Rice Follows Gandhi: Cotton Congress & Slavery

Rice was met by protests in Blackburn but Gandhi was given a cordial welcome in. Why Gandhi called to boycott British goods? Who cut Mulmal weavers’ thumbs? Did martyrs bow heads before foreigners?

American foreign Secretary Rice’s visit to the ‘centre of the world’ was the biggest by a foreign dignitary since 1931, when Mahatma Gandhi came to this former cotton town to protest against the protectionist policies of Lancashire's textile exporters.

Can we learn a lesson from the history of twin Western cotton cities Mancheter and Blackburn? Who cut the thumbs of ‘Mulmal’ weaver? Who threw Indian textile wavers to Textile Factories of European countries?

The banging of the tables, architect of which is Somnath Chatterjee, in the Parliament started and celebrated all through the universe. Glory of ‘Dhaka-ki-Malmal’ reputation; was transparent even in moonlight; with skillful hands; of hands that can be evolved only in our own Bharat Desh. Some street urchins (Malmal khas ‘muslin’. reserved for kings) exclaimed “Hey the King is Naked.

BBC reported: Like Manchester, Ludhiana has a history of free-thinkers. Where Mancunians took on the aristocracy over corn and the government over women’s and workers’ rights, Ludhiana gave birth to some of India’s best known freedom fighters, men like Bhagat Singh, who struggled to help free India from the British and won changes of the rights of prisoners by using hunger strike, and Hari Shivaram Rajguru, his friend and accomplice in freedom fighting activities. Ludhiana even boasts a songwriter to rival Morrissey. Sahir Ludhianvi is known as one of Bollywood’s most important lyricists.

Mahatma Gandhi said the seven things that will destroy us are: politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity and worship without sacrifices. Each of these blunders bears examination in the present situation of India especially when we talk about the renounces of Sonia Gandhi. We have to decide which road goes towards slavery and which road goes for the sake of our independence.

Watan Walo Watan Na Bech DenaKe Dharti Yeh Gagan Na Bech DenaShaheedon Ne Jaan Di Hain Watan Ke VaasteShaheedon Ke Kafan Na Bech DenaDoston Saathiyon Hum ChaleDe Chale Apna Dil Apni JaanTaake Jeeta Rahe Apna Hindustan

Karen Hughes, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs of US, remarked at the International Conference on Faith and Service on March 22, 2006: “Gandhi drew on the traditions of Hinduism for his inspiration in leading the nonviolent struggle for independence in India. He inspired people throughout the world, including in the United States, where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others campaigned for civil rights for African-Americans.”

Lancashire cotton textiles were exported around the world. The colonies of the British Empire were seen as markets for British goods. The fabrics were cheap and colorful, but threatened cotton industries in other parts of the world including India.

Road of Independence
In 1920, as part of his policy of non-cooperation with the British Government in India, Mahatma Gandhi called for a boycott of British textiles. He encouraged people to use home-spun, home-woven cloth called khadi. This was central to the struggle for independence. Gandhi visited England in August 1931 and was invited to visit Lancashire to see how India’s boycott of cotton goods had affected the lives of the mill workers. After the war, people from India andother countries of South Asia were encouraged to move to Britain and to work in the textile industry

Paintings in the Ajanta Caves in Maharastra show that a variety of patterns and colours had been developed in India by 200 BC to 500 AD. These fabrics were in demand outside South Asia and they were probably exported to Greece before Alexander the Great established the trade routes between Asia and Europe.South Asia became famous for its textiles, and fine cotton muslins were exported to the Greeks and the Romans. Muslins from Dhaka in Bangladesh were particularly prized. The Greek historian, Herodotus, wrote about Indian cotton in the 5th century BC. He described 'trees that bore wool, surpassing in beauty and in quality the wool of sheep; and the Indians wear clothing from these trees.'India continued to be the world's main producer of cotton textiles. The growing export trade extended to the rest of Europe including Britain. Embroideries of silk on white cotton from Gujarat were the first textiles to reach Britain from India, but the most popular were dyed cotton wall hangings. In Europe textiles became known by their trade names. Calico fabrics were so named because they were exported from Calicut on the Malabar coast. The fabrics were shipped to the Arabian Gulf, taken by camel to the Nile River, and then shipped to the Mediterranean.
Recent history

In the 1600s, European explorers discovered that cotton plants were also being grown and used in the Americas. These newly discovered species were introduced to Africa in the 18th century and later spread to India and Pakistan, where they replaced traditional cultivars.

By the end of the 19th century, Britain began manufacturing its own cotton textiles using raw material from American rather than India sources. India struggled to compete because its production was unmechanised and relied on a large labour force. India, instead of exporting cotton goods, became the largest importer of British cotton textiles. A virtual collapse of the European cotton industries in the second half of the 20th century led to a revival in India of both hand- and machine-woven fabrics. The growth of India's mechanised cotton industry was slow to develop, but political movements and the rise of Mahatma Ghandi empowered the people of India.

A cash crop like cotton is not grown for local use, but for trade. The international trade in commodities was established when Europe was colonizing the New World. The colonies were used to grow crops that couldn’t be grown in the cooler climates of Northern Europe.

Cotton is still traded on the world commodity markets. This can be a problem for developing countries because prices can go up and down. Fair trade campaigners argue that farmers in developing countries are exploited by these world markets and are not paid a fair price for their crop.

Gandhi sailed to England in August 1931 to attend the Second Round Table Conference. The division between Hindus and Muslims were widening at that time through Jinnah at that time. No satisfactory conclusion was reached. Gandhi however accepted the invitation issued by Mr Corder Catchpool of Greenfield Mill and took the opportunity to visit Lancashire and see for himself the effects India's boycott on cotton goods had had on the workers there.

He arrived at Spring Vale Station near Darwen shortly after eleven at night on Friday September 26th on the express from London. The crowd that awaited him was several thousand strong. By destiny or design his simple peasant image combined with his reputation as the spiritual leader of millions made him irresistable.

He was out of bed by half past six the following morning and meeting groups of unemployed cotton workers as soon as he had had his breakfast. Later he met the Mayor (Councillor W Knowles) and representatives from Greenfiled Mill and Manchester. In the afternoon he was taken to West Bradford to Heys Farm Guest House, where he was entertained by Mr and Mrs J P Davies. He left for London on Sunday night.Gandhi was received with sympathy and affection by the Lancashire cotton workers, even though they were the ones hit hardest by the boycott. It was a sympathy and affection that he returned.

By: Premendra Agrawal
Premendra_in@indiatimes.com