In Gandhi's Gujarat, Khadi begins to lose sheen

Employment in the sector drops as people opt for alternative professions

Khadi, the hand-spun and hand-woven cloth, around which Mahatma Gandhi weaved his vision of self-reliance and self-rule for India's freedom struggle, has perhaps started to lose its sheen in his home state Gujarat.

The industry which the Father of the Nation thought would provide employment to millions is slowly witnessing a drop in number of weavers engaged in khadi weaving, as people opt for alternative professions. Gujarat State Socio-Economic Review 2011-12 shows that employment in the sector has dipped by around 27 per cent in 2010-11 from the previous fiscal.

Net employment in the sector in the state was 12,136 people in 2009-10, which went down to 8,883 people in 2010-11, says the State Socio-Economic Review, which has represented data taken from the Gujarat State Khadi Gramodyog Board (GSKGB).

"Most of the looms that were into khadi weaving were doing it as a secondary source of income at home. However, due to lack of market initiatives and inconsistent availability of yarn, many are now taking to alternative professions", said Harish Shah, member of the Planning Commission task force on handicrafts and textiles and an ex-Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) official. Weavers are moving to different forms of livelihood like setting up provision stores etc, while their sons are more keen to join the industrial work force in Gujarat. Many are taking to industrial training institutes (ITIs) to join the burgeoning manufacturing sector in the state.

Khadi production in the state is also on the decline. During 2009-10, khadi worth Rs 26.47 crore was produced. In 2010-11, the production was down to Rs 25.06 crore. During the same period, sales declined from Rs 36.15 crore to Rs 34.54 crore. Shah adds that the young India now looks at Khadi as a fashion item, and not so much as an employment generating industry. "As ideologies have changed, dynamics of the industry too have changed", he said.