The fifth National Handloom Day was held on August 7, 2019 at 16 NIFT Campuses and Weavers’ Service Centres in different States across the country.
Handloom Mela and exhibition, workshops, panel discussion were organised and special stalls were put up for handloom products at Gandhinagar and Kolkata NIFT campuses.
The main function was organised in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It was presided over by State Minister of Industries, Handloom, Handicraft and Textiles, Padmini Diyan. Secretary Textiles, Ravi Capoor, was the guest of honour.
Background
The National Handloom Day is observed annually on August 7 to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight India’s handloom industry.
National Handloom Day seeks to focus on the contribution of handloom to the socio economic development of the country and also increase the income of weavers.
The Union Government had declared August 7 as the National Handloom Day in July 2015 with the objective of generating awareness about the importance of the handloom industry to the socio economic development of the country.
Why August 7 was chosen?
August 7 was chosen as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on this day in 1905 in Calcutta Town Hall to protest against the partition of Bengal by the British Government. The movement had aimed at reviving domestic products and production processes.
The first National Handloom Day was inaugurated on 7th August 2015 by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, at the centenary of Madras University in Chennai.
