As a first step, professional institutes like the ITIs, polytechnics, NIFT and NID can start imparting training in khadi and handloom clusters
The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Government’s decision to include a khadi fashion show in UP Day celebrations is recognition of the sector’s role in inclusive development and its employment potential. Khadi and handloom fabrics are as integral to our cultural heritage as zari is to a trousseau. The Rigveda, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana expound upon the art of spinning and weaving. Woven cloth, bone needles and spindles were found in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Block-printed fabrics, mainly of Gujarati origin, discovered in Egyptian tombs, exhibit the demand of Indian cotton textiles abroad and their export since the 19th century B.C. This tradition of excellence has been preserved by generations of skilled artisans and weavers. Today, the khadi-handloom sector employs over four million weavers and allied production workers. The textile sector is the second-largest employer after agriculture in India. However, the 2010 Handloom Census revealed that the number of weavers was declining at a rate of seven per cent per annum, the count of handlooms was dwindling and a weaver earned a meagre Rs 3,400 per month as against the all India average of Rs 4,500 per month for any other worker. With the next generation being sceptical and disinterested in the craft, the Indian handloom industry is on the verge of becoming extinct.
The need of the hour is to segregate the sector into subsectors and work on the strengths of each. India occupies an enviable place in the world as 85 per cent of the global handloom production occurs in the country. Other handloom producing nations like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Indonesia manufacture a very limited range of products, which is mainly for domestic use. India has the capability to meet the demand for handmade products across the globe due to its demographic advantage and cultural heritage. We need to align our rich legacy with the demands of the modern era by incorporating latest designs. A Benarasi or Chanderi weaver can earn more if s/he contemporises the sari and diversifies into exportable accessories like stoles, scarves, ties, belts, bags and so on. This product development calls for a strong collaboration between weavers and designers. Another crucial dimension in the value chain is marketing, that needs to be understood, appreciated and exploited. Premium handloom products like the Patan Patola, Baluchari, Jamdani, Ikat and Kani need to be projected as niche products. With their unique designs and distinct weaving techniques, they should be targeted only at the affluent so that weavers get high returns.
However, this strategy is intended only for highly skilled weavers with whom designers associate. They constitute only 20 per cent of the handloom weavers who produce 80 per cent of the high-value items. The remaining 80 per cent of the weavers would need to be dealt with differently.
Handloom textiles face a serious threat in the marketplace when powerloom cloth is clandestinely sold as handloom. As a layman cannot distinguish a powerloom product from handloom, the Handloom Mark is a guarantee to the buyer that the product is genuinely handwoven. However, there is a need to generate awareness among the people about the Handloom Mark. Something as simple as a one-line commercial during the daily soaps on television could be instrumental in enlightening the target group. Plus, only products carrying the Handloom Mark should be exhibited at Government-sponsored exhibitions in India and abroad. Apart from raising awareness, this would also ensure that only genuine handloom weavers derive benefit from the sales at such expos and Government schemes.
However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the sector provides direct and indirect employment to over four million people, all of whom cannot be trained immediately to make intricate, high-end products. They are the durrie makers, the gamchha and towel manufacturers. They need Government support of a different kind. Apart from reservation of articles for production only on handlooms, they need subsidised yarn and credit. Credit is available to the sector at six per cent interest rate. If implemented in earnest, this can provide the much-needed working capital to spinners and weavers, apart from helping them in putting up facilities for dyeing, processing and finishing of handspun and handwoven fabric. The Hank Yarn Obligation makes it mandatory for spinning mills to produce certain percentage of their yarn in the hank form required for handlooms. The need is to strengthen the implementation machinery and ensure effective enforcement in the field so that every producer who manufactures yarn for powerloom or mill consumption, packs at least 30 per cent of that in hank form.
If small units in the sector have to take up spinning and weaving on a commercial scale, this would require modification of the workstations. They should be ergonomically designed to produce more and better quality threads and fabrics at a faster pace. They should be modular, easy to assemble and transport. A solar powered spinning wheel is the need of the hour. A semi-automatic loom could be a good solution wherein the motive power is provided by the weaver manually and various other motions are synchronised to obtain better speed and productivity. These could also be coupled with an automatic take-up and let-off mechanism. Technological innovations can create new possibilities for design development and the production process. There is a strong need for focused incentive schemes towards khadi and handloom research.
For both couture and mass producers, there is a need to generate a sense of pride with the occupation. Hand spinning as well as weaving needs to be treated as a modern profession. As a first step, professional institutes like Industrial Training Institutes, polytechnics, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the National Institute of Design (NID) can start imparting training in khadi and handloom clusters. A NIFT or NID certificate will instill a sense of pride apart from upgrading skills of weavers and spinners. Acquiring these standardised, employable and marketable skills will earn them due recognition in the job market and society. In a world increasingly inclined towards standardisation and mass production, khadi and handloom provide a refreshing change because of their uniqueness, flexibility and versatility. The sector represents the country’s traditional craft that has been patronised and promoted since times immemorial. We must never forget that the sector has been sustained by transferring skills from one generation to another and it is crucial to keep Gen Next in the profession.
(The writer is Additional Chief Secretary, UP Government. The views expressed are personal.)