Recently, the 8th National Handloom Day on 7th August 2022 was celebrated by the Ministry of Textiles.
About National Handloom Day –
- 7th August was chosen as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on the same date in the year 1905.
- The objective is to generate awareness about Handloom Industry amongst public at large and its contribution to the socio-economic development.
- The first National Handloom Day was held on 7th August 2015 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Chennai.
- On this day, the handloom weaving community is honoured and the contribution of this sector in the socio-economic development of this country is highlighted.
About Swadeshi movement –
- The swadeshi movement was started as a response to the partition of Bengal decision taken by Lord Curzon. The reason given was administrative but the truth was actual reason was political. The British wanted to crush the national movement at its nerve centre “Calcutta”. The partition would have divided Bengal and turned it into a minority and prop up Muslim communalists as an alternative to the congress.
- The formal proclamation of Swadeshi Movement was made on 7th August 1905 in a meeting held at the Calcutta Town Hall. In the meeting, the famous Boycott Resolution was passed.
- The Congress Session of 1905- The session took place at Banaras. Gopal Krishna Gokhale took up Swadeshi call.
- The Congress Session of 1906 – The session took place at Calcutta under the presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji. In this session, four resolutions on the Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education and Self-Government demands were passed.
- It is to be noted that the two terms- Swadeshi and Boycott are complimentary. By the term Swadeshi, we mean adopting indigenous products. And by the term Boycott, we mean rejecting foreign made products.
- The people were urged to boycott foreign cloth and the shops selling foreign goods were picketed. The Ganpati and Shivaji festivals popularised by Tilak became a medium of Swadeshi propaganda. People tied rakhis on each other’s hand as a symbol of unity of two halves of Bengal. Women came out of their homes for the first time and joined processions and picketing.
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