India? The money which we receive from France is not from a gentleman but from a lady. It is the same Mirbel, who had once stayed in the Ashram for about a month. Shivabhai must have recovered. You need not insist on the students memorizing the verses of the Gita. They themselves should insist on doing that. All of us, of course, should know how to recite them correctly. My having given up breakfast is not an act of sacrifice; it was 4 THE COLLECTED WORKS OF MAHATMA GANDHI rendered necessary by my travels. I feel helpless at not being able to go for morning and evening walks. When I teach the Gita, I don’t set aside a special time for it; my enthusiasm shows me the way. When I was there, I used the time allotted to spinning in discussions with inmates of the Ashram. Here I give the first half hour to Prabhavati, and the half hour in the afternoon to the workers. Since, instead of everyone joining in the recitation at the time of the prayer, a different person recited the verses every day, we could correct the pronunciation of the person who was doing his turn. In this way we could effect much improvement. People still commit mistakes, but they are getting fewer. This does not impose the slightest burden on my mind or my time; on the contrary, it gives me more peace of mind. The person who learns in this manner likes doing so. He does not feel that it is a task. It is only after I arrive there that I think I shall be able to write about the money received from Rangoon.