State struggling to promote khadi, India’s ‘independence cloth’

A charkha spindle display at Khadi Bhandar, a shop selling homespun.

By Shikha Kumar

BANGALORE (Oct. 18)—Karnataka is doing its best to promote India’s premier homespun cloth, khadi, but the laborious work and low wages entailed in making it have seen the number of entrepreneurs coming into the khadi production business shrink.

According to M. Selvaraju, economic officer at the Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), khadi manufacturing is one of the few sectors in India that guarantees employment to people and ensures that they become self-reliant.

However, he believes that one of the reasons for the declining number of khadi workers is the laborious nature of the job. The cloth is completely handwoven and handspun and does not involve any machines.

Selvaraju said the state government needs to promote the importance of the cloth.

“When the rest of the world will not have clothes to wear, India will always have clothes to wear, because it produces khadi,” he said.

Low wages a problem

P.M. Janwadkar, district development officer of the Karnataka State Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB) pointed out that the wages given to khadi artisans are meager.

 The artisans weave around 25 ladis of cloth (one ladi is about 25 centimeters), working 8-10 hours a day. They are paid a scanty Rs. 3, which is subsidized by the government, for manufacturing one ladi of cloth.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act calls for workers in rural areas to be paid a minimum of Rs. 100 to sustain their livelihood, which is far more than they are paid at present.

“At Rs. 25 a day, one can survive, but cannot live a comfortable life,” Janwadkar said. “That is the main reason why people are not coming into this sector.”

To attract workers, the board is contemplating increasing the wages its pays khadi spinners.
“Instead of Rs. 3 per ladi, our honorable chairman and honourable minister are trying to increase the wages to at least Rs. 6 per ladi,” Janwadkar said.

Khadi garments on sale

Move to modernize homespun’s image

Janwadkar said efforts are being made to increase the saleability of the cloth.

Two years ago, the KVIB tied up with the National Institute of Fashion Technology so budding designers could take up the fabric and increase its visibility and commercial value. 

Another initiative taken is to blend silk with cotton khadi. This makes the end product not only comfortable, but also fashionable.

For 108 days in the year, includes the weeks in which Independence and Republic days fall and Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, the cloth is sold at a discount.

“It is a direct rebate to the customer from the government which enables him to receive a discount of 10-15 percent,” Janwadkar said.

Biradar, the development officer at KVIB, said that just providing rebates is not enough. He feels that the gap between the producers and consumers is an overlooked issue.

“Khadi production is done in rural areas, while the market for it is in urban areas,” he said, adding that efforts need to be made to increase accessibility and reduce this gap.

Janwadkar hopes the cloth will gain more popularity among the people.

“Khadi is not just a fabric. It holds a special distinction of being used during wartime and is an indication of our freedom,” he said.