 "Varanasi to hold National Handloom Day celebrations on Sunday")
An event to celebrate the National Handloom Day will be held in Varanasi on Sunday, where the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani will present Sant Kabir Awards and National Handloom Awards.
"The National Handloom Day will also be celebrated at state level in all the states. In addition, the day will also be celebrated in more than 200 handloom clusters. Doordarshan will also broadcast a special one-hour long programme on that day in the evening," an official statement said.
According to estimates, around 27 per cent of the population in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency comprises of Varanasi weavers.
August 7 was notified by the Government of India as National Handloom Day with the objective to generate awareness about the importance of handloom industry and its contribution to the socio-economic development of the country in general and to promote handlooms, increase income of weavers and enhance their pride in particular.
The date has been chosen due to its special significance in India's freedom struggle. It was on this day in 1905 that the Swadeshi Movement was formally launched, at a massive meeting in the Calcutta Town hall.
The movement involved revival of domestic products and production processes.