Give Up Fineries

To me, Swadeshi is as dear as life itself. Pure Swadeshi means sacrifice of our liking for fineries. I ask the nation to sacrifice its liking for the fineries of Europe and Japan and be satisfied with the coarse but beautiful fabrics woven on our hand-looms out of yarn spun by millions of our sisters. If the nation has become really awakened to a sense of the danger to its religions and its self-respect, it cannot but perceive the absolute and immediate necessity of the adoption of Swadeshi in its intense form; and if the people of India adopt Swadeshi with the religious zeal, I beg to assure them that its adoption will arm them with a new power and will produce and unmistakable impression throughout the whole world. I, therefore, expect the Mussalmans to give the lead by giving up all the fineries they are so fond of, and adopt the simple cloth that can be produced by the manual labour of our sisters and brethren in their own cottages. And I hope that the Hindus will follow suit. It is a sacrifice in which the whole nation, every man, woman and child, can take part.

- Young India: Aug.4, 1920