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Gandhi to Gregg 1927 05 29

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Title	Gandhi to Gregg 1927 05 29
Creator	Mohandas K. Gandhi
Recipient	Richard B. Gregg
Date as written on document	29th May, 1927
Date in U.S. format	May 29, 1927
Description	Mohandas K. Gandhi to Richard B. Gregg; Typed letter signed; 6 p. (6 leaves)
Individuals mentioned	Dr. [W.K.?] Kellogg
Transcription	NANDI HILL, May 29, 1927 MY DEAR GOVIND, I have your very important letter. It crossed mine. I cannot appropriate the credit you give me for gentle criticism of your hand-writing. What I wanted to say was that although I liked handwritten letters, there was no occasion for you to revert to writing your letters for my sake and that you should continue type-writing as you believe in it, and as I know it does result in economy of time. Nor do I consider your hand-writing to be bad. It might be clearer. But fortunately for my friends I have my own writing as the criterion and that being so, I know very few whose writing is worse than mine, and yet because of my dislike of typewriters, if I could possibly write with my own hand, I will inflict that illegible hand in preference to having my letters typed or typing them myself. The reason underlying is this. If I have any concern for my friends, I should endeavour to write a better and more legible hand. Typewriter is a cover for indifference and laziness. Moreover I believe in the dictum that handwriting reveals the writer. Typewriting certainly results in economy of time. But whilst I admit that time is money, I do not admit that money is everything, and therefore I can conceive innumerable occasions when economy of time would be misplaced. And the inroads that the typewriter is making have all but destroyed the magnificent art of calligraphy. I wonder if you have seen old handwritten manuscripts when people used to pour forth their very soul into their work. But I must not stray away from the subject on which I want to write. Your suggestions about selecting a few untouchable boys and making them ideal farmers does great credit to your heart. But it betrays your ignorance of the situation. Even if half-a-dozen untouchables could be trained as you suggest, that will in no way bring us nearer the solution of the problem of untouchability. The petrified -- on this matter -- Hindu mind will immediately say, we shall touch every untouchable who has qualified himself as these six men have. You perhaps know that there have been many and many pariah saints; but their sainthood has not saved this suppressed class. The orthodox mind again argues, the pariah saint becomes so because of his past karma and he naturally commands our respect. When the others do likewise, they will also command the same respect. It is this immoral deduction from the theory of karma which has got to be combated at every step and the Hindu mind has got to be educated by fierce penance and understanding that the theory of karma is not intended to kill all reform and all effort, but that it is intended for mankind to work out off all evil karma; and he who does not do so is not entitled to belong to the human species. The Hindu mind has therefore to be educated to regard intrinsically as equals the lowest, the fallen and the downtrodden and to give them a helping hand so as to make them level with the rest. And why, apart from the question of untouchability, should not the most promising young men from the untouchables be sent out to become accomplished farmers and try the experiment suggested by you? Surely you do not wish to imply that the touchables in their pride will not care to learn farming with a view to utilizing human excreta as manure. If that is your argument, it would be wrong to expect untouchables to handle work which others would consider as degrading. As you know, at the Ashram, we have untouchable boys. We do not even ask them to do the sanitary work. The initiative is taken by the socalled high-caste men; for, on such points the so-called untouchables would be very touchy. I am having that experience everywhere. Underlying your suggestion, therefore, is the question not of untouchability but of improved farming methods along simple lines. But I have simply not handled this question energetically, simply because I believe in the doctrine of one thing at a time. There is much scattered work here, so much laziness, so much blind imitation, so little concentration that it is necessary to hammer away at one very simple but fairly universal thing, and if that succeeds, the rest can follow. And agriculture is an industry such a thing which but it can only be improved when it receives state assistance. In an ill-governed country, I think with Thoreau that the citizen who resists the evil government must ignore renounce property rights. And without assurance of settled ownership, it is impossible to do much in the way of agriculture. I do not want to elaborate this thing. I have said sufficient to enable you to fill in the rest. Whilst your suggestion does not seem to me to be feasible so far as the untouchables are concerned, and difficult of accomplishment, even as a general scheme the extract sent by you is valuable and I propose, as soon as I find space, to reproduce it in Young India so that those who are at all inclined in the direction might take the matter up. I did not get the larger volume about vitamines. What I got was Food and Health. But that book also gives enough information about vitamines. Dr. Kellog’s writings I know. I have read his book, and if it has not been lost as many of my books have been, it must be in the Ashram library. However, you seem to know him personally, and I shall look forward to what he has to say. Have you put the whole case before him and asked whether he can suggest an effective vegetarian substitute for milk in the case of patients? Yours sincerely, BAPU
Notes	"Govind" is Richard B. Gregg
Language	English
Repository	Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Source	CDG.B. India. Gandhi, M.K
Donor	Richard B. Gregg
Rights	Reproduction for any purpose other than teaching, personal use, or research may be a violation of federal copyright law. If you wish to reproduce or publish these materials for any other reason, see: http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/peace/peacewebsite/scpcWebsite/Documents/Policies.htm#copyright
Display format	Image/jpeg
Image identifier	Gandhi_Gregg_19270529
Institution	Swarthmore College
Department	Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Collection	Ghandi Correspondence in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Title	Gregg_19270529_p1
Rights	Reproduction for any purpose other than teaching, personal use, or research may be a violation of federal copyright law. If you wish to reproduce or publish these materials for any other reason, see: http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/peace/peacewebsite/scpcWebsite/Documents/Policies.htm#copyright
Institution	Swarthmore College
Department	Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Collection	Ghandi Correspondence in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection

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Gandhi to Gregg 1927 05 29

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