#Thread. The Curious Case of Laila Tyabji’s Epic Meltdown. On the eve of #NationalHandloomDay, founder of Dastkar and textiles Prima Donna Laila Tyabji chose to rant about this govt’s decision of scrapping of the Handloom Board. SS attached. @TexMinIndia @smritiirani 
In her rant, Ms. Tyabji alleged that d decision of scrapping the Handloom Board was taken by @TexMinIndia in the ‘quiet of Covid Times’, implying d govt had something to hide. She said how she ‘would have loved to be on that board’ and how it was a great institution. But was it?
Between 2005 - 2016, Handloom Board met precisely SIX times - in ELEVEN years. Meetings were held in five star hotels for half a day. There is no evidence of any policy decisions nor any recommendations made. In other words, the board was another @INCIndia era white elephant.
The Handloom Board was a brainchild of Pupul Jayakar, the numero Uno Prima Donna of textiles during the Indira Gandhi era. It was in many ways the NAC of the arts n crafts sector, meant to be a cosy watering hole of people close to the Gandhi family.
Laila Tyabji is another typical example of old Lutyens elite, who acquired her clout thanks to her birth and her family’s proximity to the Nehru family. She is Badruddin Tyabji’s daughter and by her own admission, was a personal sarwe shopper for @INCIndia ex-prez Sonia Gandhi.
In her rant, Tyabji laments that ‘spaces where people can interact directly with the govt’ are shrinking. Tyabji does NOT mention that @TexMinIndia @smritiirani had formed a committee in 2016 to revamp Weaver Service Centers, first point of contact for weavers in their clusters.
Tyabji was a part of this commitee along with @Jayajaitly n some designers like Gaurang and Sabyasachi. The committee first met in November 2016. Members were asked to choose any two WSC of their choice, visit them and prepare a report giving a strategic plan for the revamp.
Till April 2017, only @Jayajaitley had visited WSCs and written her report. Ms. Tyabji did NOT visit a single WSC, let alone make a plan. When I questioned her, she replied saying she had prepared a ‘strategic report’ without visiting a single WSC, coz the dates didn’t suit her.
Imagine the arrogance, the sense of entitlement that made Laila Tyabji say that the ‘strategic report’ she wrote without visiting a single WSC had to be accepted as a policy document, only coz the Great Laila Tyabji had written it! When I called her out, she hid her original rant
But her poisonous whispers are being shared by people on SM with insinuations like @TexMinIndia is planning to scrap WSC next, when only yesterday, there were announcements of NIFT staff and students being given the job of revamping WSCs, the task that Tyabji was supposed to do.
Question is, notification to scrap Handloom Board came out on 27th July. Why did Laila Tyabji wait till 6th August, the eve of #NationalHandloomDay to schedule her meltdown? The answer is there for everyone to see, she wanted to use this day to launch her misinformation campaign.
