18th October saw the visit of PM Narendra Modi to Ludhiana. He was attending the National MSME Awards ceremony and the Launch of National SC/ST Hub. During the visit he distributed Charkha(s) to women. In his speech he said that his head hung in shame over the incidents of atrocities on Dalits that are taking place even after 70 years of Independence. He cited Guru Gobind Singh ji by saying, “We know that due to our societal anomalies, hearing out some incidents targeting our Dalit brothers even today, my head hangs in shame. After 70 years of Independence, we cannot wait longer.” It should be noted that at nearly 32%, Punjab has one of the highest Dalit populations in the country.
Launch of National SC/ST Hub
PM Modi was attending the launch of the Hub for SC/ST that will help dalits and adivasis become entrepreneurs PM Modi highlighted that under the Startup India, Standup India Scheme, 1.25 Lakh branches of nationalised banks have been directed to sanction loans up to Rs 1 Crore to at least one person and one women belongingto scheduled caste and scheduled tribe categories. PM Modi said “Ludhiana is an important economic hub. It is natural to launch a scheme related to MSME here. I am seeing a mini-India in front of me. For our economic development, MSME sector is crucial. We must target the Global Market”. He further said, “We will have to sharpen the focus of our direction. The aspirations of a Dalit or an Adivasi exceed those of other youth in the country. If they get an opportunity, they will not lag behind in changing the fortune of India.”
500 traditional charkhas to women spinners distributed
Later PM Modi distributed 500 traditional charkhas to women spinners belongingto the local Kadhi institutions. These women were selected from different areas of Punjab. During the function he said that today we are distributing Charkhas to women as Kadhi is out priority and with these charkhas the household income will also increase. He further said, “See how well Khadi is marketed now. Earlier it was only ‘Kadhi for nation’, now it also ‘Kadhi for Fashion’. Use Kadhi products. Buy Khadi this Diwali so that the poor who spin the charkha can celeberate…..”. “…. We should have a dream of making products with ‘Zero defects’. Our products should be so perfect that all the countries buy them without a second thought. The global market is waiting for us.” He further went to see an exhibitionand tried his hand at a charkha
