In a previous issue I endeavoured to show how stores for the sake of
selling mill-manufactures did not advance Swadeshi in any way whatsoever
but on the contrary, tended to send up the price of cloth. I propose to
show in this article how with a small capital, it is possible to advance
true Swadeshi and earn a modest livelihood.
Suppose that there is a family consisting of husband, wife and two
children one of whom is ten years old and the other five. If they have a
capital of Rs. 500 they can manage a Khaddar Bhandar in a small way.
They can hire, say in a place with a population of 20,000 inhabitants a
shop with dwelling rooms for Rs. 10 per month. If they sell the whole of
the stock at 10 p.c. profit they can have Rs. 50 per month. They have no
servants. The wife and the children in their spare time would be
expected to help in keeping the shop tidy and looking after it when the
husband is out. The wife and children can also devote their spare time
to spinning.
In the initial stages the Khaddar may not sell at the shop. In that case
the husband is expected to hawk the Khaddar from door to door and
popularise it. He will soon find a custom for it.
The reader must not be surprised at my suggesting 10 p.c. profits. The
Khaddar Bhandars are not designed for the poorest. The use of Khaddar
saves at least half the cost not necessarily because the Khaddar is more
durable (though that it certainly is) but because its use revolutionises
our tastes. I know what saving of money its use has meant to me. Those,
who buy Khaddar from patriotic motives merely, can easily afford to pay
10 p.c. profits on Khaddar. Lastly the popularising of Khaddar means
much care, devotion and labour. And the owner of a Khaddar Bhandar does
not buy it at a wholesale shop but he must wander to get the best
Khaddar, he must meet the local weavers and induce them to weave hand
spun yarn. He must stimulate in his own district hand spinning among its
women. He must come in touch with the carders and get them to card
cotton. All this means intelligence, organisation and great ability. A
man who can exhibit these qualities has a right to take 10 p.c. profits.
And a Swadeshi Bhandar conducted on these lines becomes a true centre of
Swadeshi activity. I commend my remarks to the attention of the managers
of Swadeshi stores that are already in existence. They may not
revolutionise their method at once but I have no doubt that they will
advance Swadeshi only to the extent that they sell Khaddar.
_Y. I.--7th July, 1920._