National Handloom Day: Make In India – Heading Towards Self Sufficiency?

Today is the dawn of a new inaguration : National Handloom Day on August 7. It sure has got a nice ring to it and I personally think that this is a nice gesture following up on the idea of Make in India which almost closely aligns with this idea as well.

The choice of the date for this inauguration is pretty interesting – August 7 since it was the very date the Swadeshi movement started in India in 1905. If you recall, it was the movement to boycott the imported goods and give more importance to the local goods and produces to help sustain the local market and help redistribution of wealth internally and reduce the unnecessary dependence on external resources. Logically it did make a lot of sense since internally, the economy was struggling and the developments were not helping the local economy prosper at all.

I do agree that things are different now and we all live in a globalised world. But one cannot push away the importance of self sufficiency and sustenance. After all these traits and  arts have remained as a part of our culture over the years and they have added depth to our very presence. Granted that the economies of scale and mass production plus modern technology has posed a threat for these local handlooms and local artists. But one cannot sideline aesthetic beauty these arts can add to our lives.

In the wake of this, the first national handloom day makes a lot of sense, esp with the focus on local employment and development of cottage and small scale industries. I do not want to sound like a supporter of a political action, but I do want to support a sensible venture. We have loved the idea of make in India and we certainly love the idea of national handloom day and the mark of a day to celebrate the same.

The only hope is that this idea is sustained over a longer period of time and handlooms are given enough exposure to compete in the market with the inclusion of innovative marketing techniques so that the entire effort does not go to the background.

Wishing the National Handloom day all success and the promise of support we can muster.

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