India, Aug. 9 -- It was in 1905 when several freedom fighters had gathered in the Calcutta Town Hall to protest against the partition of Bengal by the British government and started a Swadeshi movement that aimed at boycotting all British products and reviving the use of homegrown ones. It's since then that the event marked itself in the history as the National Handloom Day. However, how much of it has been ever followed?

Designer Ritu Kumar, who was one of the panelists at a discussion at the Crafts Museum, questioned its theme, 'Can our handloom heritage of the past be a springboard to the future?' How will a day's discussion help in reviving the handloom sector? Silence followed. She then stressed upon the reality of the handloom sect...