“We have to look at handlooms as strength of India” - What is your opinion?

For hundreds of years, India has developed a rich cultural heritage of handloom products which has helped India to develop a unique fashion sense of its own. The cotton and silk fabrics that are regularly produced by the handloom experts of India can be finely woven into stylish clothing items that are just perfect for the tropical weather. Although today the fashion trends in India have changed a lot in the recent times and most men and women prefer to wear western outfits in their day to day lives, this is surely going to change in the future as fashion always do. When it does, India can establish itself as one of the biggest names in the global fashion scene.

Any fashion conscious man or woman would want to wear clothes that would make him or her look unique and different from the others. This would naturally mean that there is always a demand for clothes that allow a person to explore his or her unique sense of style and fashion identity. The Indian handloom clothes can do just that by allowing people with plenty of scope to explore their own sense of style. Already the fashion designers in India who work with khadi, cotton and silk clothing have proven to the world that if designed in a beautiful way, there is nothing like Indian clothing for those who want to create a strong impression with their dressing sense. These designers have taken Indian fashion to the world stage and people in other parts of the globe also nowadays take a strong interest in Indian fashion and what it can offer to them.

Save Indian Handloom

Such a growing popularity of Indian handlooms in the world stage should certainly make the people of India feel proud. In fact, the handloom industry in India contributes in the major way to the annual GDP of the country, thereby helping the economy of the country to expand further. While many other countries of the world such as those in Asia and Africa regularly compete with India to produce fabrics and handloom goods that can have a strong appeal for the global market, it is India that stands ahead of the rest due to its uniqueness in fashion apparel. While the products from these other competition countries are certainly good, they are not unique and different such as those that are produced in India. This makes India one of the leading suppliers of handloom products in the world.

The current economic pressures in India are certainly making it difficult for the handloom industry in the country to produce as many numbers of goods as they would want to. Many families who have long been associated with the handloom industry are choosing to come to urban areas to find a different type of work that would help them to meet their financial needs. This is not only causing the handloom industry more problems to sustain itself but also indirectly affecting the economical development of the country. The local and national government bodies of India should do everything that they can in order to make things easier for the people who work in the handloom industry so that they feel the urge to produce the handloom goods that they used to.

With the rising popularity of Indian handlooms in the national and global stage, we can say that the future of handlooms certainly look a lot bright. New techniques of production are also being introduced at some places that enhance the rate of production while at the same time maintain the originality and quality for which these products are so well known.

Why Indian Govt not able to impact more even having number of handloom weavers scheme?

The handloom industry in India has been intimately related to the culture and history of this country. It has gradually evolved over hundreds and thousands of years, shaping up many trends and practices of India’s day to day life. However, in the recent times, the handloom industry in this country has been facing serious challenges from a number of sectors which is making it extremely difficult for the people involved in this business to reap the rewards that they are supposed to get. New technology, competition from a global market, new trends of marketing and other factors have made things difficult for the traditional handloom weavers of India who have been practicing their ancient art very much in the same way that their ancestors used to do once.

Apart from the usual challenges to the traditional practices of handloom weaving, one of the critical issues that have surfaced in the recent times is the eagerness from a number of institutions to enhance the prospects of handloom weavers by using technology driven looms which can apparently increase their overall productivity and earnings. The real situation is that it is an attempt on the part of the power loom operators to take over the traditional handloom industry and convert the handloom production methods into new power loom-based production techniques. However, the downside to this is that it is going to extend the benefits that are currently now available to handloom weavers according to the Government of India schemes to the power loom operators. Hence it will lead to the weakening of one sector and the strengthening of the other. While it is a common knowledge that only a handful of handloom schemes are now being able to meet the needs of the weavers, the situation is going to turn even graver if this so-called conversion in power looms take place.

Indian traditional sarees by handloom weavers

The new scheme that aims to combine handloom production techniques with power loom production techniques is flawed from the very onset. The proposed method of work would include some of the processes being done by hand and the rest of them motorized. Nevertheless, the end products would still be categorized as handloom fabrics and would be eligible to receive the conventional incentives attributed to the handloom industry. However, if this actually takes place then the richness for which Indian handlooms are known will simply fall apart as it would never be possible to create handlooms that are even half as good with power loom techniques. The most serious aspect to thing whole thing is that this new way of working was never really discussed during the 12^th Five Year Plan held by the Government of India to improve handicrafts and handlooms. It only came to light as some of the handlooms welfare officials came to visit the handloom weavers and were quite alarmed to find that the weavers themselves have started to protest seriously to improve the situation for their own business interests.

Many places in India where power looms were supposed to be implemented do not have adequate electricity to run the machines. In such cases, the production will never be able to reach the optimum targets by which the workers can claim remunerations. In fact, the incentive schemes for handloom weavers that is to be extended to the power loom operators is an illusion. This call for motorized production was actually a move to win over power loom lobbyists so that certain influential politicians can have their support during elections. However, the disparity between certain political heads in relation to the war between traditional handloom techniques versus power loom techniques is making it even more difficult for the Government of India to put an end to this struggle.