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| HANDLOOM: THE HERITAGE INDUSTRY | | | Dr. Parveen Kumar
The Handloom sector plays a very important role in the country’s economy. One of the largest and oldest, the Indian handloom industry represents an ancient tradition dating back thousands of years for its excellent craftsmanship that represents the vibrant Indian culture. Indian artisans dating back to the Egyptian Babylonian times had such fine mastery over their fabrics that they were appreciated globally for their hand spinning, weaving and printing techniques that were handed down from generations. This heritage industry shows its presence almost in every state of India and each region has a unique take on their handloom products like the Pashmina products from Ladakh region, Tie and Die technique from Rajasthan, Chanderi from Madhya Pradesh or the Jacquard from Uttar Pradesh. Due to their unique rich variety, Indian Handloom Industry had a constant high demand in the Indian market as well as all over the world for their craftsmanship and intricacy of designs. This industry was a household based Industry and was one of the largest employment sectors both directly and indirectly, providing jobs to lakhs of weavers in India. The handloom industry due to its unique nature of requiring minimum capital and little to no power and flexible environment-friendly innovative product thrived in India for thousands of years.
A symbol of the country’s glorious cultural heritage, it is also an important source of livelihood in the country. The sector is a key to women empowerment as over 70% of handloom weavers and allied workers are women. A ‘handloom’ is a loom used to weave material without having to make use of any electrical energy. Primarily based on their construction and working technique, the looms are categorized into primitive looms, pit looms, body looms and semi-automatic looms. Handloom is unparalleled in its flexibility and versatility, permitting experimentation and encouraging innovations. The strength of Handloom lies in the introducing innovative designs, which cannot be replicated by the Power loom sector. Thus, Handloom forms a part of the heritage of India and exemplifies the richness and diversity of our country and the artistry of the weavers.
CONTRIBUTION OF HANDLOOM IN ECONOMY: It is one of the largest economic activities providing direct employment to over 65 lakh persons engaged in weaving and allied activities. After agriculture, this sector is the largest economic activity. It also contributes substantially to the export income of the country. Data reveals that the export of handloom products from India was valued at US$ 343.69 million in FY19. In FY20, the export stood at US$ 319.02 million. The handloom products export between from April 2020 to March 2021
was US$ 223.19 million and for the month of March 2021 it was US$ 23.43 million. The other woven fabric of handloom export was US$ 7.55 million between April 2020 and February 2021. In FY21, the US was the major importer of Indian handloom products, with an estimated purchase of US$ 83.11 million, followed by the UK, Australia, Germany, and France at US$ 18.99 million, US$ 10.7 million, US$ 9.94 million and US$ 9.73 million respectively. Nearly 15% of cloth production in India is from the handloom sector. Cloth production in 2019-20 (till January 2020) stood at 63,348 square meters. The production of hand woven fabric from India constitutes 95% of the global production.
NATIONAL HANDLOOM DAY: The National Handloom Day is an annual occasion in the country celebrated every year on August 07. The special occasion is meant to honour the handloom weavers and additionally highlights the handloom trade within the nation. In India, the special occasion seeks make folks conscious concerning the contribution of handloom to the socioeconomic improvement of India.
HISTORY OF THE DAY: The year 2021 is the sixth National Handloom Day. August 7 was chosen as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on this day in 1905 in Calcutta Town Hall to protest against the partition of Bengal by the British Government. The movement had aimed at reviving domestic products and production processes. With the partition of Bengal, the Swadeshi Movement gained strength. It was on August 7, 1905 that a formal proclamation was made at the Calcutta Town Hall to boycott foreign goods and rely on Indian-made products. More than a century later, in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first National Handloom Day at Chennai, Tamilnadu. It was a salute to weavers and others in the industry to promote the handmade and the hand woven. Since then the day is celebrated all over the country beneath the coordination of the Ministry of Textiles. On this day, the handloom weaving community is honoured and the contribution of this sector in the socio-economic development of this country is highlighted. The resolve to protect our handloom heritage and to empower the handloom weavers and workers with greater opportunities is reaffirmed.
Father of the nation, Late Mahatma Gandhi had started the Swadeshi Movement by using ‘Khadi’ with the objective of promoting self-reliance and self-sustainability among the rural villages and used it as a tool of passive resistance to reject British raj. Every Indian was urged to spin its own yarn by using a simple charkha and to proudly wear ‘Khadi’. This movement led to the closure of the Mills in Manchester and was a big turning point in the struggle to achieve independence. After Independence, the Indian government introduced several schemes and made various interventions to revive the rich Indian Handloom heritage industry to its previous glory and promote regional handloom culture. To promote Khadi and other village industries, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) was formed by the Government of India. It is an apex organization under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), with regard to Khadi and village industries within India.
The Government also endeavors to ensure sustainable development of the handloom sector thereby empowering our handloom weavers and workers financially and instilling pride in their exquisite craftsmanship. As a result of effective Government intervention through financial assistance and implementation of various developmental and welfare schemes, this sector has been able to withstand competition from the power loom and mill sectors. The Office of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms has been implementing, since its inception in the year 1976, various schemes for the promotion and development of the handloom sector and providing assistance to the handloom weavers in a variety of ways.
Some of the major programmes include Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana, Yarn Supply Scheme, Promotion of Handloom industries, Skill Upgradation Training under Self employment programme in Handloom sector, Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for Handloom Sector, besides marketing support and Publicity of the products
In these days of energy crisis and global warming, it is more sensible to encourage the eco-friendly handloom industry rather than textile mills and power looms that are energy and infrastructure intensive. Using Handloom fabrics can help in reducing Global Warming. Handloom is a highly comfortable fabric that is most suitable for Indian weather conditions. By supporting Handloom we will also preserve the rich textile heritage and art of India. This Industry has the potential to generate and sustain employment for millions of people, with no additional need for infrastructure or extra energy. |
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