Culture
Khadi: A Quiet Revolution Weaving India’s Future
- The Khadi sector's transformation since 2014 reflects sustained growth, job creation, and effective policies.
An artisan weaves traditional khadi cloth on a handloom (Photo credit: RAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)
Khadi, or homespun coarse cotton cloth, was one of the most potent symbols of the independence movement.
It was first adopted as a viable alternative to mill fabrics, to boycott factory-produced material, which had swamped and destroyed the traditional Indian textile sector, leaving millions across the country destitute.
While the results were not as effective as expected, Khadi gained a charm that has endured for over a century. What started as a revolutionary, anti-colonial totem evolved after independence when homespun was dyed in socialist hues. Artisanal weaves were expected to attract higher priority than corporate cloth.
Today, the Khadi sector, formally known as the Khadi and Village Industries sector, is booming. New jobs are being created. Production is up. So are sales, productivity, and earnings.
Hard-nosed policy-making and implementation, effectively driven by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, have not only revived the sector but also addressed the issues created by the institutional sloth of mindless socialism.
The numbers speak for themselves.
The value of production in the Khadi sector has increased by over 300 per cent in the past decade, while sales have risen by 400 per cent during the same period. This is a truly staggering achievement, not least because the beneficiaries are precisely those tiny, forgotten, weaving communities, whose sufferings and poverty were periodically romanticised by those with a fixed idea of India.
In the chart above, note how the sector used to slump periodically, wiping out any meagre gains made in the preceding years. But also note how, since 2014, growth has remained in the extremely buoyant double digits.
Cumulative employment in the Khadi sector rose from 1.3 crores in 2014 to over 1.8 crores in 2024, meaning that over 50 Lakh new jobs were generated in this one sector alone, within a decade.
And to press the point home, here is a final chart showing annual growth in sales. Once again, note how the wild fluctuations that were so common before 2014 have ceased, and observe how the curve has remained in the black without dipping into the red since then.
