By V.K. Saxena
August marks the starting of festivities as the nation celebrates the Independence Day, the Parsi New Year, Onam, Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtami this month. In the most up-to-date episode of his radio system Mann ki Baat on 25th July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a fervent appeal to also celebrate the National Handloom Day on August 7, which commemorates the Swadeshi Movement, cherishes the heritage Indian crafts and celebrates the colourful weaves of India.
When an artisan runs his loom, he not only produces a piece of cloth but also expresses the one-ness of India’s multi-hued ethnicity and creates sustainability for the rural economy on which the edifice of a self-reliant India is constructed. A piece of cloth woven by an artisan opens vast employment avenues for a significant quantity of allied workers engaged in the Khadi and handloom market. No other sector in this nation imbibes the collaboration, cooperation and inclusiveness of such substantial magnitude as the handloom market and specifically the Khadi sector does. So aptly, PM Modi has equated supporting Khadi and handloom sector with “Nation Building” and “service to the public and the nation”.
A cursory look at the truth files is sufficient to give an thought of the sheer size of the Indian handloom sector and its contribution in the rural economy. After agriculture, the handloom market is the second biggest supply of employment in rural India giving almost 50 lakh men and women with jobs. India contributes almost 95% of the world’s hand-woven fabric. Over 70 per cent of Khadi and handloom weavers and allied workers are females and therefore, a important to females empowerment. The countryside of India’s Eastern and North Eastern regions has more than 50 per cent of total quantity of weavers and handloom is also the only supply of livelihood for a significant quantity of tribal population residing in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand and in the NE states.
Furthermore, Khadi and handloom sectors have the possible of generating the maximum employments in the remotest geographies of this nation – Bali Island in Sunderbans, Chullyu and Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, Kaziranga in Assam, Likir and Kargil in Leh-Ladakh, Kutch in Gujarat and a lot of more areas – exactly where no government agency could ever attain considering that Independence.
Volumes can be written on the sheer varieties of the fabric made by Khadi and handloom artisans – the uber-fine muslin of West Bengal to the exquisite Pashmina of Jammu & Kashmir, from Eri and Muga Silk of the North East to the Kanjivaram of South, from the Patola of Gujarat to Ponduru of Andhra Pradesh and from Matka and Tassar Silk of Bihar to Paithani of Maharashtra.
It is, nevertheless, the collective duty of each and every Indian to sustain this vastness and multi-dimensionality of the Indian handloom sector. Mere applause would make no distinction in the lives of our weavers but patronizing their crafts would certainly do. We should find out from the foreign nations exactly where men and women popularized their nearby items to make them the top brands of the world.
The journey of luxury brand Mont Blanc started from a smaller village in Germany and fuelled by the nearby help, crossed the borders of Germany and Europe to come to be a international brand. Switzerland manufactures the greatest handcrafted watches in the world. Likewise, Indian artisans create the finest silk in the world. Every state in the county has a peculiar weave. Pashmina Shawls of J&K, Lippan Kaam of Kutch, Madhubani art of Bihar, Gond tribal art of Madhya Pradesh, Phulkari of Punjab, bamboo craft of the North East and marble and stone craft of Rajasthan are just a handful of heritage crafts with immense international possible. The require is to be vocal for our nearby handicrafts and not shy away from patronizing them.
And when the men and women do their bit, concrete measures like securing GI tags, trademark and patent registration for the distinctive items on component of the government authorities would make certain protection of the Indian nearby brands as has been performed by Khadi Commission in the last 7 years. This is essential for stopping the Chinese imitation of Indian crafts that has dealt a extreme blow to the handloom artisans.
Market revitalization becomes a requirement when productivity goes up. At Khadi, we took it upon us on a mission to strengthen the advertising of Khadi items by way of thousands of our outlets as properly as by way of e-portal to connect to a bigger customer base. Likewise, we should unleash the industry possible of the whole handloom sector to make certain fair and steady revenue to the artisans.
Supporting nearby entrepreneurs, artists, craftsmen, weavers must come naturally to us. The festival of Raksha Bandhan is round the corner. This year, let’s pledge to help two sisters – one in your family and the other, who is weaving the fabric for “self-reliance” in some remote corner of the nation. This festival let us get Khadi or handloom items to shower appreciate for one sister and generate livelihood for the other.
(The author is Chairman, Khadi & Village Industries Commission. Views expressed are the author’s personal.)