National Handloom Day 2023 – Date, Theme, History

National Handloom Day 2023 is observed since 2015 annually on 07 of August to showcase the legacy of the Indian handloom industry and to honor the weavers across the country. A day is designated to handloom day, in the judgment that the number of traditional weavers quit the industry as their income from the handloom industry was decreased compared to the early times. So, in order to revoke the industry, to increase the awareness among the public, and thus to increase the contribution towards the socio-economic development of the weavers, the day is observed.

National Handloom Day 2023 Date

National Handloom Day Date – 07th August (celebrated Annually)

This year the 7^th edition of the National Handloom Day will be celebrated on August 7 across the country. The celebrations will be coordinated by the Ministry of Textiles.

• Union Textile Minister Cabinet Minister – Shri Piyush Goyal
• MOS – Smt. Darshana V Jardosh

National Handloom Day 2023 Theme

The special day is to symbolize the cultural heritage and improve the socio-economic status of people who follow the handloom sector as a major livelihood. The day also enables us to all gather and reaffirm, and assist the handloom weavers and encourage people to purchase the handloom merchandise. This will empower the weavers, of which 70% are women, both financially and infuse contentment in their craftsmanship.

National Handloom Day 2023 Theme – Handlooms for Sustainable Fashion

Practice more important Days and Dates Quiz for August 2023

National Handloom Day 2023- History and Significance

To commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Swadeshi Movement, which began in 1905, the Government of India chose the same date to celebrate National Handloom Day. The idea of both is to make the native industry favored among the people. The day observes the contribution of artisans and weavers to the rich cultural capital of the country.

The Swadeshi Movement was started on this day in 1905 in Calcutta Town Hall to protest against the partition of Bengal by the British Government. The movement had sighted at curbing foreign goods and encouraging domestic products and production processes. Swadeshi was a focus of Mahatma Gandhi, who described it as the soul of swaraj (self-rule).

Between 1918–1947 Swadeshi movement was further strengthened by Gandhiji when he took a pledge to boycott foreign goods by burning 150,000 English cloths at Elpinstone Mill Compound, Parel, Mumbai on 31 July 1921. Along with that, Mahatma Gandhi raised Khadi spinning centers all over the country and stamped Khadi spinners as freedom fighters.

On August 7, 2015, the then PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the first National Handloom Day on the College of Madras’ Centenary Corridor in Chennai.

The day grabs more significance as the daily goal is to extend the revenue of the handloom weavers. Over time, the handloom sector in India has surfaced as the most important cottage trade over time. Handloom weavers have been creating merchandise utilizing pure fibers similar to cotton, silk, and wool.

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Handloom – Its Meaning, Clusters, Schemes

What is meant by Handloom?

The ‘handloom’ is a loom that is used to weave material without having to make use of any electrical energy. It is primarily based on construction and working technique.

Handspun yarn (fabrics called ‘khadi) is the yarn spun by hand and mill spun yarn (called ‘handloom fabric) is the yarn spun by machine.

Classification of handlooms based on their structure and working method, namely:

• Pit looms (usually located in the homes of weavers)
• Primitive looms
• Frame looms
• Semi-automatic looms

After agriculture, the handloom sector in India is the second-largest source of employment for people. The survey reports of the Fourth All India Handloom Census, confirm that around 31.45 lakh households are engaged in handloom, weaving, and linked activities. The plain looms to the post-loom decorated works include sarees, shawls, scarves, dhurries, carpets, towels, angocha/gamcha, traditional ‘angavastrams’, dress materials, the textiles, etc.

Hand Loom Clusters in India – State-wise List

Schemes related to Handlooms

• National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP)
• North Eastern Region Textile Promotion Scheme
• Amended Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme (ATUFS)
• Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS)
• Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme
• Yarn Supply Scheme/Mil Gate Price Scheme
• Integrated Scheme for Power loom Sector Development (ISPSD)
• Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme
• Weavers MUDRA Scheme
• Comprehensive Power loom Cluster Development Scheme (CPCDS)
• Revised Comprehensive Power Loom Cluster Development Scheme (CPCDS)

Handloom Museums

National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum (NHHM) or the National Crafts Museum in New Delhi, situated on the corner of the Pragati Maidan, facing the Purana Qila complex, is one of the largest crafts museums in India. The museum is run by the Ministry of Textiles, the Government of India. It consists of Display of Textiles, Crafts Museum, Display of looms in the Textiles Gallery, etc.

The NHHM museum was started in the 1950s and 60s by the efforts of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Present day, the museum holds over 35,000 rare and distinctive pieces reflecting the continuing tradition of Indian craftsmen through painting, embroidery, textiles, various crafts of clay, stone, and wood, all housed in a building designed between 1975 and 1990 by architect Charles Correa, incorporating traditional architectural vocabulary into a modern design (Wikipedia).

National Handloom Day 2023 Quotes

Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi

• “I believe that where there is pure and active love for the poor there is God also. I see God in every thread that I draw on the spinning wheel.”
• “Khadi is only seemingly expensive. I have pointed out that it is wrong to compare khadi with other cloth by comparing the prices of given lengths. The inexpensiveness of khadi consists in the revolution of one’s taste. The wearing of khadi replaces the conventional idea of wearing clothes for ornament by that of wearing them for use.”
• “I do regard spinning and weaving as a necessary part of any national system of education.”
• “The handloom weaving is in a dying condition. Everyone admits that whatever may be the future of the mill industry, the handlooms ought not to be allowed to perish”.

Quotes by Others

• Fernando Pessoa – ‘Sometimes, when I wake up at night, I feel invisible hands weaving my destiny’.
• Aditya Roy Kapur – ‘I have no qualms in going for hair weaving or transplant’.
• Martha Graham – ‘You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out.
• Diti Swain – ‘My closet is filled with tales woven with deft hands of un-named artisans. Because I only wear Handloom…
• Tazeen Sadiya – ‘With her tiny hands knowing these colours are something epic, she coerce the flag with Khaadi (handloom) and she wave lofty for all’.

National Handloom Day 2023 Celebrations

In order to promote Indian handloom culture and as a support for the indigenous traditional knowledge and skills, National Handloom Day will be observed at 28 state-wise Weavers’ Service Centres and 16 National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Campuses.

Various events like Essay writing competitions for students on behalf of the National Institute of Fashion Technology, NIFT, Hyderabad will be held this year.

Besides this, Fairs, various presentations including the history of handloom, its importance, workshops, exhibitions, etc for sharing details about work alternatives to weavers, will be held.

Get the notes on Indian History and Constitution

As the government’s Atmanirbharta Programme, the ‘vocal for local’ campaign, together with ‘Make in India’, opens a large opportunity to the handloom sector to further strengthen the Indian positioning in the global textiles space. The value for the hand made products are increased, due to its variety and popularity gained in past years. A very fine example is that of the Chendamangalam, which was hit by the flood that occurred in Kerala, which is now growing through the vocal for local. Let these innovations made by the government authority, through the local support, help lakhs for their living and thus regain the prosperity of Indian cloth culture.