Clothing Gandhi's Nation: Homespun and Modem India.

Clothing Gandhi's Nation: Homespun and Modem India. By Lisa Trivedi (Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2007. xxvi plus 205 pp. $29.95).

Lisa Trivedi's book is a useful addition to the literature on how symbols of nationality and the nation are created. Critiquing Benedict Anderson's emphasis on print capitalism, Trivedi explores the interaction between written and visual texts, and how each informed the other. As her title suggests, she approaches her study of khadi, or homespun and woven cloth, from the point of view of modern India. She is particularly concerned to examine the way in which khadi was transformed, eventually becoming a visual symbol of the nation. Following its adoption by M. K. Gandhi in the early 1920s, as part of the swadeshi movement, Trivedi argues,

nationalists and common people used khadi to construct a common visual vocabulary through which a population separated by language, religion, caste, class and region communicated their political dissent and their visions of community. By the time independence was won, khadi had been inextricably woven into the fabric of India's life, (vii)

Such is its symbolic significance as a national marker, khadi continues to receive government subsidies, is worn by the country's political elite, and continues to be used on national commemorative occasions; nor has its association with the politics of dissent been forgotten, a fact reflected in the Flag Code of India.

Sutprisingly, Trivedi notes, khadi has not been well served by modern Indian historiography. Too many narrow emphases--on the economic, or its significance in regional Congress politics, for example--or the dismissal of the importance of swadeshi politics and the role played by khadi during the nationalist period, as well as a primary focus on the written sources for understanding ideology, has meant that "there has been no sustained study of the transformation of this ordinary cloth into a powerful political symbol" (xxii). There has been until now an imbalance in the approach of scholars, which has privileged the production of khadi over its consumption. Trivedi therefore turns her attention towards the latter and away from a narrow focus on Gandhian philosophy and politics, to argue that the transformation of khadi cannot be understood without taking into account the significance of government policy, along with the roles, first of the All-India Khaddar Board, and then the All-India Spinners' Association which replaced it. It is this aspect of her book that is particularly interesting, grounded as it is in meticulous archival research.

Trivedi Cakes as the basis of her study the view that the development of a national identity is a "discursive field" (xxii). In five chapters, she considers first of all the relationship between khadi and the swadeshi movement, and looks at how a "politics of consumption" developed that moved beyond the sphere of Gandhi's influence. This is followed by a discussion of how the use of exhibitions and magic lantern shows to promote khadi around the country allowed the "geobody" of the nation to be imagined. Because the All-India Spinners' Association centrally managed these activities, a consistent message could be maintained, while at the same time acknowledging the heterogeneity of the people they addressed. Chapter three. "The Nation Clothed: Making an 'Indian' Body", underlines the difficulties encountered by people in making their choice about whether or not to wear khadi. By its very nature, khadi challenged the conventional use of clothing as a status marker. In particular, its adoption by women was extremely problematic; Congress elites, on the other hand, such as Sarojini Naidu and Jawaharlal Nehru, sought compromise through the use of expensive, high-quality khadi, such as silk and high-count cloth. "Rituals of Time" form the focus of chapter four. Here the relationship between the khadi flag and the creation of a nationalist calendar is explored. The final chapter discusses the role of khadi in making public space national. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, Trivedi shows how the use of khadi in public space led to the emergence of a "national habitus".

Based on solid research, some of it innovative, Clothing Gandhi's Nation is a fascinating and informative study of that most familiar artefact of Indian nationalism. Its main achievement is to present a coherent and very persuasive analysis of the ways in which this basic, everyday object became representative of the nation. It is well-written and well-presented, with many interesting black and white images, including not just photographs, but also items such as posters and advertisements. There are a very small number of errors--for example, "G. B." instead of "B. G." Tilak (107); "khilaf instead of ''khalif" (127). Trivedi's research has been described as "a study of a Gandhian movement without Gandhi" (xxiv) and this, along with its recognition of the visual materiality of khadi, is what makes the book so worthwhile.

Kate Brittlebank

University of Tasmania