NEW DELHI: Ahead of the National Handloom Day celebrated annually in the country on August 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday linked the Swadeshi movement to the country’s growing textile sector.
During the 124th episode of his monthly radio show ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the PM highlighted the textile sector becoming the strength of the country.
“Another revolution started on the 7th of August 1905. The Swadeshi Movement lent a new energy to local products… especially handloom. To commemorate that, the country celebrates ‘National Handloom Day’ on the 7th of August every year. This year, 7th August marks the completion of 10 years of ‘National Handloom Day’, PM Modi said in the episode aired today.
“Just like our Khadi gave new strength to the freedom movement during the freedom struggle, today when the country is moving towards becoming a developed India, the textile sector is turning out to be the strength of the country,” he said.
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Narrating the success stories associated with textiles across the various states, the Prime Minister threw light on the modern technology adopted by families.
“In these 10 years, lakhs of people associated with this sector in different parts of the country have scripted many success stories. Kavita Dhawale of Paithan village in Maharashtra used to work in a small room earlier – there was neither space nor facilities. She received help from the government; now her skills are soaring high. She is earning thrice more. She is selling her own self-made Paithani sarees. There is a similar success story in Mayurbhanj, Odisha. Here, more than 650 tribal women have revived the Santhali saree. These women are now earning thousands of rupees every month. They are not just making clothes, but also carving their own identity.
The achievement of Naveen Kumar from Nalanda, Bihar, is also inspiring. His family has been associated with this work for generations.
But the best thing is that his family has now incorporated modernity in this field. Now his children are studying handloom technology. They are working with big brands. This change is not of just one family; it is making many families in the vicinity move forward,” the PM stated.
Furthermore, the PM highlighted India’s growth in the textile and apparel industry, applauding the hard work of village weavers to city side designers.
“Textile is not just a sector of India. It is an example of our cultural diversity. Today, the textile and apparel market is growing very fast, and the most beautiful thing about this development is that women from villages, designers from cities, elderly weavers and our youth who have began start-ups are all taking it forward together.
Today, more than 3000 textile start-ups are active in India. Many start-ups have lent global height to India’s handloom identity.
The path to a developed India in 2047 passes through self-reliance and the biggest basis of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is – ‘vocal for local’ noted the Prime Minister.
“Buy and sell only those things that are made in India, in which an Indian has shed sweat. This should be our resolve,” the PM said.
The National Handloom Day honours the contributions of handloom workers and aims to inspire pride and motivation within the handloom industry by highlighting their cultural, traditional, and economic significance. The event is celebrated nationwide to raise awareness of the handloom sector’s role in socio-economic development. (ANI)
