Portugal Orders Khadi Ahead of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th 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 Friday.

Khadi samples were provided to the Cartor Security Printing Agency of Lisbon in February for stamp testing on behalf of the Postal Services of Portugal (CTT), said KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena.

"The Cartor Security Printing Agency had successfully completed the testing... and requested us to supply 4,000 metres of exclusive 300-count muslin khadi fabric in bundles of 11 metres," he said.

"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," Saxena added.

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," the KVIC Chairman said.