GANDHI'S FUTURE WORK

Evening Star, Issue 19522, 1 April 1927, Page 13

GANDHI'S FUTURE WORK

At tho end of December Gandhi completed a year of withdrawal from the world. So far he has not disclosed his plans for the future. After the failure of tho Non-Co-operative Movement, many people are Loping that Gandhi will 'conlino his activities to attacking social evils, notably drinking and opium smoking. Already many Indian villages have gone “ dry,” and oven abolished the native fermented drinks, because of Gandhi’s well-known disapproval of alcohol (said Miss Muriel Lester, of the Children’s Home, Bow, to an ‘ Observer’ interviewer}. _ Miss Lester has recently paid a visit of some weeks to Gandhi. But Gandhi, in his retirement, has already been at work on the beginnings of a movement which he believes_ will bo of the greatest value to the national life of India. During tho Non-Co-opor-ativo Movement many highly educated Indians gave up valuable government appointments to identify themselves with it. Gandhi is now organising these Indians as leaders in _ a new movement known as the India Spinning Association, which now has three thousand members. /Die test of membership of tins association is that each member shall do at least half an hour’s spinning every day. Gandhi believes that in this handspinning a great contribution can be made towards relieving the appalling poverty of India and recreating her decayed village community liTe. Having learnt how to spin, these young men settle in twos and threes in villages and teach the people spinning. The, association supplies tho cotton, and after it is spun, collect and pay for the yam. In this way a valuable industry is being established in the villages to which tho people can turn when other work is slack. Not only does this movement help to relieve the abysmal poverty, but it is creating a new community sense. Tho movement then concentrates upon tho provision of thorough sanitation and an adequate supply of pure water, _ In this way Gandhi is already diverting the national spirit and energies along lines of useful social activity in raising the whole economic standard in the villages of India. It would be unfair to Gandhi to suggest that ho believes this alone is going to win freedom for India, but he feels that this is tho most important work to do at the. present time, and ho is gradually effecting a revolution in, this essentially agricultural