In an effort to honour and acknowledge the weavers of India and to put spotlight on the handloom sector, the Union Government, in 2015, announced that August 7 would be celebrated every year as National Handloom Day.The handloom sector have an advantage of being less capital intensive, minimal use of power, eco-friendly and flexible with small production. In this sector, 70% of handloom weavers and allied workers are women.
To efficiently promote India's handloom sector and to help the Indian weavers, many new changes were made by Government on National Handloom Day. There was creation of handloom portal, which intends to increase handloom popularity in the newer generation.
The Fashion Design Council of India had also started raising funds to support the upcoming designers.The aim of the funds was to buy merchandise from weavers to make new and creative designs.
This helped the weavers’ community to earn more and better support their livelihood. “Atma Nirbhar Bharat” mission was also initiated by PM Modi to support the weavers. There is also a need to buy products that are hand made and produced inside India.
There is no doubt that India has a truly rich and diverse history that remains unique. There is unity in diversity. Handlooms are a part of our identity as a nation and are a representation of our rich heritage. From Gujarat and Rajasthan’s tie and dye and West Bengal’s Jamdani to Tamil Nadu’s Madras checks, there is a great deal of distinction as well as stylistic exchange.
To honor and revive the Handloom industry there are many Indian Fashion Designers whowork with Handloom and make a revival of Handloom even in the modern times. Some of the famous Indian Designers who work with Handloom are Gaurang Shah, Ritu Kumar, Sanjay Garg, Payal Khandwala, Rahul Misra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Abraham & Thakore, Vaishali Shadangule and many more. The India Runway Week (IRW) 2022 was high on textile and handloom with five designers from the past seasons dedicating their line to textiles and handlooms during the finaleshow.
The Weavers' Service Centre is a centre that concentrates on designing, weaving, printing and dyeing. The role of The Weavers’ Service Centre is to promote and facilitate the continuous growth of the handloom industry to complete in the global market. They also dedicate themselves to support the Handloom Sector at large in upgrading-skill, development/diversification of handloom products, technical advice etc.They try to recognize the technical needs of handloom weavers and dedicate them to reach every nook and corner of the sector with a helping hand.
To improve the working conditions of handloom weavers and for the sustainable development of handloom sector, the Ministry of Textiles, through various schemesand programs, has adopted focused, flexible and holistic approach by facilitating marketing of handloom products, infrastructure development, brand building and empowerment of weavers by organizing them under self help groups, training and skill upgradation, infusion of new and contemporary designs through design intervention as well as product diversification, technology upgradation, easy access to raw material at subsidized pricesand easy credit flow at low interest rate. Besides providing better health care and life insurance under welfare schemes, they also provide education to the weaver’s childrenand give an idea how important the handloom sector is which is the part of our culture.
Like the Government taking measures to save revive and promote the handloom sector and weavers nationwide, it becomes a major duty of every Indian to support the cause. Yes it is tough to practice the same on everyday basis but once in a while we Indians should come to basics. We can always buy one or two handloom product out of 10 purchases.
Buying a Handloom product should be an emotional attachment to all Indians and a voice to support the rich textile heritage Art and Crafts of India.
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