How America Saw Gandhiji’s Passive Resistance - Herbert Johnson in Daily Mail, London, England, 1931.
The boycott of British goods swept the country. Processions of men, women and children wearing khadi went from street to street in towns and villages exhorting people to buy swadeshi . By the end of 1930 the import of cotton piecegoods had slumped badly. There was also a big fall in cigarette smoking. British-owned mills in India closed, while Indian mills worked overtime. "The latest news from India is likely to bring Lancashire's Indian trade to a complete standstill," wrote the Daily Mail of London. The boycott was withdrawn under the Gandhi-Irwin pact of March 5, 1931, which stated that opposition to the use of foreign goods should not be used as a political weapon. The Indian public is represented by Gandhi, with a bagful of money showing its buying power, resisting tempting offers of goods from overseas.
Credit: Navajivan / GandhiServe
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