The handloom industry has always played a pivotal role in India's economy because of its employment generating capacity. It has an important place in an agrarian economy as it uses agricultural products as raw materials and in turn provides a buoyant market for the agriculture products.

According to the latest Handloom Census, the sector engages over 23 lakh female weavers and allied workers. So it plays a key role in women empowerment as well. India's handloom industry, largely household-based and carried out with the labour contributed by the entire family, has a lot of versatility that allows scope for experimentation and innovation.

The relevance of this industry in the agrarian economy is also massive as it uses agricultural products as raw materials and therefore, in an economy where majority of people still rely on agrarian sector for their livelihood, the significance of handloom is again well understood.

National Handloom Day, observed on August 7 every year in the country since 2015, aims to recognise and appreciate the Indian textile industry’s participation and involvement in ensuring the country's socio-economic growth. The significance of August 7 being it was on this day the Swadeshi Movement was launched in Kolkata as a mark of protest against the Partition of Bengal by the British rulers.

The art of weaving

The art of weaving is an age-old tradition in India that has been practised over centuries. Handloom weaving constitutes one of the richest and most vibrant aspects of Indian cultural heritage. The canvas of the weavers in India is vast and different parts have their own distinct style. For instance, Gujarat’s Bandhani, Assam’s Muga Silk, Karnataka’s Mysore silk, Muslin of Chanderi, Varanasi brocades, Tie and Dye of Rajasthan, Jamdani of Bengal, Patola sarees from Patan, traditional designs from Assam and Manipur like the Phenek and Tongam, to name a few.

The process of weaving primarily constitutes interlacement of two sets of threads, viz. warp and weft, and the equipment which operates this interlacement is called ‘loom’. In India, there are various types of looms in use traditionally and they can be identified through the nature of cloth produced or the places of their origin.

Some of the most common handlooms in India are the loin loom, pit loom, frame loom, Manipuri loom, Rajasthani loom, Kashmiri loom, etc. A handloom household is defined as one that any member of the household who operates a loom in the last one year either within the premises of the house or outside the household premises.

According to the fourth All India Handloom Census(2019-2020), which is the latest, the total number of households in India engaged in handloom activities (weaving and allied activities) is 31.45 lakh. The rise in number has been seen in the last few years. The number of weaver households which stood at 22.68 lakh during the first census has increased to 25.45 lakh households in the second and it was 27.83 lakh in the third census. The key reason behind this increase may be attributed to the success of various developmental initiatives undertaken by the Government.

In terms of preference, the largest yarn type used by handloom weavers in India is Cotton 1 to 20, which is being used by 30.4 percent of all weavers and allied workers. According to the census 6.83 lakhs handloom worker households weave sarees, which is approximately 22.9 percent of all such households.

The State of West Bengal dominates the saree production market but so does Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh besides the North East (silk sarees from Assam and Tripura). Together these 5 States accounts for over 78.6 percent of the handloom saree production in the country. 7.97 lakhs handloom worker households weave products such as shawls, mekhla chadder, Loi, stole, scarf, and muffler, which is approximately 26.7 percent of all households. The single State of Assam accounts for the bulk of the production of such products (77.4%).

Handloom history

India has a rich tradition of handloom weaving since time immemorial with the earliest evidences going back to the Indus Valley civilisation. Various written treatise pertaining to the Rigveda, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Thalia (by Greek historian Herodotus) and Kautilya have mentioned not only spinning and weaving but also the high quality of silk and cotton. Export of handloom products, as early as the fifteenth century was reported, followed by Vasco da Gama’s visit to India thereby opening of trade routes for Europe.

The handloom industry in India underwent several changes during the 19th century and early 20th century. With the entry of cheap British imported clothes in the Indian market, survival of handloom industry became difficult. Indian handloom industry faced severe competition from imported clothes and clothes produced by Indian mills.

India was a major player in the world export market for textiles in the early 18th century, but by the middle of the 19th century it had lost all of its export market and much of its domestic market, primarily to Britain. The reason for this lies in the discrimination policies followed by British government. After the Industrial Revolution, the British began executing a protectionist policy to restrict import of handwoven cloth from India. Towards the end of the 19th century, the cotton textile sector was hit by many other challenges.

Rough weather

Handloom weavers are weathering the market fluctuations that became even more pronounced during the pandemic. There is a need to protect handloom weavers and the artisans from the competition from power-looms and other market forces. Stiff competition from powerloom, availability of cheaper imported fabrics, alternative employment opportunities and economic liberalisation has threatened the vibrancy of handloom sector.

The government has taken various initiatives and scheme interventions like cluster approach, aggressive marketing initiative, subsidised yarn and credit, skill upgradation, design interventions, technological improvements that has helped the weavers sustain themselves despite the inclement weather.

In fact, the government can or need to provide raw materials at subsidised costs, insurance for the weavers, child benefits, pension schemes. This can help them tide over some of the financial woes. There is a need to take up upgradation of skills for the weavers so that they can adapt to the changed technology. This includes giving them regular trainings on learning new weaving techniques, learning about the dyes and dyeing methods, making them friendly towards e-commerce and new marketing techniques.

The government and the other stakeholders should also promote the production and marketing of handloom products by infrastructure and marketing assistance. Despite the adversities, the weavers have been able to withstand the vagaries of the market fluctuations. This, in itself is a positive development.

—The author, Vanita Srivastava, is an independent science and health writer. The views expressed are personal.

Read her previous articles here

(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)