During a tour of south India, Gandhi shaved his head and began wearing only a khadi loincloth (dhoti), to identify himself with the poor, at Madurai in:

On 22 September 1921, during a tour of south India, Mahatma Gandhi shaved his head and began wearing only a short khadi loincloth (dhoti) and a shawl, at Madurai, Tamil Nadu, to identify himself with the poorest people of India.

Background:

• In 1921, Gandhi was touring India to spread the message of the Non-Cooperation Movement, especially the boycott of foreign cloth and the use of khadi.
• During his travels, he saw that many poor people could not afford enough clothes, and wore only a loincloth.
• He felt that he could not ask them to give up foreign cloth and wear khadi, when they could not even afford enough khadi.

His decision:

At Madurai, he decided to give up his usual dress (a dhoti, kurta and cap) and to wear only a loincloth, like the poorest peasants.

He announced that he would wear this simple dress at least until the end of the year, as a sign of mourning for the loss of swaraj and as a symbol of solidarity with the poor; in fact, he continued to wear it for the rest of his life.

Significance:

• Gandhi's loincloth became a powerful symbol of his identification with the poor, of simplicity, and of the Swadeshi movement.
• It also became a symbol of protest against British rule, which had impoverished India.
• Gandhi wore the same simple dress when he later met King George V at Buckingham Palace; when asked whether he was wearing enough clothes, he replied that "the King had enough on for both of us".
• Winston Churchill mocked him as a "half-naked fakir".

Khadi and the charkha:

• Gandhi promoted the charkha (spinning wheel) and khadi as symbols of self-reliance and of the dignity of labour.
• The All India Spinners' Association was set up in 1925.

The Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai:

The Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai, housed in the Tamukkam Palace, has the blood-stained cloth that Gandhi was wearing when he was assassinated.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1915, 1930 and 1942 are not the year of this decision.