Khadi and Freedom movement
- Khadi owes its revival to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi who saw it as a tool to become self-reliant and independent.
- Britishers bought raw materials at cheaper rate from India and sold their costly finished products in India.
- This unfavourable balance of trade was first brought to the mainstream by Dada Bhai Nairoji.
- Dada Bhai Naroji put forward the theory of “drain of wealth” in his book “ Poverty and Un-british rule in India”.
- Later, the use of swadeshi products was promoted by extremists and it became an important agenda during Bengal partition movement in 1905.
- To put an end to the drain of wealth, the Swadeshi products were encouraged and produced.
- Khadi was then introduced in 1920 by INC at Nagpur session as a political weapon for giving concrete expression to the Swadeshi Spirit to boycott the foreign goods.
- During India’s freedom struggle, Gandhi encouraged handloom weaving, spinned with Charkha and promoted khadi and also used it as a medium to spread the wave of nationalism at grass root level.
- The movement rendered an opportunity to Indians to be self-reliant on cotton and to be free from clothes produced by foreign manufacturers.
- The first Khadi Production Centre was established at Katiawad, Gujarat.
Chronology of events that contributed to the development of Khadi in India
- In the early20s and 30s, various Boards and Associaions were set up for Khadi.
- In 1946, Govt. of Madras sought the advice of Gandhiji and set up a Department for Khadi.
- In 1948, Govt. of India recognized the role of Rural Cottage Industries in the Industrial Policy Resolution and soon included it in the DPSP of the Constitution in Article 43.
- These ideas were elaborated in the First five-year Plan and the policy framework for setting up of a body for Khadi.
- In 1953, All India Khadi and Village Industries Board (AIKVIB) were set up which later became a statutory body- Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
- It was set up in 1957.
- Khadi is being promoted in India by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India.
- Since then the commission has been:
- Planning and executing the development.
- Working towards promoting research in production techniques.
- Supplying raw material and tools to producers.
- Quality control and marketing of khadi products.
