Buy khadi, light the prosperity lamp in a poor home: Modi

In what could be the beginning of re-energising the ‘swadeshi’ movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the people of India to buy at least one ‘khadi’ cloth for use in their day-to-day life.

“If you buy khadi, you light the lamp of prosperity in the house of a poor person,” he said in his first radio address to the nation, ‘Man ki Baat’, on Friday. Khadi products comprise items of daily use such as clothes, footwear, food products, cosmetics, and herbal medicines.

Modi urged people to use at least one khadi product, be it a handkerchief or a bedsheet. This, he said, would be a true homage to Mahatma Gandhi.

Khadi outlets provide a month-long discount from October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti), and the Prime Minister called upon people to take advantage of this scheme. Currently, there are over 7,000 khadi outlets across the country besides various other retail shops selling khadi products. During 2013-14, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission produced goods worth over ₹26,000 crore and provided employment to over 1.4 crore people.

Using the medium of radio, which reaches 99.2 per cent of the population and covers 92 per cent of the country’s geographical area, Modi urged people to shed despondency and use skills for the betterment and prosperity of the nation.

“You know, our scientists have undertaken the Mars mission successfully at minimum cost. There is nothing lacking in our capabilities. We have only forgotten our strengths. We have forgotten ourselves and have become despondent… this cannot be,” he said, in his little over 15-minute broadcast.

The Prime Minister called upon people to recognise their “internal strengths,” and narrated a short story narrated by Swami Vivekananda about a lion brought up by a flock of sheep rediscovering its prowess after coming in touch with another lion. He said if citizens move ahead with self-respect and right identity, “we will emerge victorious”.

Modi said that he keeps emphasising on 125 crore citizens because till now the mindset has been that the Government will do everything. “We have seen where we stand. If we have to move ahead, 125 crore Indians will have to act,” he added.

He narrated another story about a person who sat on a road asking people the way to his destination, but got no answer till he got up and started walking.

“Until we decide to get up and walk, we won’t find guides to show us the way,” he added. While emphasising on greater participation of the common people, the Prime Minister said the country belonged not only to the Government, but everyone.

The Prime Minister promised to be on radio twice in a month. Explaining his decision to address the nation over radio, he said it was a simple medium and through the broadcast he would be able to reach far and wide and the homes of the poor.

“The strength of the country lies in the huts of the poor. The strength of my country lies in villages, the strength of my country lies in mothers, sisters, youth and farmers. The country will progress on the basis of your strength, this is what I believe in. I have faith in your strength, so I believe in the future of India,” he said.