Khadi, a kind of cloth, has never played such a pivotal role in the founding of a country as it has in India’s struggle for independence. In the 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi launched Khadi as a way to help revive India’s cottage industries. He expected that imperial rule could only be overthrown if the economy changed at the time. Since then, Khadi, India’s trademark cloth, with its unending legacies has revolutionized the Indian economy and has thus become a symbol of self-reliance, economic empowerment, and more importantly of Indian pride. In addition it can be a major agent in effectuating realisation of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and in realising humanity’s fight against global warming and climate degradation.
A mandated paradigm shift: Khadi and SDGs
There exists a direct relationship between climate change, economic scarcity, and poverty. The world’s poor are heavily affected by natural disasters as their livelihoods are dependent on economically scant resources. Therefore, necessitating the need to move towards a “green economy”. Such an economy is an endeavor to reduce environmental risk and economic scarcities and aims for sustainable development without degradation. In such a context, with global warming bringing about new challenges to mankind, economists and environmentalists have found Khadi as the way forward towards a sustainable clothing industry. Today the cloth has adapted itself quite well with the industrialized revolution. It is now produced using modern machinery as compared to its earlier manual method of production.
Khadi production is simple, decentralized, energy efficient and inexpensive as its tools of production are easily accessible, chiefly made from wood and bamboo which are renewable and long-lasting and can be manufactured cheaply on a local level. Hence it can emerge as a bold template for empowerment and self reliance which can help in ensuring improved nutritional status of the marginalised women artisans, designers, small workers and MSME (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises). Also it uses carbon-free, non-petroleum products as its inputs, for instance, a metre of the freedom fabric, khadi, consumes three litres of water, while in contrast one metre of mill-produced fabric requires 55 litres of the precious resource. Thus its production can enable in realising the fifth and eighth Sustainable Development Goal of achieving gender equality and promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. In addition, with its supple nature, it can sprightly catch the attention of foreign investors and will connect grassroots with the global market. Thus swapping it with costly western apparel can act as a key game changer in boosting the Indian economy. To use the words of the Father of the Nation, “Khadi aims to bring power to the grassroots from the top, it is not just merely a piece of cloth but a way of life” (Gandhi 1955).
Hurdles and the way forward:
Today, khadi can be termed as a part of the solution for the major environmental crisis that the world is facing. The revival and rejuvenation of Khadi have found an extended market in India. Khadi-weaving was traditionally the occupation of the economically weaker sections; however, this has changed with the arrival of brands like FabIndia, Nature Alley, Malkha, Metaphor Racha, Khaddar, and many more which are taking the lead in popularizing the fabric in the urban Indian markets. The West Bengal government especially is keen on promoting Khadi through its chain of Biswa Bangla stores. However despite all these institutional interventions, the stark reality is that the sector is today facing paramount challenges that are hindering its growth. The foremost amongst them includes inconsistency in supply of the raw material and the fluctuations in demand. Moreover GST and the slow trickle-down of research and development works is adversely affecting the sector. Hence, at present, steps are required at an individual as well as institutional level to change people’s perspective towards Khadi and sustainable development. Also we as consumers ought to complement the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, who, at World Congress in 2019 projected ‘Khadi’ as a eco-friendly, zero-carbon, bio-degradable and water-conserving fabric of the future, under its newest initiative of “Khadi Goes Global: Empowering rural women to achieve the 2030 agenda for change” under its mission of engaging in meaningful, culturally appropriate and materially sustainable artisan production that supports village life through the cottage industry.
Furthermore the ongoing pandemic has taught us that there could be a different way to live. We ought to cut down on our consumption level sooner and adopt a sustainable approach instead of the materialistic one, or else mankind would be forced to sacrifice a huge cost in order to realise that we might not need as much as we earlier thought we do.
Someone rightly said, “If we have the khadi spirit in us, then we would surround ourself with simplicity in every walk of life.”
Quintessentially Humanistic@myblog.com 