For Global Peace with Social Justice in a Sustainable Environment

Cap and Mahatma Gandhi

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar

Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09404955338, 09415777229

E-mail- dr.yadav.yogendra@gandhifoundation.net;

dr.yogendragandhi@gmail.com

Mailing Address- C- 29, Swaraj Nagar, Panki, Kanpur- 208020, Uttar Pradesh, India

Cap and Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi Topi is a famous cap. Everybody knows about it. How Mahatma Gandhi discovered it. How he spread it all over India. What problems he faced. He wrote in his letters, periodicals and speeches. We had taken every things related to subject in the words of Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “For head-dress the Turkish cap is mentioned. This is very handy. But, for one who feels uncomfortable in the cap and does not like to be noticed by people, a felt-hat is mentioned in the second list that is to follow.” 1 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “Only the day before I left Natal, the son of an Indian gentleman, spotlessly dressed, was walking along the pavement in the principal street in Durban. Some Europeans pushed him off the pavement without any reason but to amuse themselves. Last year, the Magistrate at Estcourt, a village in Natal, had an Indian who was a prisoner in the dock forced out of it. His cap was forcibly removed and he was brought back bare-headed, in spite of the protest from the man that the removal of the cap was contrary to Indian custom and it offended his religious feeling also. A civil action was brought against the Magistrate. And the judges held that the Magistrate was not civilly liable for acts done by him in his capacity as such. When we went to law, we knew that such would be the decision. Our object was to have the matter thoroughly thrashed out. This question at one time was a very great question in the colony.” 2

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “We respectfully draw His Lordship’s attention to the fact that the very wearing of the turban or the Indian cap implies a mark of respect, for just as on entering a place the European custom requires the taking off of the hat, Indian custom requires that the turban and the cap, as the case may be, should be kept on. Want of respect is not an Indian characteristic, and we venture to assure His Lordship that in the omission to salaam there can be no disrespect meant.” 3 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “Those who are observing roza and other Indians as well are being given very little work for the present. Mr. Shelat and Mr. Medh work as cooks. The rest engage them in cleaning the cells or such other miscellaneous work, which they do not find hard or difficult in any way. If anyone is found to be ill, he is totally exempted from work. All the officers, including the jailer, behave well. One need not take off one’s cap, but may only salute. This is a mere trifle. Taking off the head-gear is more convenient for those who wear a hat. But I am reporting this just to show that even in a matter like this, the officers do not harass anyone. Orders have been issued permitting the Parsees to wear their customary shirt and sacred thread as well as their own cap.” 4

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “After the sentence was passed, we were issued jail uniforms. We were supplied each with a pair of short breeches, a shirt of coarse cloth, a jumper, a cap, a towel and a pair of socks and sandals. I think this is a very convenient dress for work. It is simple, and wears well. We should have nothing to complain about such a dress. We should not mind having it even for everyday wear. The dress given to the whites is somewhat different. They get a rimmed cap, stockings and handkerchief, in addition to two towels. Indians, too, need to be supplied with handkerchiefs.” 5 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “I paid a visit to Mr. Rustomjee yesterday. He is very much broken down; he does not receive the medical food that was prescribed for him at Volksrust. The Parsees I mean the orthodox Parsees never take off their caps, but Mr. Rustomjee has now been compelled to remove his cap, although he was allowed to keep it on at Volksrust and Houtpoort. He is put on stone-breaking. Mr. Rustomjee is also suffering from a constitutional disease; his eye-sight is affected; he was a most pitiable and piteous sight. I am applying for permission for a doctor to see him.” 6

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “In my humble opinion, the question of the religious necessity of wearing a cap is one which Mr. Rustomjee is best able to decide. The gravamen of the complaint is, however, not that Mr. Rustomjee’s special cap was taken away, but that he was compelled to take it off whenever the Governor and other officers appeared, instead of being allowed to retain the cap, as was done in Volksrust and Houtpoort, where a salaam was accepted as an equivalent.” 7 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “It would even be better if you made it a rule to wear the Indian-style cap. Do not be dismayed by criticism of you in these matters. You may ignore what I say if it does not appeal to you. I do not want you to change your way of life just to please me. You need change only if my argument convinces you and you feel you are strong enough to act on it.” 8

