#Vocal4Handmade and #VocalForLocal are trending all over social media ever since Mr. Modi introduced the concept of Atma Nirbhar Bharat. These trends come as no surprise especially on the occasion of National Handloom Day.
Celebrities, politicians, and youth all across the nation are encouraging people to show their support for Handmade products. Many appreciation posts for skills of the artisans and weavers have been shared on social media.
National Handloom Day
National Handloom Day is observed every year on August 7th to recognise and appreciate the hard work and skills of our weavers and artisans. These skilled weavers are responsible for contributing immensely to preserving the indigenous crafts of India.
As the nation marks the National Handloom Day 2020, people took to Twitter to spread information about how handloom can enrich our lives and how pivotal it is to preserve the cultural crafts of India.
Smriti Irani, Cabinet Minister of Textiles, was among the first ones to tweet on this day. She also asked the masses to share the pictures of their favourite handloom products and take pride in supporting Indian artisans.
The Backlash Faced By Smriti Irani On #Vocal4Handmade
In a notification dated July 27, the Ministry of Textiles informed its decision to abolish the All India Handicrafts Board and the All India Handloom Board. These advisory bodies were responsible for framing the policies related to the handloom and handicrafts centre in India.
The official notification emphasized the vision of the Government of “Minimum Government and Maximum Governance”.
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It is high time that people understand the motive behind this move. History is evident in proving how the concept of “Minimum Government” has led to the success of various industries and economies in general.
Various activists are also of the opinion that the advisory board has been active on paper for 28 years but, it has failed to add any significant value to the handicrafts industry of India.
A good relationship between the government and private sector is pivotal for the growth of this industry but the advisory bodies seem to be a hindrance for the same.
At this juncture, it is vital that we take steps to promote indigenous crafts of India that would further the concepts of “Make In India” and “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”. This is exactly what masses are trying to do on social media on the occasion of National Handloom Day.
Smriti Irani is one of them. By asking the masses to post pictures and show support for the handloom industry, she, along with others, is making efforts to promote this industry. All of us understand the role of social media marketing these days and engaging the audience in such a manner is pivotal.
But, the public came forward to criticize Smriti Irani for promoting #Vocal4Handmade. They quickly spun into action on Twitter and termed her move as an ironic one.
If you have gone through these tweets, I am sure you realize that people are criticizing her without any solid grounds. Shutting down the handloom industry and abolishing a handloom board are two separate issues.
Ms. Smriti Irani’s tweets do not reflect even a pinch of hypocrisy. Posting such engaging challenges on social media can definitely add to the growth of the handloom sector. The move of abolishing the board also had similar objectives by reducing bureaucracy and red tapism.
It is high time that people understand the difference between bureaucracy and governance. Governance is desirable, bureaucracy is not.
Image Sources: Google Images, Twitter
Sources: Live Mint, The Print, Twitter
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