New Delhi
Maintaining that August is a month of revolution for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke about the Quit India Movement and “another revolution started on the 7th of August 1905”.
“The Swadeshi Movement lent a new energy to local products… especially handloom. To commemorate that, the country celebrates ‘National Handloom Day’ on the 7th of August every year. This year, 7th August marks the completion of 10 years of ‘National Handloom Day’,” he said in his Mann Ki Baat programme.
Just like our Khadi gave new strength to the freedom movement during the freedom struggle, today when the country is moving towards becoming a developed India, the textile sector is turning out to be the strength of the country, he said.
“In these 10 years, lakhs of people associated with this sector in different parts of the country have scripted many success stories. Kavita Dhawale of Paithan village in Maharashtra used to work in a small room earlier – there was neither space nor facilities. She received help from the government; now her skill is soaring high. She is earning thrice more. She is selling her own self-made Paithani sarees,” the PM shared.
“There is a similar success story in Mayurbhanj, Odisha. Here, more than 650 tribal women have revived the Santhali saree. Now these women are earning thousands of rupees every month. They are not just making cloth, but also carving their own identity,” Modi highlighted.
Modi also spoke about a village in tribal-dominated Gumla district in Jharkhand saying, “Sometimes the most radiant light emerges from where darkness dwells the most.”
“One such example is Gumla district of Jharkhand. There was a time when this area was known for Maoist violence. The villages of Basia block were getting deserted. People lived in the shadow of fear. There was no possibility of employment, lands were lying vacant and the youth were migrating… but then, a change began quietly and with a lot of patience. A young man named Om Prakash Sahu ji left the path of violence. He started fish farming. Then he inspired many friends like himself to do the same. His efforts also had an impact. Those who were earlier holding guns, have now taken up fishing nets,” he pointed out.
Om Prakash Sahu ji’s beginning was not easy, the PM said adding there were protests; threats were received, but the courage did not wane. “When the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana was launched, he gained new strength. He received training from the government…and help in making ponds… within no time, the fisheries revolution started in Gumla. Today, more than 150 families of Basia block have joined fish farming. There are many people who were once in the Naxalite organization; now they are living a life of respect in the village itself and providing employment to others. This journey of Gumla teaches us – if the path is right and there is trust in the mind, the lamp of development can be lit even in the most difficult circumstances,” Modi maintained.
