 Welcome to Newsclick. I am Sumedha. Today we are talking about the handlooms and the handicraft sector. Apart from the sector being a concern of national pride and importance, the sector is also the second biggest employment generator in the country after agriculture. The reason why we are talking about the sector today is because it is facing enormous crisis from constraints of budgetary allocations to government apathy and suppression of voices in the sector. So to discuss these concerns we have with us Mohan Rao sir, thank you so much for joining us. He's been an activist for a very long time. He's also been a very, very important voice in the movement to raise these demands for the sector and he represents the National Federation of Handlooms and Handicrafts. Thank you sir for joining us today. Thank you madam. Sir, the sector is facing like we've seen an unprecedented crisis and you've been speaking about it for very long now and you've been very actively involved in the movement. Recently the government of India, despite all these concerns, they decided to abolish two very important boards, the handlooms and the handicrafts board. Two separate notifications were issued and these boards were abolished. So what kind of an impact have they had in terms of the movement, in terms of the voices of the crafts persons of our country, the weavers of our country who've been putting everything on the line? Madam, all of the people who know us about the handlooms is the second largest employment generation in India. More than 31.45 lakhs of people are engaged in this sector and handicrafts, 68.86 lakhs of people are depend on the handlooms, handicrafts sector. Altogether if we can calculate, multiply with three persons, average family members, it is nearly 32 millions of the people. Depends on the livelihood. But the government is not taking much interest because of government is interest on financial economy, not the producer economy. In this context we should understand the financial economy, difference between the financial economy and producer economy. All the companies depend on the producer economy. Now many people are engaged in this sector so that government ruining these sectors and the desire to abolish this handloom board and handicrafts board. The present government is saying that making India and making India, there is a slogan and local and local, but it is not interest for the traditional handmade producers. So they are interested more than handlooms and handicrafts, they are interested to protect the machine-made products but it should be made in India. Here in this context I want to say a little bit about the establishment of the handloom boards and handicraft boards. In the year of 1942, due to the crisis of the handloom sector, British government constituted a committee, it is fact-finding committee, heated by the P.J. Thomas Chad. It is a human committee. They clearly mentioned about for the establishment of the handloom board and handicrafts board. In the year of 1945, it is established but it is not function in the government position. Why? Because in the year of 1948, our Indian constitution parliament resolved industrial policy. Through the industrial policy, they mentioned handlooms and handicrafts is strengthening the rural economy. So we should give the priority to the handloom and handicrafts and they constituted the standing committee on handlooms. So that handloom board is not function, it comes under the purview of the cottage industries board. After intervention of the Papul Jaitar and Kamala Devi Chattopadhyayaji, these two legenders are the freedom fighters. They are co-involving in the freedom movement and they are very much interested in the handicrafts. So they intervene to establish the handloom board and handicrafts board according to the recommendations of the flat family committee. In the year of 1952, it is constituted. It is very important till now, why it is important? In the fact-finding of the recommendations, they clearly says above to resolve some varieties of the handloom fabrics which are, which products made of coarser coat of yarn like chandar, tavals, dhoti with width of one-fourth inch border, saree with two-and-a-half border, etc. The government passed this resolution to under the cotton textile order, control order 1948, but it is not implemented properly. This is the situation, even though our Indian handloom sector facing a lot of problems, all the people knows very well. Because of power loom, day by day power looms increasing, power looms are, power looms units are producing with a result items of the handloom. Selling it, selling it the power loom product in the name of the handloom in the domestic market and giving the tough competition to the handloom products, this is the main reason. Another one reason is, yarn prices is increasing day by day. There is no control regarding the yarn prices under the textile control order. Nobody has taken any interest. It is not reviewed by the committees. It is a second problem. Another market linkage, market facility, it is not given by the government market facility. Our Indian market depends on the private economy, so that it is very different to the market for the handloom sector. Another credit facility, many times, several times, NABOD has given the guidelines for the credit facility to the handloom community and handicrafts. They constitute a treatment committee and decided for giving the credit loans for the handloom, depends on the variety of the production. It is not properly implemented through the central cooperative banks, which is running under the guidelines of the NABOD and RBA. So these are all the faults of the government side. And you recently had a press conference and so many representatives from across the country came and the federation organized this online press conference. So during the coronavirus pandemic, already the sector has been very hardly hit because of the virus and because of the lockdown. And what kind of voices did you get after this announcement? What has been the reaction of different activists, of different people on the ground? Madam, all of this time, our Honorable Prime Minister of India, Modiji, called for the lockdown under health emergency guidelines. Before called the lockdown, the government should not take any precautions to protect these small cottage industries like our individual analysis sector people. So since March 24th to May 31st, end of May 31st, lockdown continued in a phased manner in all over India. In this period, no work is provided by the master viewers as well as the cooperative societies. There is no raw material. All the people depends from the Tamil Nadu or Gujarat or Bombay for getting the air and all parts of India depends on these states. There is no mobility for the task force. So raw material crisis one side, another one side accumulated huge stock with the cooperatives and master viewers. There is no selling. All shops and retail and wholesale shops is closed. Not only one part, all parts of India it is closed. So immediately to provide the work it is a difficult task to the cooperatives and master viewers also. It is one side. Another one side, government has given only