Why Gandhi Wore Half a Dhoti: A Story from Motihari

And if humanity is to become the greatest in the world, it must simply reach the depths of its heart.

Gandhi went to Motihari for the first time.

He was invited to a house for a meal. We have a tradition here, women serve the food. When Gandhi sat down to eat, a woman came and served him food. Gandhi began eating.

Then Gandhi asked, “Are there no other women in your home?”

The answer that woman gave, even today, moves me. When I think about it, when I read about it, when I speak of it. That woman said, “Gandhi, there are many women in my home, but there is only one sari. We wrap ourselves in towels, and if a male guest comes to the house,

one woman wears that one sari and comes before him.”

From Gandhi’s hand, the morsel fell into his plate. Gandhi wept, and Gandhi tore his dhoti in half that very day and said, “Until my daughters and daughters-in-law,” Mothers and sisters live in such a state that they have nothing to cover their bodies with, in India.

If women live half-naked, Gandhi, too, has the right to wear a full dhoti.

No. That is Gandhi.