Leirum Phee, the traditional cloth of Manipur popularized by Prime Minister Modi has found a new lease of life as ‘Modi Gamcha’ the demand for which has been on the rise ever since the Prime Minister started wearing it as a facemask in the wake of COVID19. Since then, there has been a mass production of the cloth in UP which has raised concerns in Manipur.
The Economic Times had tweeted a video in which weavers from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh were seen producing the cloth to be sold in e-commerce platforms.
PM #Modi ‘#gamcha’ becomes a game changer for #weavers in rural area pic.twitter.com/s5CrJwv4uY
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) May 30, 2020
Many twitter users from the north-east had expressed their displeasure over the same saying that it puts the livelihood of Manipuri Women at risk.
Dear @narendramodi @PMOIndia this traditional lengyan phi is handwoven in Manipur giving livelihood to many women of rural Manipur. This is unacceptable. Are we becoming China? Every thing cannot be copy pasted. This is a sincere request. Please https://t.co/THJIE4jdXF
— Northeast_waali (@chekla) May 30, 2020
The Director Handloom and Textiles Department of Manipur K Lamlee Kamei has requested the Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles to take steps to safeguard Manipur’s traditional cloth and the livelihood of local weavers.
Mr. Kamei has written to the Ministry of Textiles regarding the same saying that the ‘Leirum Phee’ designed as ‘Lengyan’ or muffler has cultural, historical and emotional value, the Hindustan Times reported. Civil bodies of Manipur, like the ACOAM-Lup, Kangleipak, AMESCO, and HERICOUN, among others, have criticized the government of Manipur for not taking steps to get GI tag for the traditional ‘muffler.’
However, it was reported that the department has started the process of getting GI tag for Leirum Phee.