Government should be commended for weaving a success story from khadi
As Indians we are finally comfortable in our own skin, choosing to flaunt our khadi on our sleeve, literally and metaphorically. literally, because a huge bump in sales have finally resulted in the Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC) from being a euphemism for self-help groups of rural women and artisans to a full-fledged corporate brand that goes through stringent industry standards. Metaphorically, because khadi in our minds has transformed from being the poor man's fabric and a symbol of home-grown Gandhian resistance against imperial rule into an uber cool sartorial statement. From being a reactive tool, it has become an active imaging software of a new India, one that can weave the world in its warp and weft. If Gandhian idealism birthed it, then certainly Prime Minister Narendra Modi's evangelism for the fabric as a badge of pride has helped lever the khadi economy into its second generation. The endorsement from high offices has also added a sheen that khadi lacked for long — that of quality, tried and tested. Khadi sales have increased 90 per cent over last year, with the low-profile sector notching up sales of Rs 813.86 crore in the first six months of financial year 2017-18 compared to sales worth Rs 429.93 crore over the same period last year. KVIC's Delhi outlet alone witnessed a record sale of Rs 1.2 crore on Dhanteras. While the fabric push is easily discernible in the figures, the surprise is the bumper demand for organic products such as honey, spices, food, soaps, cosmetics and health supplements from KVIC outlets, weaving in our botanical and ayurvedic heritage too.
What Modi has done is given khadi a brand personality, a sustained campaign and a mass slogan. For years, couture designers have been trying to sell khadi as a breathable, handspun, fully organic version of Indian linen to the West and their elite patrons at home with innovative tweaks. Some textile majors even tried to put out a dedicated line but it had only sporadic appeal. By exhorting people to buy at least one khadi item this season, by positing our folk textile traditions as worthy to be exported to the world and by talking up khadi as a uniquely Made in India product that would add value to the Indian growth story, the Government has made it viable commercially. Mandatory use of khadi textiles and products by PSUs and incubating weaver clusters with design trainers have also ensured the khadi story has finally become a part of living Indian heritage, a concept that has been successfully marketed by the hospitality industry through revival of India's royal and colonial heritage structures. Perhaps Khadi version 2.0 works best at a time globalisation is seen as a homogenizer and major global players are looking inwards to strengthen their identities, from China to the US and India. Khadi, thus, is a magic spindle that can spool out a new skein for our cultural diplomacy.
