Read the following passage and answer the questions (46-50):

Charkha

What I object to, is the craze for machinery as such. The craze is for what they call labour-saving machinery. Men go on ”saving labour”, till thousands are without work and thrown on the open streets to die of starvation. I want to save time and labour, not for a fraction of mankind, but for all; I want the concentration of wealth, not in the hands of few, but in the hands of all. YOUNG INDIA, 13 NOVEMBER 1924 Khaddar does not seek to destroy all machinery but it does regulate its use and check its weedy growth. It uses machinery for the service of the poorest in their own cottages. The wheel is itself an exquisite piece of machinery. YOUNG INDIA, 17 MARCH 1927

Who is the author of the passage?

The correct option is Mahatma Gandhi.

Explanation:

The passage highlights the philosophy of the Charkha (spinning wheel) and Khaddar (homespun cloth), emphasizing a critique of "labour-saving machinery" that leads to unemployment and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. It advocates for technology that serves the poorest in their own cottages.

These ideas are central to the socio-economic philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. Furthermore, the passage explicitly cites excerpts published in YOUNG INDIA (dated 13 November 1924 and 17 March 1927). Young India was a weekly journal published in English by Mahatma Gandhi from 1919 to 1931, wherein he popularized his unique ideologies of Satyagraha, non-violence, and self-reliance (Swadeshi).

Therefore, the author of the passage is Mahatma Gandhi.