Bengaluru: Garaga is a village of historical significance, having given birth to several prominent freedom fighters. Located 20 kilometres West of the Dharwad district headquarters and adjoining the neighbouring Belagavi district, the hitherto sleepy village of Dharwad Taluka had enough traces and influences of the border district.
Once notorious for lifestyle: Garaga and the surrounding villages were notorious for their lifestyle, intoxication, physical fights and murders over trivial issues and those connected with enemity, property and women. Well, all these misnomers are things of the past century and over a period of time, thanks to education, awareness, the establishment of the Belur Industrial Area, close by and migration to nearby and far-off towns and cities in search of green pastures, it is altogether a new Garaga now.
A pilgrimage centre: Garaga, apart from a variety of reasons, is also a sought-after destination for the pilgrims of Sri Madiwaleshwara Mutt. Sri Madiwaleshwara happened to be a saint philosopher of the 19th century and a contemporary of Sri Siddaroodha Swami of Hubballi and Shishunal Sharif of Shishunal. All three pious men are revered to date for their cultural and philosophical contributions to the Veerashiva Lingayat and Sufi forms of traditions and practices. The nearby Lord Hanuman temple also boasts a distinction of having an 11th-century inscription in the old form of Kannada.
An abode of Swami Atmananda: Garaga is also an abode of late Sri Atmananda Swamiji, less known to the modern generation of youths. He literally lived an unassuming, austere life, restricting himself to the Ashram premises, far away from the maddening crowd and fanfare, unlike the self proclaimed globe trotting Gurus' of this era. Dharwad also houses a centre of The Thesophical Society of India, locally well-known as the Tathwaneshana Mandir, set up in 1902. Just like the IT crowd being unaware of the existence of this great philosophical institution, so is the ignorance of Swami Atmananda!
Garaga goes into the pages of history: Well, if all the above-mentioned facts continue to remain extraordinary feats of the glorious past, Garaga continues to carve history when it comes to the production of the national flag. Initially, Garaga was celebrated as one of the handful of places authorised in the whole country to weave the hand-woven fabric for the official tri-colour national flag. However, after the Udgir Khadi centre near Latur in Maharashtra stopped the production, the onus of producing the same fell on the Garaga centre.
Backlog of stock more than Rs 200 crores: According to Basavaprabhu Hoskeri, President of the Dharwad Taluk Kshetriya Seva Sangha(DTKSS), the proportion of goods remaining to be sold is at an alarming quantum of more than Rs 200 crores! In an informal interaction, Basavaprabhu Hoskeri delves deep into the history and economy of Khadi and the national flag. Excerpts of the same:
Q: What are the reasons for the problems in the Khadi sector?
Basavaprabhu Hoskeri: Nowadays, the Khadi sector is facing problems both in production at the production level and at the sales level as well. The simple reason for such a predicament is that Khadi workers are getting the wages as prescribed by the state Khadi Board. However, when you make a comparison with the other wages available in the market, this is really not adequate. That is why we are facing a problem in getting workers for the Khadi processes. This is the main reason why the Khadi production is coming down.
Q: But, what are the reasons for the sales also dipping southwards?
Basavaprabhu Hoskeri: Khadi sales have also been hampered a lot. It is because, in comparison with other clothes, Khadi becomes costly. Its maintenance is comparatively difficult. And look-wise, also, in comparison with other clothes, Khadi is not that attractive. For this reason, we are facing a problem in sales also. That is why everywhere, especially in Karnataka, in all khadi production centres, they have huge stocks, unsold stocks, that they are maintaining. On account of not clearing the stocks, they are not getting funds for their organisation. Consequently, we are not working for three to four months a year, inevitably. It is because if we produce more, then again it will become a stock, and we cannot sell it in the market, and that will be a dead stock. That is also the other problem that is being faced by the Khadi sector, especially in our state.
Q: What about the initiatives of the state government in resolving this crisis plaguing the Khadi industry?
Q: What about the initiatives of the state government in resolving this crisis plaguing the Khadi industry?
Basavaprabhu Hoskeri: Sometime back, there was a move from the state government that the state government employees should wear Khadi at least one day a week. During the previous tenure of Siddaramaiah, the government ensured the setting of Gandhi Bhavan in every district headquarters. But the proposed measure of the state government employees adhering to the norm of wearing Khadi once a week has remained only on the circular!
Q: Will an attempt be made to see that the same norm could be practised now so that the remaining or pending unsold storage can be sold?
Basavaprabhu Hoskeri: Correct. On this line, Karnataka State Law University has made it compulsory for its students to wear Khadi one day a week. They have made it compulsory for all, including staff everywhere; every staff member and all the students wear Khadi for a day a week. That's how a few other institutions are also doing.
Q: What about the production of the national flags in the Garaga centre?
Q: What about the production of the national flags in the Garaga centre?
Basavaprabhu Hoskeri: Garaga Kshetriya Seva Sangha, originally it was Dharwad Taluka Seva Sangha and a Khadi institution established by Shankar Kurutkoti. Now it is in the production of national flags. Earlier in India, the Garaga Kshetriya Seva Sangha and another Khadi production centre at Udgir near Latur in Maharashtra were the only two institutions which were producing national flags. But now that Udgir has stopped production, and Dharwad is the only centre wherein BIS marked national flags, certified flags are being produced.
Q: Many newly started cotton brands are doing a roaring business; what is the problem with Khadi?
Q: Many newly started cotton brands are doing a roaring business; what is the problem with Khadi?
Basavaprabhu Hoskeri: A year before last year, the Karnataka government honoured Garaga Kshetriya Seva Sangha with the Mahatma Gandhi Seva Award, as this is the only centre where national flags are being produced. There were 36 applicants, and we had not even applied. Yet, the state government chose us for the award. As of now, though it seems that Khadi is being popularised on various platforms, at the same time, the sales have substantially come down. Not that people are not after Khadi, but we Khadi institutions on the whole are not coping up with present-day demand or market trends. We have failed to catch up with market trends. That may be the reason why Khadi has lagged behind in comparison with other cotton and linen products that are being sold as hot cakes in the market.
Q: What about the employment potential at the Garaga Centre?
Q: What about the employment potential at the Garaga Centre?
Basavaprabhu Hoskeri: In the Garaga centre, we have given employment to about 400 workers, including 250 who are spinners and 150 who are weavers. We are basically producing national flag cloth. Apart from that, we are also producing other items in Khadi. Our cloth, it is a qualitative one, and earlier everyone was behind purchasing the clothes. However, due to market conditions, we are not able to sell the entire stock that we produce in the Garaga centre.
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