I think one of Gandhi’s greatest ideological innovations (and certainly the symbol most associated with him) was the Charkha, the spinning wheel. It was a great example of a mechanical device that was easy to make, easy to use by an individual working by himself, and it made a product that was clearly useful to the spinner as well as society as a whole. In one stroke, Gandhi seized upon an invention that subverted the idea of industrialization being necessary for production in a modern economy and furthered his goal of highlighting the material and spiritual benefits of manual labour as opposed to the mental gymnastics normally associated with Brahminical Hinduism.
The Charkha Computer
The Charkha Computer
The Charkha Computer
I think one of Gandhi’s greatest ideological innovations (and certainly the symbol most associated with him) was the Charkha, the spinning wheel. It was a great example of a mechanical device that was easy to make, easy to use by an individual working by himself, and it made a product that was clearly useful to the spinner as well as society as a whole. In one stroke, Gandhi seized upon an invention that subverted the idea of industrialization being necessary for production in a modern economy and furthered his goal of highlighting the material and spiritual benefits of manual labour as opposed to the mental gymnastics normally associated with Brahminical Hinduism.