Renewed vow for Make in India

KVIC unveils steel charkha to mark the Champaran centenary celebrations

As part of the Champaran satyagraha centenary celebrations across the nation, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh unveiled a 18 ft long, 5.75 ft wide and nine-foot high grand steel charkha in front of Gandhi Museum at Motihari.

The high-quality steel, corrosion-resistant and non-magnetic charkha has been installed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.

In his inaugural address, Singh said   it was a matter of pride for the erstwhile land of satyagraha, from where Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi started his journey to be our loving Bapu, to be the focal point of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” mission.

KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said that the charkha showcases the fusion of two great cultures of India from the land of Goddess Sita and Lord Krishna. “As Mahatma Gandhi himself believed, the charkha is a symbol of our swaraj and self-reliance. This monument at Champaran will be a proud tribute to the charkha’s historic importance in our nation. And it will economically empower the lives of several weavers associated with the Khadi industry,” he said, adding “Chamaparan is a testimonial town as it drove away the Britishers who colonised it perfectly for their trade.”

He also thanked the NDA government in Bihar for rechristening old Bara Bariarpur Bypass Chowk of Motihari to Charkha Park.

The  KVIC had provided around 60 eight-spindle New Model Charkha (NMC) to East Champaran Khadi Gramodyog Sangh, besides distributing five charkhas and one loom each in those 13 villages where Mahatma Gandhi visited during his movement in 1917.