Monday, September 03, 2012

The pride of India goes awry

The withdrawal of 10 per cent rebate, which was given to the khadi industry around the year, and 20 per cent that was given for 108 days a year to mark the Gandhi Jayanti, has left the local khadi industry in the lurch with many units facing an immediate closure. by Swati Sharma

It was during the pre-Independence era that the movement of khadi manufacturing gained momentum under the guidance of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. The movement of manufacturing and wearing khadi was aimed at dissuading Indians from wearing of foreign clothes.

Gandhi once wrote: “Swaraj (self-rule) without swadeshi (country made goods) is a lifeless corpse and if swadeshi is the soul of swaraj, khadi is the essence of swadeshi.” With these words of Gandhi, during the national struggle for freedom (Swadeshi and Non-Cooperation Movement), khadi became not only a symbol of revolution and resistance but also a part of the Indian identity.

No More Rebate
The withdrawal of 10% rebate, which was given to the khadi industry around the year, and 20% that was given for 108 days a year to mark the Gandhi Jayanti, has left the local khadi industry in the lurch with many units facing an immediate closure.The government has decided to put an end to the rebate given to the khadi industry from April 1, 2010 onwards. The local industry, which was highly dependent on the rebate, has been hit hard by the hurried decision.

Experts say that khadi and village industries in the country provide employment to a considerable number of artisans. “The government’s move might render this workforce jobless in the near future,” an industry observer says.

According to some Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) members, a chain reaction has started in the rural khadi units — no increment to the Sarvodaya Sangh workers, no daily wages to poor weavers, weavers moving to construction work etc. Opposition leaders raised the issue in Parliament, saying it is inappropriate and unfair on the part of the government to stop the rebate abruptly as this was introduced to promote the khadi industry, which was endorsed by Mahatma Gandhi himself.

From Bad to Worse
The rebate was the sole purpose and lifeline for the industry as the clothes were being sold at 30% of cost, and undoubtedly, this will further push the sector towards extinction as this resource crisis gets worse. Sector experts say its quite interesting that on one side, the government announced an allocation of Rs400 crore for the khadi industry in the Union Budget 2010, and at the same time, it took away the rebate quite willfully.

At present, the government owes over Rs450 crore to Haryana state alone as rebate and that is just one state in a country of 29 states. Even bank loans, that were given at 4%, are now being given at 12%, which makes it all together for the khadi units to survive. “We shall continue doing the needful and live the Gandhian way in spite of all opposition from the government and will fight for our cause,” says a store manager at Khadi Gramodyog in Delhi, on the condition of anonymity.


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