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The Parsi cap is not the Parsis’ but ours, though an adopted one. Our forefathers may have erred in adopting it. The error, however, is not one that need be corrected now. But why should we take the trouble of adopting a fresh one? Putting on a Hungarian or Moghul cap is suggestive, in a way, of pride and conceit that we are different from others.” 9 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “I want every child to land in India with Indian-style clothes on. The very young should have a lungi, a shirt and a cap like the round one of velvet we have and the others should have a dhoti, a shirt and a cap.” 10 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “If the head feels cold, one may wear a cap, but the face should always be left uncovered. If the mouth is kept closed and air inhaled only through the nostrils, there is no risk of one’s feeling cold. Water, too, must be clean. It is an excellent practice always to drink water that has been boiled and strained through thick cloth. The latter should be carefully washed every day. And so, also, the inside of the water-pot should be properly cleaned every day. Every man or woman should have as much exercise daily as may be got by walking for two hours.” 11

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “From today for life I declare that I shall purchase for my (wear) only khaddar cloth hand-made of hand-spun yarn cap or head-dress and socks excepted.” 12 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “I understand that in some places an order has been issued, asking employees not to attend office in white khadi caps. I would welcome such offences. Under the rule of Ravana, keeping a picture of Vishnu in one’s house was an offence. It should not be surprising if in this Ravanarajya wearing a white cap, or not going to law courts or not drinking liquor or not using foreign cloth, or plying the spinning-wheel came to be considered as offences. We shall have swaraj only when all of us take to committing these offences; or, maybe, this Government will then change its policy. For, if we learn to follow truth, only one of three things can happen: (I) the Government may change its policy and respect public opinion; (2) rather than not change its policy, the Government may look upon [advocacy of] policies favoured by the people as a crime and make the futile attempt of sending countless men to jail; or (3) unable to accept such policies and also unable to suppress the people, it may leave India. Any of the three possibilities should be welcome to us. One more, the fourth, is beyond my imagination. It is that, on the arrest of the handful of leaders, the people will give up their moral standpoint, and submit to the Government’s policy which they are denouncing today. I hope that the time when this could happen has gone forever.” 13

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “To make temperance a crime would be only a step removed from making the wearing of white caps a crime. And yet I heard whilst at Jubbalpore that the servants of a railway department were prohibited from wearing white caps!” 14 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “Calling the white cap a Gandhi cap, a Collector in the United Provinces has forbidden Government servants to wear it. I told the many people who came to see me in Simla that, though in Government service, they could contribute to the Tilak Swaraj Fund and wear khadi, that they could replace their foreign caps with khadi caps. But they said that, if they wore khadi dresses and khadi caps, they would be dismissed. I was pained to hear these words of weakness. If wearing a khadi cap is a crime, the right course is to commit that crime and be dismissed from service. If, moreover, there is a large number of a Government servant wearing khadi caps, nobody can afford to dismiss all of them. Even if they are dismissed, they should not mind. Have the people not acquired strength enough even to assert their freedom to wear what they choose? I do hope that all people, Government servants and others, will realize the dignity of a khadi dress and wear the khadi cap at any rate.” 15

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “As I write these notes, I read in the papers that Shri Kaujalgi appeared in a court with a white cap and was, therefore, ordered to remove it. On his refusing to comply, he was fined Rs.200 and was ordered out of the court for an hour. At the end of the hour, he again entered the court with the same; unoffending cap. He was, therefore, again ordered to remove it. He repeated his refusal and was fined Rs.200 a second time. The magistrate then ordered him to be produced before another magistrate. Lawyers do not mind practicing in courts in which such lawlessness prevails! Let the lawyers do what they will; if the people cling to the foreign cap even after hearing this, what can be more shameful than that? When innocent persons are treated as guilty, one way be sure, trumpets will soon be heralding the coming of swaraj. But the shackles of slavery will shine more brightly if, on innocent persons being punished as guilty, people come to be afraid of doing lawful things. I have seen with my own eyes long terms prisoners polishing their chains clean and being pleased with the shine. The only way to break the bonds of slavery is to be more determined in our non-co-operation the more they subject non-cooperators to repression. If in all the courts of Bijapur they see only white caps, how many persons will the magistrate fine and how will he compel payment of the fines?” 16

