Britain Finally Embraces India’s Khadi
In the Poppy Appeal, they will be wearing Khadi. Politicians and members of the public across the country wear a cloth poppy as a sign of respect for the war dead and this year they have chosen Khadi as the cloth poppy.
Yes, you are hearing it right. Khadi, the fabric which was once a weapon for India’s fight against British rule in India is finally being accepted by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who plans to wear Khadi along with other members of the British Parliament in honour of the Indian soldiers, who were killed during World War I.
This time in the Poppy Appeal, they will be wearing Khadi, the fabric of India. Poppy Appeal is an annual fundraising program, which is organised for war veterans on Armistice Day, 11th November, as it was on the same date in the year 1918, to mark the end of First World War. Politicians and members of the public across the country wear a cloth poppy as a sign of respect for the war dead and this year they have chosen Khadi as the cloth poppy.
The khadi version of the poppy is launched by Lord Jitesh Gadhia, an Indian-origin peer and the Royal British Legion for the first time this year as a symbol of India’s contribution to the war. British Prime Minister Theresa May said, “Over 74,000 soldiers came from undivided India and lost their lives; 11 of them won the Victoria Cross for their outstanding bravery and played a crucial role in the war across multiple continents”.
The British PM was replying to a question, put to her by Conservative Party MP Tom Tugendhat who himself is a former Army officer, when he asked her whether she would join him in wearing a khadi poppy. Prime Minister May also thanked the organizers saying, “I would like to congratulate the Royal British Legion and Lord Gadhia for recognizing this special contribution with the khadi poppy and I will certainly be interested in wearing a khadi poppy as we lead up to Armistice Day”.
Meanwhile, Conservative Party MP Tom Tugendhat, who is also the chairman of the Common’s Foreign Affairs Committee, which is conducting a “Global Britain and India” for developing the ties between both the countries also told the Parliament, “home-spun cotton remembers Mahatma Gandhi's and India's contribution to the war effort and is an important reminder of the United Kingdom’s links with India”.
More than 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in the First World War across continents, more than 10,000 nurses served their soldiers and 170,000 animals were used during the war, as part of British India.
