In order to revive the golden heritage of Bangla and commercialise the ‘Muslin’, the government of Bangladesh is going to set up a 'Dhakai Muslin House' at the capital’s outskirt Rupganj.
Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi at a press conference at the Secretariat on Thursday said that ‘Dhakai Muslin’ will once again make the world happy by returning to the golden tradition.
The press conference was organised on the occasion of ‘National Textile Day-2021’. The Minister said, “A project implemented by the Bangladesh Weaving Board has brought back the lost glory of Bangladesh and the world famous Dhakai Muslin.”
He said, “The government has been planning to build ‘Dhakai Muslin House’ on the land of Jute-Fiber Glass Industries at Tarabat in Rupganj Upazila near Dhaka.”
He also said that the commercial production of Dhakai Muslin will directly and indirectly create employment opportunities for a large number of people, especially women.
Golam Dastagir Ghazi further said, “The government has declared December 4 as the National Textile Day.”
According to him, the National Textile Day-2021 will be celebrated on December 4 from the Ministry of Textiles and Jute.
He said, “The role of textile sector in the economy and culture of Bangladesh is immense.”
The garment sector is contributing the most to the economic development of Bangladesh. The lion share of the country's export earnings comes from this sector. A large part of the country's gross domestic product comes from the textile sector.
At present, about 50 lakh workers are employed in the textile sector, he said, adding that about 80 per cent of them are women. These activities are playing an important role in women's empowerment.
National Textile Day will be celebrated across the country to accelerate the continuous development and modernisation of the textile industry and the demand in the domestic and international markets.
The theme of this year's National Textile Day is 'Globalisation of Textile Sector; Development of Bangladesh'. On this occasion, an initiative has been taken to organise the main event of Textile Day on December 4 at Osmani Auditorium, the minister said.
The event will honour seven associations and organisations for their contributions for protecting the textile sector in the face of the ongoing global coronavirus disaster.
He said the existing and developing textile industries need skilled textile technicians to produce quality textiles. In order to meet this demand, the Department of Textiles is providing skilled workers, supervisors, diploma technicians and bachelors in the textile industry at low level through 41 textile vocational institutes, 10 textile institutes and 8 textile engineering colleges. .
The minister also said that work was underway to set up more such educational institutions to meet the growing demand for skilled manpower in the textile sector.
In the ancient and medieval period, the muslin cloth made by the weavers of Dhakai became a status symbol for the rich and aristocratic class. In 1747, Dhakai Muslin exports fetched Tk 28.5 lakh, found the researchers.
The fall of the Mughal Empire, lack of patronage of the British rulers, expansion of the East India Company, Industrial Revolution in England, the imposition of high taxes on muslin and the cutting of the fingers of weavers were the main causes behind the loss of the Muslin cloth since the middle of the 19th century.
