NEW DELHI: Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for starting the revival of ‘khadi’ from the time he was chief minister of Gujarat, home minister Amit Shah said the sales of khadi and village industry products have jumped five-fold from Rs 33,000 crore to over Rs 1.7 lakh crore in the past 11 years of Modi govt at the Centre. Sharing this information during a visit to the Khadi India showroom in Connaught Place here on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Shah appealed to the people of the country to make the khadi and swadeshi campaigns successful by having each family resolve to purchase khadi products worth at least Rs 5,000 rupees annually. “This will provide employment to millions of people and bring light into their lives…when we adopt the vow of swadeshi, we also align ourselves with the ambitious campaign to take India to the top position in the world by 2047,” he stated. Leading by example, he purchased khadi products from the store and made an online payment..The minister said that both campaigns—promoting the use of khadi and embracing swadeshi—launched by Prime Minister Modi should empower India. “We should make these campaigns a part of our nature and pass them on to our future generations,” he suggested.Shah said Mahatma Gandhi had recognized the soul of India and awakened the common people to stand against the British. He said Gandhiji had woven many elements into the freedom movement that continue to shape the map of India’s future, and it is from these elements that khadi and swadeshi had emerged. He said the khadi and swadeshi were synonymous with the freedom movement and Mahatma Gandhi, by giving these two concepts to the country, not only accelerated the freedom movement but also positively changed the lives of many poor people in the country.Stating that the ideas of khadi and swadeshi were “forgotten” for a long time, he said Narendra Modi, during his tenure as the Gujarat chief minister, launched a focused campaign to revive khadi in 2003. “That marked the beginning of the movement to revive khadi. Khadi has once again become an item of common use among people,” he said.Shah mentioned how the prime minister, through his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ program, has been promoting the idea of Swadeshi, inspiring the people of the country to connect with economic development and the ‘Make in India’ campaign. Inspired by this, millions of families across the country have decided not to use any foreign goods in their households, he said. Shah added that even millions of shopkeepers have resolved not to sell any foreign products in their shops.
