The tricolor flag of India is the biggest and the most important symbol of its independence. It is believed that the first flag that was hoisted on the Red Fort after India got independence was made by a weaver named Chauthmal hailing from Dausa district of Rajasthan. And this has established a special connection between Dausa village and India’s national flag.
As a part of the preparations for the first flag hoisting ceremony at the Red Fort, three flags from different parts of the country were brought. The one which was brought from Dausa was hoisted on the Red Fort, Delhi on the first Independence Day of the country.
Whether it is about manufacturing cloth for the flags or processing it, there is a particular procedure to be followed. Making of the national flag is guided by some rules and codes of conduct. One of these is that the cloth used for making the flags must be ISI approved.
A handloom in Dausa district Patrika
Dausa is one of the special places in the country as the fabric for making flags is still weaved in here. In the Banetha village of Dausa district, one can still find handlooms inside the small houses. These are the houses where weavers who make the cloth for India’s flag live. These weavers have been weaving cloth for the national flag since many years. However, the educational, social and monetary conditions in which these craftsmen are living are miserable. Neither they nor their children receive any kind of benefits from the Khadi Committee of the district.
These weavers are proud of weaving flags that are waved in the entire country but at the same time, they are sad about their monetary condition as well. They are able to earn a meager Rs. 250 for weaving 15 meters of cloth which takes 2 days of labor.
Moreover, these craftsmen have neither been given any weaving machines nor any sort of training to enhance their productivity and output. It is high time that the administration wakes up for the benefit of weavers who have been toiling hard for decades, weaving the national flags which we Indians are so proud to hoist and wave on the occasion of Independence Day and other days as well.