BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday unveiled a large steel charkha and heritage Charkha Museum — consisting 14 vintage charkhas — at Palika Bazar Park in Delhi's Connaught Place, amid much fervour and gaiety.
Hailing this initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his special message to Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) chairman, said, "As Mahatma Gandhi himself believed, the Charkha is a symbol of our Swaraj and self-reliance. The museum and the monument for the charkha in the national Capital will be a proud tribute the charkha's historic importance in our nation. This will economically empower the lives of several weavers associated with the Khadi industry."
KVIC chairman Vinai KumarSaxena, in his welcome speech, said charkha, like the memorial to unknown soldiers, is memorial to the unknown rural masses, who took to ways of self-reliance and dignity of labour following the call of the Father of the nation.
"The KVIC, in association with New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), has set up this Heritage Charkha Museum, showcasing 50 to 100 years old charkhas, gifted to KVIC by the owners of these charkhas. The charkha, run by the PM on Oct 18, 2016 at ludhiana, has also been kept permanently in the museum for display for general public," he said, adding, "located in the heart of the city, it will certainly catch the eyes of foreign tourists coming here. The sparkling white marble statue of Mahatma Gandhi and the large steel charkha will be visible from all four sides of Baba Kharak Singh Marg."
Shah said right from the time immemorial charkha had been the symbol of economic empowerment of our nation. "It is really a commendable job from the part of KVIC and NDMC that both the organisations have come up with a novel mission with economic model to promote tourism. I hope that the spinning wheel would symbolise the mission of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India'."