‘We need another revolution, but we need another Gandhi to lead’
V P Appukutta Poduval, 93
VP Appukutta Poduval still lives in Payyanur, the town in Kerala where he was born. Influenced in early life by Mahatma Gandhi, he threw himself into the freedom movement. He dedicated himself to khadi, the handwoven cloth that Gandhi championed as a replacement for British-milled cloth.
“In 1931, an associate of Gandhi-ji’s came to Payyanur to introduce the charkha [spinning wheel], and fortunately he selected our house for the first experiment.
“Everyone in my family picked up spinning. I was the youngest and I also got trained in weaving khadi.
“Then, in 1934, I met Gandhi-ji. He visited Payyanur on his tour of Kerala, because he was raising funds for the All India Harijan Sevak Sangh [a body dedicated to improving lives of the former untouchable castes]. I must have been in the fifth grade.
“I worked in the freedom movement in Kerala. In 1942, there was a flood and cholera in the Malabar area, and we set up a relief committee. Then I worked for the All India Charkha Sangh, (spinners’ association) of which Gandhi-ji was chairman.
“After training in Payyanur, I was transferred to places where the government wanted to promote weaving. In 1947, I was back in Payyanur, and I was there when India became independent.
“August 15 was a holiday, but there were programmes organised for the public. We distributed kanji [rice gruel] and payasam [rice pudding] in several places to the poor. There was a procession in the evening, and a grand meeting in the police grounds.
“But despite this the mood was not so jubilant because of Partition and the violence. Gandhi-ji wasn’t even in Delhi. He was in Calcutta and on that day he undertook a fast. He was spinning and fasting and praying for Hindu-Muslim unity. We were anxious about his health. It was a sorrowful freedom.
“We’ve become a robust country in some ways. The country has progressed economically and scientifically.
“But in the field of human relations, a cultural degeneration has set in. We see communal strife. We need another revolution, but there’s no one like Gandhi-ji to lead it. These are facts we need to face.”