Mahatma Gandhi believed in the ideology of Swedeshi ie, to use everything that is made in India. During the colonial period, the British had discouraged the Indian textile industries and promoted the British made goods especially the textiles. This lead to the closure of several Indian hand loom industries and many weavers were hit hard. Gandhi and other leaders in order to promote swedeshi goods encouraged the people to spin yarn and weave Khadi. This hit the British textile industries hard and provided work to many Indian artisans and weavers.
