Which of the following factors made Gandhiji a people's leader :
(A) He lived like them
(B) Spoke their language
(C) He wore simple dhoti
(D) He spent each day working on charkha
(E) He did not do manual labour
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B), (C), (D)
Peasants, workers and artisans venerated Gandhiji as their “Mahatma” because he did not stand apart from the common folk but identified with them.
(A) He lived like them Correct. People appreciated that he dressed like them and lived like them.
(B) Spoke their language Correct. He also spoke their language and empathised with them.
(C) He wore simple dhoti Correct. While other leaders wore a Western suit or an Indian bandgala, Gandhiji went among the people in a simple dhoti or loincloth.
(D) He spent each day working on charkha Correct. He spent part of each day working on the charkha and encouraged other nationalists to do the same.
(E) He did not do manual labour Incorrect. Spinning was manual labour, and by doing it daily Gandhiji broke the boundary between mental labour and manual labour that the caste system kept.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.2 A people’s leader … Many of them venerated Gandhiji, referring to him as their ‘Mahatma’. They appreciated the fact that he dressed like them, lived like them, and spoke their language. Unlike other leaders he did not stand apart from the common folk, but empathised and even identified with them. This identification was strikingly reflected in his dress: while other nationalist leaders dressed formally, wearing a Western suit or an Indian bandgala, Gandhiji went among the people in a simple dhoti or loincloth. Meanwhile, he spent part of each day working on the charkha (spinning wheel), and encouraged other nationalists to do likewise. The act of spinning allowed Gandhiji to break the boundaries that prevailed within the traditional caste system, between mental labour and manual labour.…” |