Khadi represented India’s Independence movement in several ways. It was a home-grown resistance movement against a foreign occupation power. It promoted simple and easy Eastern products against the mechanised luxuries of the West. It declared economic and emotional self-reliance against and the exploitative and imperialistic alien ruling class. It embodied the Indian people’s non-violent way of protest against a repressive foreign aggressor. The quintessential Atma nirbhar project, and its exceptional product.
Times have changed; citizens of the Indian republic can now buy products of their choice, home-made or imported. We negotiate deals on our terms, too. It is from this point of strength that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his fellow citizens to go back to the days of the Independence movement and buy local. He says Indians have rediscovered the style and power of Khadi and it was reflected in the sales in the festival season. The ongoing Khadi Mahotsav has once again broken records and Khadi sales reached an all-time high on Gandhi Jayanti, he said, exhorting people to feel proud of products made locally.
A slave is not spoiled for choice; he has no responsibility of making a wise decision based on his options. But freedom comes with the responsibility of making the right choices. India has to make wise choices if it is to remain an independent country not just politically but economically, too. No nation can remain an island in the 21st century when globalisation is a reality but no imperialist nation needs to employ its military power to conquer markets either. It’s a war fought not on the battlefield but in the mind space. It takes a collective push to resist the temptations of the instant gratification economic slavery offers. By being the ambassador of Khadi and the ideas it represents, the Prime Minister is calling on the nation to make an informed choice.
