Atma Nirbhar through Khaddar - 1

"I repeat what I have said so often that voluntary universal adoption of khaddar with all its vast implications means purna swaraj and that civil disobedience becomes a necessary duty only because khaddar has not yet obtained the hold it should."

                                                        Mahatma Gandhi, Young India, 5-2-1931; 45:135.

 

Khaddar is the word Khadi originated from and it indicates that the cloth you hold is a hand spun, hand woven fabric. Khadi and khaddar represent one and the same. However, Khadi  is now reserved by the government's Khadi board, which needs to be open source and public owned in the opinion of many.  Since there are many Khadi registered sansthas and some not, we choose to use Khaddar more than Khadi.

Khaddar or Khadi is not just a handmade ‘product’ - hand spun & hand woven, but it’s a lifestyle. As we all know this was a weapon of revolt, a tool for our struggle for Independence, very well used by Mahatma. There is more to it though. Mahatma Gandhi has presented Khaddar as a symbol of nationalism, equality, and self-reliance. It was his belief that reconstruction of society and effective Satyagraha against the foreign rule can be possible only through khadi. That is why ‘trading’ it as a commodity doesn’t help sustain. 

Defying capitalism and socialism, Kumarappa and Gandhi had imagined a decentralized distributed Indian economy.  Khadi/Khaddar and village industries were seen as the most favourite constructive work by both Gandhiji and J C Kumarappa and even today after so many years seems the only hopeful thing to counter the failures of capitalism and Industrialization - especially in the rural Indian context. It was for economic, cultural and social reasons and not merely political that Gandhi established this and JCK followed it all through his life.

With around 70% of our populace still living in the villages/rural India, and weaving being the second largest employer after agriculture, there is more reason to ensure it is revived and restored. Khaddar and any hand craft for that matter, is the most self-reliant activity that also renders strength to the local economy and is ecologically very light on Mother Earth and her resources.  The real ‘Atma Nirbharta’ is in Khaddar bringing about self-sufficiency and self-reliance by reviving other village industries allied and associated with it.

The India Handmade Collective (IHMC) is a coming together of a community of individuals, organizations, institutions and brands, to work towards the promotion and sustainability of the Indian Handmade sector, with a mission to build on the rural economy by creating robust and self-reliant value chains. It has been started as a response to the disruption and losses created in the wake of the pandemic.

IHMC will work towards creating awareness of the rich handloom and handicraft heritage of India. Reintroduce dying crafts and provide a platform to skilled artisans to share their skill and knowledge across various groups operating in different parts of the country. IHMC shall work to save and revive the art that is Khaddar and also empower the artisans and crafts persons.

There is a caveat too: Khaddar, as it is an extraordinarily skillful craft, will be the opposite of standardization of the ‘industry’ tout.  Every piece will be different and unique and there will be some doubling or bubbles, but that’s what makes Khadi unique. By wearing a Khaddar/Khadi product, you will have kept the livelihood of at least five households intact. Flaunt your Khaddar/Khadi with Immense Pride!

Finally, there can’t be a better statement than Gandhi’s, to insist on this being the rural enabler, livelihood provider:

“Khaddar was conceived with a much more ambitious object, that is, to make our villages starvation-proof.“ – Mahatma Gandhi