Rashtriyashala

About this place

Gandhiji returned back to Rajkot, the place of his former schooling in 1939 to help set up the Rashtriyashala, the first of many institutions expressly incubating the values of Swaraj and instigating a sense of pride leading to freedom from the colonial rule. The shala (school) today imparts education and vocational training and has initiated projects in weaving khadi, cotton and manual oil pressing. A shala initiative also introduced local weavers to the art of single ikat weaving leading to a distinctive Rajkot style of ikat saris which have gained acceptance in the market.