National Handloom Day: Choose Handloom, Be Vocal For Handmade, PM Modi's Appeal To Citizens

The handloom sector has been one of the major sources of employment in India. It is also an important symbol for the cultural heritage of the nation.

August 7 is celebrated as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the beginning of Swadeshi Movement in India. The movement dates back in 1905. It is used to create awareness and acceptance towards this sector and its exquisite work.

With the rising coronavirus cases, weavers have been one of the worst-hit with the loss of jobs in the sector. The first National Handloom Day was inaugurated on August 7, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centenary Hall of Madras University in Chennai.

As a part of the social media campaign, the ministry has requested all the Union Ministers, Lieutenant Governors, Chief Ministers, MPs as well as industrialists, to stand in solidarity with the hand loom weaving community of the country through their social media profiles. Apart from that, the Secretaries to the central government, officers at equivalent levels have also been presented with a similar request. Many of them took to twitter to highlight the relevance of the day.

PM Modi took to Twitter to write: "On National Handloom Day, we salute all those associated with our vibrant handloom and handicrafts sector. They have made commendable efforts to preserve the indigenous crafts of our nation. Let us all be #Vocal4Handmade and strengthen efforts towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat."

Earlier, the Union Ministry of Textiles on Thursday released a statement announcing that it would be marking the sixth National Handloom Day, scheduled on Friday, through a virtual event. The event will take place virtually to avoid any gathering amid the coronavirus pandemic. It would be attended by the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, who would be the Chief Guest for the occasion,

"Moreover, the ministry stated that due to the pandemic, a traditional event like exhibition or a mela could not be organised. However, not wanting the weavers to lose out on the opportunity of an exposure like that, the ministry decided to provide them with the chance to sell their products online. In a step that would also give a boost to 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', the Handloom Export Promotion Council would organise a virtual fair, in which over 150 weavers from across the country would be participating," reported The Financial Express.

The virtual fair would be open on August 7, 10 and 11 and several international buyers would be taking part in it. Besides this, a mobile app and a website would also be launched for the Handloom Mark Scheme.

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