The charkha was the spinning-wheel term promoted by Mahatma Gandhi as a symbol of self-reliance. Gandhi encouraged Indians to spin cotton thread and wear khadi, hand-spun and hand-woven cloth, as part of opposition to British economic control.
The charkha represented village production, dignity of labor, and economic independence. Gandhi believed that widespread spinning could provide rural employment while reducing dependence on imported British textiles. It became one of the most recognizable visual symbols of the Indian independence movement.
Charkha is the name of the wheel, while khadi is the cloth made from hand-spun and hand-woven fibers. Swadeshi describes the broader principle of using locally produced goods, and satyagraha refers to nonviolent resistance, so these terms are related but not interchangeable.