Khadi and Freedom movement

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:

1. Planning and executing the development.
2. Working towards promoting research in production techniques.
3. Supplying raw material and tools to producers.
4. Quality control and marketing of khadi products.