Explain the reason behind survival of handloom & Khadi in India
Answers
Explanation:
India as a country, has a rich tradition of textiles. Today, Jaipur in Rajasthan and Ahmedabad in Gujarat have become international hotspots for handloom and khadi Indian made fabrics. Textiles are a living history book. They are a window into a countries history and culture. To understand the importance of Khadi, first, we need to explore its evolution. The art of handloom and Khadi has helped India to gain independence and shape it into the country it is today.
The position of handlooms in the socio-political arena and the sector’s annual contribution to the economy cannot be objectively stated. The reasons are hidden in narratives of productivity and efficiency, and fuelled by the discourse of progress and development. These factors have hampered growth in the handloom industry and pushed it into the margins. The growth in power looms, now supplying more than 70% of Indian textiles, according to textile ministry statistics, came on the heels of a systematic destruction of the handloom industry. This included power loom users claiming the subsidies earmarked for handlooms in the early decades after independence, as years of field work has shown. Then there was the illegal encroachment of handloom markets through perfect imitations of handloom products. Subsequent to liberalisation, there was no need for any subterfuge as the removal of import restrictions and deregulation of industries gave a big boost to the power loom and mill sectors.
A cursory look at the various legislations made to protect handlooms shows the shifting importance given to the industry by the state. In 1950, when India emerged as a republic, the central government declared the production of several handloom products as the prerogative of the handloom sector. Traditional products like border saris, dhotis and bedsheets were reserved exclusively for handlooms. The reservation order combined the unique character of handloom production with its labour-intensive nature and sought to preserve handloom identity while becoming a cloth of the masses. Unfortunately, inefficient implementation of the order slowly led to the mushrooming of power looms in the decentralised sector, which produced perfect imitations of handloom.
By 1974, when the exemption to power loom units with less than five looms was revoked, the growth of power looms and their domination over handlooms was complete. By the early 1980s, power looms were supplying one-third of the total textile requirements in the country. From the 1985 textile policy, it is clear that emphasis shifted from expanding the potential for employment in rural areas to increasing productivity through modernising technology.