regular ration. In addition to that ration, one month they have given 1000 rupees in AP and Telangana. Some parts it does not happen in India. But regular ration is not sufficient to the communities. Community is weaker sections. Not only hand-room and handicrafts. I am saying to all agriculture peasants and weaker sections who are below poverty line. So we demanded for another additional 3000 rupees per month with regular ration. But unfortunately it is not considered by the state or central government. And sir the budgetary allocations are anyway very constrained. So what has been the condition of the loans that were to be given by the government or the budgetary allocations which the viewers are not getting and the financial package which was supposed to reach them. So what has been the condition of that? Yeah, yeah. Budget is very less madam since many years. What is happening? I can say for example in the year of 2016 and 17 budget allocated 505 crores of rupees and actual release is 483 crores and 92 lakhs. In the year of 2017 and 18 budget allocated 397.7 crores and allocated 394 crores. But in the year of 2018 and 19, 325 crores of rupees budget allocation but actual release is 267.28 crores. In the year of 2019 and 20 till date, till date of February it is, funds released 219.95 lakhs. But budget allocation is very less even though release is also very less than the allocation of the funds. Yeah, for example the welfare measures, only 12.37% of the people covered under the Mahatma Gandhi Bunker Bhima Yojana. And it is very less in the year of, it is 2016 and 17. But the same 2000 healthcare, last year Satyabhima Yojana only 11.04% people are covered because of very less budget for the welfare measures. And the government and Modi ji specifically they promote a lot of khadi, they promote make in India quite a lot. But what is the real condition is a complete, like you're saying it's a complete difference of the condition of the workers and the conditions of people who are actually trying to make in India and trying to promote khadi and our indigenous products. Madam, slogan is different than real facts. In the grassroot level everybody knows about the meaning of making India. At the time of the freedom struggle, in the year of 1905, before the Elephant Stone building, the so called Dada bhai Nawroji and Lala Lajipatharai between Paul, they called for the boycotts of the foreign goods. At that time all our Indians, Indian citizens with the spirit of this slogan and dedicated personalities struggle against the foreign goods like clothes, cigarettes, powders, oils, utensils, etc. But at that time we have no dumped foreign goods in the domestic market. We are against that. We have no other industries to survive our livelihoods. But now many multinational companies dumping their goods in the domestic market. Our market share more than 60% captured by the multinational companies. It is not recognized by the government. In this context I want to state to the public through this interview, making India means they are allowing mission-made products also. But which mission is possible to allow our Indian manufacturing units is okay. But unfortunately what is happening, foreign sophisticated machinery dumping in India and establishing the units in India and making the products. It is also called as a make in India. What is the meaning of make in India? Without mission manufacturing in India our own and manufacturing with a local raw material, available raw material, it is okay for us. It is meaningful. Otherwise dumping the machinery, sophisticated machinery from abroad and dumping the raw material from abroad according to the requirement of the machines, we don't agree. My personal opinion, I am not agree with this slogan. So it is false statement. Even Kadi people are also suffering. The individual Kadi fever or Kadi yarn producer also suffering. Why? Because recently government has issued a GO who are registered with the central government under Kadi commission. They are recognized as a Kadi people, Kadi producer who are not registered with the Kadi commission. Those people are not recognized by the Kadi. But huge number of Kadi people are not recognized by our government. And sir, what are the demands now? What should be the way forward to ensure the protection to our own people, to our own products? Government should provide the raw material through the NHDC for the handlooms. Through establishment of the production and procurement for the handicraft sector, it is very urgent, urgent need for establishment of the production and procurement centers, both handlooms and handicrafts. Otherwise, lakhs of people will suffer and thousands of people will die in future. The situation is very deep crisis continuation in our country. And what are the other ways in which you will as an activist also try to ensure that the voices which are being suppressed in the sector because of the abolishment of the boards, how is the movement now going to take shape? And is there a protest which are planned and what is the plan to sort of raise the voices against these policies of the government? We are planning for collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is most important in these conditions because different states having different issues in different level. But ultimately we have to pressurize the political will. Without political will nothing will happen in our democratic country. Maybe it is a question of democracy also. Our democracy constitution has provided article 43 and 43A and article 41 for providing the work within the limits of the state economic conditions. But it has not happened particularly for the handlooms and handicrafts. It is simply ignoring the each and everything which is related to the handlooms and handicrafts sector. For example I can give one example. More than 67% people are getting below 5000 rupees on handlooms sector. It is recognized by the central government. It is mentioned in the fourth handloom census of 2019, 2019 and 2020. It is clearly mentioned. More than only below 27% of the people are getting below 10,000 rupees. How can you imagine this? People are not taking even two full bills in some states. They are not getting even 150 rupees per day. But if you can observe the Mahatma Gandhi employment guarantee scheme, they are getting 203 rupees per day. But even handlooms and handicrafts are working more than 10 hours even though they are not able to get 150 rupees per day as average. This is the situation. So we are demanding the central government through your interview to allocate the funds under Atna Nibbar Bharat. Government announces 20 lakhs of rupees, 20 lakhs of crores rupees under Atna Nibbar Bharat Abhyan package. But even single pay is not allocated for the handlooms sector and handicraft sector. This is the partiality. Why? Because it is happening. We are not citizens of India. We are the citizens of India. We are having the right to demand the government. We are having the right to work. On that note, sir, thank you for giving us such an extensive view of what is the condition in the sector. We really appreciate it and we will continue to follow it up here on Newsclick. Thank you so much for watching.