High on handlooms

The handloom sector played a vital role in India’s freedom movement. The Swadeshi Movement, launched on August 7, 1905, championed indigenous industries, especially handlooms, as a form of economic resistance to colonial rule. In honor of this legacy, August 7 was declared National Handloom Day in 2015.

India’s handloom sector is known for its wide range of fabrics, including cotton, khadi, jute, linen, and rare fibers like Himalayan nettle. It also produces distinctive silk varieties like Tusar, Mashruf, Mulberry, Eri, Muga and Ahimsa, along with woolen weaves like Pashmina, Shantosh and Cashmere. Every region in India has developed its unique handloom style.

National Handloom Day is a heartfelt celebration of India’s weaving traditions and the people who keep them alive. The government also runs several other significant initiatives to promote the handloom industry, like marketing assistance, certification of handloom products, skill upgradation, etc.

Jayanthy Subramaniam, Mumbai

Remembering Rabindranath Tagore

Rich tributes are due to Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore on his 84th death anniversary, the legendary poet, author and philosopher for his timeless contributions to India’s cultural and intellectual heritage who penned India’s national anthem. His progressive views and contributions to various arts continue to inspire millions. On his death anniversary, we honour the poet whose ideas still shape our thoughts and dreams.

Rabindranath Tagore, born on 7 May 1861, passed away on 7 August 1941, at the age of 80 due to complications from uraemia and a blocked urinary bladder. Fondly remembered as the “Bard of Bengal,” he remains a towering figure in Indian literature, music, and philosophy.In 1913, Tagore became the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his collection ‘Gitanjali’, which introduced Indian spiritual and poetic thought to the Western world.

Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai

Enigmatic judgements

Of late, judgements from the courts of law are seen, acquitting all the accused in a few murder cases, thereby throwing the public at large into a quandary about the nature of the crimes themselves. Whether they took place at all and if at all it did, are they so bewildered as to fail to find out whodunit?

Seshagiri Row Karry, Hyderabad

People have trust deficit on Congress

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that a Congress investigation found massive voter fraud in the elections in Karnataka Lok Sabha segment and Maharashtra assembly elections where more voters were added in five months than in five years. He had alleged votes theft. He had furnished party’s expectations and general allegations like voters name in multiple places, no voters in the address etc., Did such things not happen in Telengana, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and Punjab state assembly elections where their alliance won the state elections.

When Congress won 100 Lok Sabha seats there were no such allegations. Frustration of defeat in the forthcoming state assembly elections and 2029 general elections baseless allegations are levelled against the constitutional body. Congress has lost faith of the people by the hallow rheotic speeches of its leaders. It should work hard to regain the lost image. It should speaking precisely with proper proof.

Sravana Ramachandran, Chennai

Ecological imbalance calamitous

Every time natural calamities occur in hilly regions with naturally flowing rivers, nature is sending a warning signal to those responsible for safeguarding it. In the name of providing easy access to certain places of worship—especially those where the deity is believed to have manifested on its own, known as “Swayambhu”—we are tampering with fragile ecosystems.

The government must understand that some places of worship, created by humans centuries ago, are located in areas where infrastructure like roads is feasible. In contrast, shrines believed to have emerged on their own are often found in remote, difficult terrain, meant to be reached only by those who can endure the hardships of the journey.

Not every divine abode is meant to be made easily accessible. There must be a balance between human desire and nature’s sanctity. Sadly present for reasons well known are turning pilgrimage as tourism and they’re facing consequence.

N Nagarajan, Hyderabad