Gandhi’s Madurai connect: He embraced khadi here

On Monday, India will be celebrating the 70th Independence Day marking the exit of the British from the country and the success of freedom struggle. 

Speaking of the freedom struggle will not be complete without mentioning MK Gandhi, the father of the nation, who led the struggle from the front and inspired millions to take part in the movement. 

But what made Gandhi the leader of the masses was his attire, the Khadi wrap. It was only at Madurai he decided to abandon his traditional suit and to adorn the khadi wrap around him. 

When Gandhi visited Madurai in 1921 he saw a large number of daily wage earners semi-clothed and from that time he decided to use a simple outfit. 

It was on September 22, 1921, he had appeared in public in the khadi wrap attire and addressed a public meeting in Madurai. 

The place where he addressed the people is now called as ‘Gandhi Pottal’ on Kamarajar Road. 

A statue of Gandhi has been installed at Gandhi Pottal and a legend that he appeared in the khadi wrap for the first time is mentioned therein. 

At the meeting Gandhi had spoken about the ill-effects of liquor and asked the labourers to stop consuming liquour, says Natarajan, Education Officer at Gandhi Memorial Museum, Madurai. Speaking to DTNext, Natarajan said the incident happened during his second visit to Madurai and he had stayed in the house of Ramji Kalyanji on West Masi Street. 

Now the place had been turned into a khadi shop and the room on top of it where Gandhi stayed is maintained by the Madurai district administration. 

During his first four visits to Madurai he had never visited the Meenakshi Amman temple because the Dalits were not allowed to enter the temple. Later, he staged a temple entry movement and with the help of Vaidyanatha Ayyar and Muthuramalinga Thevar, the Dalits were allowed to enter the temple. 

Only after Dalits entered the temple he visited it on February 2, 1946, which was the last time he was in Madurai.