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “A coloured cap does not have the dignity, cleanliness and comfort of a white one. The latter can always be washed. Black caps are dirty and they smell. Anyone who has any notion of cleanliness will certainly not use caps which are constantly absorbing perspiration. A cap lined with leather is, besides, not good for the brain. How can a Hindu be happy with a cap in making which leather has been used? The British use such caps, but only when going outdoors and, besides, they change them frequently. We who use the same turban or cap for a number of years and keep one on all the time should find a leather cap intolerable. A khadi cap, being clean and light, is wholly harmless. Moreover, to what better use could khadi of the coarsest variety be put than to making caps? One who is eager to dress himself in khadi from head to foot should begin with the head straight away. The khadi cap can be used by all, the rich and the poor. Those who can afford will wash the khadi cap regularly; tailors will make designs on it and add more layers to it. By all means let such alterations be made, but the idea that all should have the same kind of cap on their heads is well worth considering. The conclusion should be that only the khadi cap is to be regarded as swadeshi. Such a cap needs no stamp. A swadeshi cap should be one that could be identified even by children. Just as we can become true Swarajists only by freeing ourselves from deceit and hypocrisy, so also should we keep away from these in the matter of caps. To those who are trying to sell foreign caps by passing them off as swadeshi, I would say that, even if they cannot carry on their business in an honest way, they should not practice dishonesty in a matter which concerns national welfare. There should be honour even among thieves. They do not practice theft amongst themselves. Some do not touch the poor. A great yajna is on in the country; can we not rise above the unworthy desire to exploit this to serve our base self-interest? I should tell the people without any hesitation that those who cheat them in this manner deserve to have their shops totally boycotted.” 17

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “An employee of the British India Steam Navigation Company has been discharged for the effrontery to wear the khadi cap. Messrs Shaw Wallace and Co. set the ball rolling. This is an insult, the enormity of which we have not yet realized. We have stooped so low that we do not notice the curve. And yet, such insults are more humiliating for nations than physical blows delivered willfully or in a fit of anger. The crawling and rubbing the nose were physically less painful than the floggings, and yet there are no two opinions that the former humiliated India more than the latter. What is there in a bow? And yet a Prince nearly lost the gadi because he had forgotten to bow at the correct angle and retire from a Viceroy’s presence in the required manner. It was the homage exacted by insolence for its sustenance. So have the two firms dismissed their poor clerks, because they had the manliness to wear their national dress or the insignia of their faith if you like. The proud firms could not brook an exhibition of manliness on the part of their clerks. The moment the men of India realize their manhood, and the women their womanhood, India becomes free. No power in the world can then keep freedom from her. These two dismissals, therefore, should have a world of meaning for us. And I must confess to a feeling of painful disappointment over the supmeness of the employees of these firms. They should have shown at least the courage of the common labourer. India can show examples of a wholesale strike for the sake of an injured comrade. Have the clerks of these firms no feeling for their comrade? Can they claim kinship with the whole of India? What would they have done if a blood-brother had been so treated as these two brave young men? It is not yet too late for employees of these firms to make amends. they can still wear white khadi caps by way of protest and demand the reinstatement of their fellow clerks in their respective offices. I venture, too, to warn the managers of the two great firms. Non-co-operators have steered clear of racialism. They are fighting against a vicious system with all their might. They have no quarrel with individual Englishmen. But if the latter take sides as the managers of the two houses have done, it will be difficult to avoid a racial outburst. There is danger of European firms being boycotted if the European merchants do not treat this matter as one of urgency and enforce rectification of the grievous mistake committed by the firms in question.” 18

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The wearing of white caps by Government servants has been officially regarded as a crime in the Central Provinces, and the decision has been publicly endorsed in the C.P. Council. The doctrine laid down by that Government is most servile and dangerous. If the white cap is the badge of the non-co-operation party, the use of khadi may be equally regarded as such and penalized. And thus may swadeshi become a sin in the Government dictionary. Foreign cloth was forced upon India two hundred years ago. The attempt has now commenced forcibly to prevent India from reverting to swadeshi. Any well-meaning Government sensitive to public opinion would have encouraged the use of khadi by its servants. I deny that the use of the white cap is any sign of non-co-operation. I know many who are averse to non-co-operation and yet have adopted the white khadi cap as a convenience and as a symbol of swadeshi. The Congress has not yet invited Government servants to throw up their employment, but I do expect of them to have courage enough to wear what dress they like and retain freedom of action even at the risk of losing their employment. If Government servants will but take concerted action, they will find that the Government is powerless to punish them. But whether that is possible or not, I do hope for the sake of themselves that individual will be found even among Government servants who will not hesitate to wear the white cap.” 19

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “Mr. Dharamadas Udharam of Karachi writes, saying that he was cashiered by his employers Messrs Forbes Campbell and Co., for having dared to wear the khadi cap. I congratulate him upon his courage in accepting dismissal rather than giving up his cap. If he were not demoralized, every clerk serving no matter where would invite dismissal by a simultaneous adoption of the khadi cap. This would really have the effect of the firms recognizing the inevitable and seeing the folly of warring against harmless dress. Indeed this war is being waged to strike awe among employees and keep them submissive and even unmanly. In Madras the Director of Public Instruction will not allow the inspectors of schools to introduce spinning-wheels if only because, the Director says, they are given a political significance. On the same reasoning even a lecture on abstinence should be taboo because it has for non-co-operators a political significance. This war against swadeshi in a variety of ways shows that it is distasteful to the Government. In other words the Government cannot tolerate the economic independence of India. Should these indications not make us resolute in the prosecution of the swadeshi programme?” 20

