Portugal orders Khadi ahead of Gandhi's birth anniversary

To bring out a "commemorative khadi stamp on Mahatma Gandhi" on his 150th birth anniversary on October 2, Portugal has ordered the signature fabric of India, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), said on July 5.

After the successful dispatch of this consignment on June 29, KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena said that in February 2019, Khadi samples gratis were provided to the Cartor Security Printing Agency of Lisbon for stamp testing on behalf of the Postal Services of Portugal (CTT) for printing the stamps.

"The Cartor Security Printing Agency had successfully completed the testing and later Dr Arjun Deore, the Second Secretary in the Embassy of India in Lisbon has confirmed the same to KVIC and requested us to supply 4,000 meters of exclusive 300-count muslin Khadi Fabric in bundles of 11 meters," he said, adding, "Though the monetary value of this order is little over Rs 21 lakh, it values much more for the KVIC as Khadi and Bapu both would be showcased in Portugal's stamp simultaneously."

However, Khadi's global presence is not a new phenomenon. In April 2018, noted fashion designer Gavin Rajah choreographed a 20-minute textile event aimed to project Khadi in a modern and trendy style at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In June 2018, Khadi also draped around a train and station at the Pietermaritzburg Railway Station in South Africa where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown off a train for refusing to give up his seat in a first class, "whites-only" compartment in 1893.

The KVIC, for the first time, organised exclusive khadi exhibitions in 10 countries on August 15, 2018 and enthused by the massive response in those countries,the KVIC again organised khadi exhibitions in another 50 countries on October 2 last year.

This order from Lisbon perhaps is the outcome of Khadi's exposure at various exhibitions held in the recent past.