Atmanirbhar starts from your appearance

On August 7th, 1905, Calcutta, a non-violent protest broke out against the British Government. In Indian independence struggle, this type of struggle was unprecedented, because never before that, an assemble of the size ever joined their hands against the British Government. The event was breakout of the Swadeshi Movement. The British tried to divide Bengal on the religious lines and a movement was launched against the government. Necessary element of the movement was the boycott of the British cloth and acceptance to the Swadeshi handlooms. 

A decade later, Mr. M. K. Gandhi came back to India. He too started his struggles against the British India. One important element in his struggle was the acceptance of Khadi in the place of the British Cloth. In both the cases, in the Swadeshi Movement of 1905 and in the Gandhian struggles, the common denominating factor was Atmanirbhar Bharat. The political struggle was inviting the people to realize their own economic capabilities, to support their brethren economically, to provide dignity and respect to the local produce goods. 

When China, in 2020, engaged into skirmishes with India in Galwan valley and Pangong Tso region, suddenly an economic boycott was called out. Today many might have been following that economic boycott as well. But the question is do we really sustain this kind of people movements? Or it is only for WhatsApp status, Twitter feeds, Instagram stories and Facebook posts?

The answer lies in your wardrobes. India, since the independence struggle has been encouraging use of Indian handlooms. Not as a choice of fashion statement but as a choice of self-reliance. When we buy an Indian handloom, then we give employment to the woman who has no other means of income, she is living in the rural India, devoid of any land to cultivate, devoid of any income source. It is only your purchase, which is encouraging her to continue her cottage industry and sustain a living not only for her but also for her children. 

In Haryana, Panipat was once known for its handlooms. The morning streets were always occupied with bicycles going to the handloom stores and evening streets with bicycles coming from the stores. Then, carpets, which was most important product of the Panipat handloom sector, was challenged by the Chinese carpets which were cheap due to the synthetic nature of the raw material used. Competition eliminated the local industry. Today, there are countable handloom factories in Panipat. The farmers too lost their income because the handlooms were based on the agricultural raw materials.

In Uttar Pradesh, which once prided itself for Varanasi sarees and Lucknow’s Chikan cloth is struggling to sustain the handloom weavers. The weavers are artistic in nature and when they pass on this art of the weaving to the next generation, they are also preserving the art. But what is the cost of it? The weavers are not able to pay electricity bills for their handloom workshops, forced to work in dark environment, losing their eyesight prematurely. 

In Himachal Pradesh, what occupation do the tribal women of Kullu have? Not far away from the Kullu airport of Bajaura, I happen to see women coming, carrying their babies on their backs and started weaving traditional Himachali handlooms. On interaction with them, I came to know that though they can gather forest produce for living and sustenance but they do not have any other income source to provide education to their child. I just wondered, what would have been their condition had there been no handloom to provide them employment. 

The handloom sector provides employment and income to many of the people who belong to the marginalised sections. We may read about poverty day and night but rarely we do anything. Supporting handloom can be one way to providing contribution and support to such artistic handloom weavers, who despite all the odds are continuing this work. Yes, it is bit expensive than the normal machine-made cloth, but can’t we buy one expensive cloth for all those? Didn’t we end up paying a little too much for pop corns in the movie multiplexes? 

Supporting handlooms is much more than just shopping, it is about believing that we can be Atmanirbhar. And what better way to do it by appearing in the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat? 

When we celebrate anniversary of 7th August 1905, Swadeshi Movement, and celebrate handloom day in the memory, it is also necessary that we not only do so in letters but in spirit.