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “A correspondent has sent me a copy of a notification by the Gwalior State signed by the Peshi Officer. It occupies nearly five printed columns of a newspaper. It is a dissertation on khaddar. It goes on to say that there is no harm about the inhabitants of the Gwalior State using khaddar, that they always used to wear it and that, in view of the high prices of cloth, there was nothing strange in the people taking to khaddar wear, but the notification warns the people against attending lectures on khaddar, and finally prohibits in the following terms the use of the “Gandhi cap” The original is in Hindi. But it is necessary here to state that nowadays a particular type of khaddar cap has come into vogue which is in the form of a boat and whose two sides are capable of being folded. The fact is that such caps are not being used for economizing cloth, but it has become an emblem of a particular party and it has become so intimately connected with one class of views that it is believed that those who use it entertain those views. For these reasons, the use of such caps is improper. In this (prohibition) are not included caps of any other pattern whether they are made of khaddar or any other cloth. I am sorry for this unnecessary prejudice against a harmless and cheap cap. I venture to inform the Gwalior authorities that, whilst it is true that many non-co-operators wear what are known as “Gandhi caps”, there are thousands who wear them simply for convenience and cheapness, but who are no more non-co-operators than the Peshi Officer himself.” 21

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The other instruction pertains to the washing of the khadi cap. A cap loses its shape if wrung in this process, and even stitches may come off at the seams. But if left to dry after being rubbed without wringing and then pressed between the hands after being folded twice or thrice, it will not be creased and retain its shape. It is true in this way all the water cannot be squeezed out; however, a cap can be used for three days, during which time the washed one can dry. If, instead of being crushed between the hands, it is compressed between clean smooth planks and the entire water is wrung out, the cap will on drying stay stiff.” 22 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “There is untruth in wearing your cap at an angle, in wearing the sari in a particular style and dressing your hair smartly. Anyone who dresses himself in various fashions so that he may appear more handsome than he is starts learning a lesson in falsehood. We can build a palace on the foundation of truthfulness.” 23

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “If, in spite of the khadi cap that you wear, you have addictions, you will disgrace the cap. I will also get you good help from the Municipality and from the rich men of Ahmadabad when you do something on your own.” 24 Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “We shall not know how many such wearers of khadi there must be in every nook and corner. It is a matter of sorrow and surprise that those who wear a cap or other garments of khadi are ridiculed by our own people. But those who have accepted the dharma to wear khadi should be able to suffer it. I remember that when I went to England, for fear that I would be ridiculed; I had decided to wear my hair in the English style rather than have it cut in accordance with the native practice. For the same reason, I dispensed with my tuft too. But one to whom his duty has become clear will stick to it, abjuring all fear of ridicule, etc. If khadi is an Annapurna to the starving peasants dwelling in the seven lakh villages of India, the thoughtful will stick to it, despite ridicule, contempt or risk of being beaten up. This Brahmin should never permit himself to think that he is low or contemptible because he is a cook. Neither the profession of a cook nor that of cleaning latrines is low. King Nala had cultivated cooking as an art. Every mother cleans latrines. I hope this Brahmin will stick to his khadi cap, and realize that an essential service can never be degrading.” 25

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The illustrations regarding the incorrect and correct methods of washing a khadi-cap are worth seeing. By following the correct method its life can be increased and it will always maintain its proper shape. If anyone who wears a khadi-cap does not keep it clean and allows it to become dirty, his own prestige as well as that of khadi will suffer. On looking at the picture it becomes quite obvious that to wash a khadi cap is a very simple matter. While on the subject of khadi caps, let me also add that I find the method discovered by Sjt. Dayalji, which consists in making as and when necessary a cap from the required length of khadi without sewing it up, to be the best one. I have requested that a description of it be-given in the next issue of the catalogue. Moreover, this would facilitate washing and save on tailoring charges. However, the most attractive part of this catalogue is the assurance given in it.” 26

Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “I later came to know that he made no distinctions between Hindus, Muslims, Parsis and Christians. He even dressed like that. He used to grow a beard and wear a Turkish cap and a jacket. I remained under that impression for a long time. Then we met at Godhra in 1917.2 There I saw him dressed like a fakir. A meeting was arranged in the Harijan Colony. At that time very few Hindus had come there. Vithalbhai was one of them. In the mean time I came to know that he was a Hindu and Sardar’s elder brother. At that time he had come dressed in short dhoti, a paheran and a cap, and so I did not recognize him. He burst out laughing.” 27

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