Madhusudan_Das

76 Madhusudan Das :
crude manner resulting in the loss to the country of untold wealth
and the producation of inferior hide.
The late Madhusudan Das who was a great philanthropist and
had himself learnt the modern process of tanning, had prepared
statistics to show what the country was losing annually owning to
the superstition of untouchability masquerading under the name of
religion. Harijan workers can learn the modern method and acquaint
the tanners with it in so far as it is practicable...
XI : STATEMENT ON MADHUSUDAN DAS
November 18, 1932
An Ashram inmate living in Orissa has telegraphed to me saying
that Babu Madhusudan Das to whose good work for the tanners I
referred in my fifth statement is not dead. I cannot account for my
stupidity in having imagined Madhusudan Babu was no more. On
receipt of the telegram I sent the following telegram to Madhusudan
Babu:
"Long live Madhusudan Das. I had gathered the impression that
you were no more. This is proof of my stupidity but let it also be
proof that God still has service to take from you for many a long
year to come."
I render my humble apology to Madhusudan Babu and his family
for my stupid blunder.
XII : ADVICE TO A HARIJAN WORKER
I do not need any scheme. I want a person who would act. What
purpose would a scheme serve without a person to carry it out? What
can we do with a scheme if we did not have the capacity to implement
it? You are planning to take up leather work. I like leather work very
much. But you have not learnt it. It is not enough that you can make
slippers. We have also to take up the work of tanning. If you have
that ability, your work and mine would become easy. We do not want
to set up big factories. We have to see how better tanning of leather
could be done in the villages. What did Madhusudan Das do? He
gathered the tanners of Utkal and studied how they did their tanning.
He was not satisfied with it, and he went to Germany and saw leather