By Manoj Kumar, Chairman, Khadi and Village Industries Commission
For the first time in the last 10 years, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and Congress Parliamentary Party President Sonia Gandhi has spoken about Bapu’s great heritage, khadi. But sadly, her voice is not for the welfare of khadi. Instead, it is to collectively humiliate and demoralise lakhs of artisans associated with khadi. In keeping with the Congress character, a senior Congress leader has woven a web of lies about Mahatma Gandhi’s Khadi in one of the English newspaper. But the question is, how did the biggest leader of Congress remember Khadi after a long gap of 10 years?
Why is the Congress party creating a ‘chakravyuh of propaganda’ for Khadi, which was not even mentioned 10 years ago? You will be surprised to know the ‘truth’ of the Congress intrigue regarding the National heritage Khadi, the identity of every Nationalist Indian, the heartbeat of Young India, the pride and honour of the country. The truth is that Congress is highly scared of the ‘Khadi Revolution’ going on at the global level under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 10 years.
Congress is not able to understand how the Khadi which they had put on ventilator has grown up in 10 years and is competing with the big brands of the world? Congress’s biggest concern is that the Khadi which was only a decoration in the wardrobe of leaders during their time period, how is it now becoming popular in every home, among the people?
Khadi industry gets a new lease of life
Khadi is the soul of self-reliant India. It is the basis of the economy of rural India. Khadi is the only such fabric in the world which has its own glorious history. After Independence, it was the responsibility of the Government to preserve this glorious history and save Khadi in its original form. But the Congress governments which ruled for a long time saved Khadi only as a symbol, whereas the power of Khadi was to rebuild a new India, to lay a strong foundation of developed India. In true sense, Khadi got a new power in 2014 when a Government led by PM Narendra Modi was formed in the country. It was as if Khadi got a new lease of life. The Khadi and Village Industries sales which was Rs 31154.20 crore during the financial year 2013-14 under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government led by Sonia Gandhi, increased 5 times to Rs 155673.12 crore in the financial year 2023-24.
Due to the brand power of Prime Minister Modi, the sales of Khadi clothes also increased by 500.90 percent from Rs 1081.04 crore to Rs 6496 crore in the last 10 years. The production of Khadi and Village Industries has also increased on a large scale in the last 10 years. While the production of Khadi and Village Industries was Rs 26109.08 crore in the financial year 2013-14, it increased by 314.79 percent to Rs 108297.68 crore in 10 years. During the same period, the production of Khadi textiles increased by 295.28 percent, which increased from Rs 811.08 crore to Rs 3206 crore. During this period, artisans associated with Khadi and Village Industries got employment opportunities on a large scale.
While 1.3 crore artisans and entrepreneurs got employment in the year 2013-14, 1.87 crore people got employment with an increase of 43.65 percent in the year 2023-24. At present, about 3 thousand Khadi institutions are working in the country through which about 5 lakh Khadi artisans are getting employment, in which 80 percent are women.
Huge jump in the sale of Khadi national flags
The ‘Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan’ led by Prime Minister Modi has increased the sale of Khadi National flags by 1101.15 percent. During the UPA government in the year 2013-14, the sale of national flags made of Khadi in the country was only 87 lakhs, whereas in the year 2023-24 it increased to Rs 10.45 crore. In the last three years, since the beginning of the Tiranga Yatra, the total sale of Khadi National flags has crossed Rs 33 crore. Khadi artisans are directly benefiting from this sale in the form of additional remuneration, which proves that the Khadi world has benefited the most from the Tiranga Yatra.
Big increase in the remuneration of Khadi artisans
Sonia Gandhi has alleged in her article that due to the failure of government policy, Khadi workers are not getting proper wages, whereas the truth is just the opposite. During the UPA rule in the year 2013-14, Khadi workers used to get Rs 4 per hank which has now been increased to Rs 10 per hank. The 150 percent increase in wages in 10 years shows that due to the successful government policy towards Khadi workers, not only the Khadi industry is flourishing but the inclination of artisans towards Khadi work has also increased.
Increased share of Khadi products in government supply
Respected Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Mrs.Sonia Gandhi has also made a baseless allegation in her article that due to the decline in government procurement, the Khadi industry has suffered huge losses. Whereas the reality is that during her rule, the government supply of Khadi products in the financial year 2013-14 was Rs 42.25 crore which has increased to Rs 111.86 crore in the last 10 years. Our rural Khadi artisans are getting the direct benefit of this increased supply.
Bapu’s Khadi gets global identity
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has made a serious allegation without any facts that Bapu’s Khadi is being deprived of its identity. Whereas the reality is that Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister of the country who is the biggest brand ambassador of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s Khadi. He not only wears Khadi himself but also promotes Khadi from every platform. Whether it is Mann Ki Baat or G-20 conference, Indian diaspora abroad or political platform, everywhere he has tried to promote the Indian national fabric Khadi.
Why the politics on Bapu’s Khadi?
The question is why Congress leader Sonia Gandhi did not answer these five questions in her article? Why did she hide these facts?
1. What was the production of Khadi Gramodyog before 2014?
2. What was the sales of Khadi Gramodyog before 2014?
3. What was the employment in Khadi Gramodyog before 2014?
4. What was the remuneration of artisans in Khadi Gramodyog before 2014?
5. What was the production and sales of Khadi alone before 2014?
Sonia Gandhi’s statement is a direct attack on the hard work of 5 lakh artisans devoted to the Khadi sector and their efforts for the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. This is a direct attack on Bapu’s Khadi and the soul of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The foreign powers have been hatching conspiracies against Khadi in the past as well. But Khadi never bowed down under the leadership of Bapu, nor will it ever bow down under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The ‘New Khadi of New India’ has new intentions. Sonia Gandhi’s statement is an ineffective attempt to stop the ‘Khadi Revolution’. The Khadi world and Khadi artisans will now start the ‘Khadi Shankhnaad’ in every city. Every worker of Khadi will answer this.