In 1934, Gandhi, disenchanted with the reception given to his philosophy of nonviolence, quit the Congress party. Decrying industrialization's negative influences, he embarked on a national "constructive programme" to encourage traditional village industries such as hand spinning and weaving, increase access to education and sanitation and eradicate the doctrine of untouchability. Spinning regularly at public gatherings and wearing only hand-spun clothes, Gandhi came to see the craft as an integral part of the nationalist mantra: "Here is an industry which will enable the Indian people not only to live as a nation, but to live as a nation producing real wealth."

PHOTO: MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE/LIFE