Half a century earlier than Thomas Moore’s Oriental romance, Lalla Rookh (1817), extolled the fantastic thing about Kashmir as a paradise on earth to the West, its handicraft, particularly textiles and shawls, had conquered European capitals. Everyone was bewitched by Pashmina and Shahtoosh shawls—Napoleon gave them to empress Josephine and Queen Victoria was a lifelong devotee. Light and delicate, heat and woven in beautiful patterns and designs, Kashmiri shawls grew to become synonymous with the posh and luxury of the best wool: ‘Cashmere’. Shawls have been the premium articles from Kashmir, however intricately carved walnut wooden, willow wicker craft and carpets have been additionally prized.
Spread alongside the banks of the Jhelum, Srinagar has lengthy been dwelling to Kashmir’s prime artisans who operated out of karkhanas (workshops) in residential homes alongside the slim lanes of the previous metropolis. Unfortunately, descendants of these artisans who left an indelible mark on world vogue are actually being compelled to surrender their conventional craft and shift to extraordinary jobs, for all they’ve to point out for generations of devoted work is penury.
The artwork of weaving Pashmina is intricate and time-consuming, requiring expert artisans who work on thread as skinny as 10-16 microns— thinner than human hair
In Eidgah Narwara in Srinagar, artisans from some 400 karkhanas as soon as skilled and labored in every phase of Kashmiri craft, starting from weaving to designing of shawls. From a naqqash (designer) to an artisan, the world was a hive of expertise. Till just a few many years again, residents would have their kids observe of their ancestors’ footsteps, as wages have been first rate. Ahtisham Hussain joined a handloom workshop after quitting faculty in 1989. Initially, he would weave shawls on a handloom out of the fragile and delicate yarn of the world’s best and costliest wool, Shahtoosh. Later, after commerce in Shahtoosh was banned, he used the Pashmina wool.
Ahtisham Hussain deserted the advantageous artwork of weaving pashminas. He now works at a sanitary warehouse; (Photo: Yasir Iqbal)
The artwork of weaving Shahtoosh or Pashmina is intricate and time-consuming, requiring expert artisans who need to work on thread as skinny as 10 microns to 16 microns—a lot thinner than a strand of human hair (70 microns). Procured from the underfur of the high-altitude Chiru antelope discovered within the Tibetan plateau, Shahtoosh was at all times exorbitantly priced, one thing solely the plutocracy might afford.
But Chirus are endangered animals and Shahtoosh commerce was banned globally in 1975 beneath the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), to which India is a signatory. The antelope can be listed in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act. An initially reluctant J&Okay authorities led by Farooq Abdullah prolonged the ban in 2000, hitting the livelihood of about 15,000 folks. In 2017, a parliamentary panel led by Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury really helpful lifting the ban, suggesting as an alternative the “conservation and breeding of chiru goats”, in an effort to protect the livelihood of Shahtoosh weavers.
Rauf Ahmad Qureshi works on a loom at his home in Srinagar; (Photo: Yasir Iqbal)
Pashmina wool is sourced from the Changthang goats in Ladakh. From uncooked wool to a completed scarf is a course of as labour-intensive because it’s skilful: involving dehairing, scouring, bleaching, spinning, weaving, dyeing, ending, cleansing and embroidery. An unique Pashmina fetches hundreds of {dollars} within the worldwide market.
Yet, deplorably, the very males who toil unceasingly to create these achingly lovely objects are underpaid, caught in a cycle of poverty and more and more pushed to go away the occupation. As a end result, crafts honed over centuries are inching in the direction of extinction. Hussain, who’s 52-years-old and a father of three, regrets taking on the craft. “My children would weep when they left for school because I could not afford a packet of biscuits or snacks for them,” he says. Hussain has now stop the commerce and signed up as a salesman at a sanitaryware store. As he runs his fingers by a salt-and-pepper beard, he appears a content material man—he now earns 3 times as a lot as he did making shawls.
According to Hussain, his craft as a weaver introduced him solely Rs 300, whereas unskilled labourers earn above Rs 700 a day and get social safety advantages. “As a weaverI could not afford my children’s tuition fees. Others make money out of our hard work, while we become poorer by the day.” Faced with an irremediable scenario, artisans keep away from passing their abilities to their offspring. Many, like Hussain, will not even let their kids set eyes on the looms that when sustained their households.
An official doc cites that manufacturing of handmade carpets, kani shawls, Khatamband woodwork, namda rugs, papier mache objects and walnut wooden carving is going through an acute manpower crunch. However, since Kashmir handicrafts is an unorganised sector, correct knowledge about artisans quitting the sector is tough to come back by. Prof Imtiyaz-ul-Haq, head of the economics division at Kashmir University, explains that Kashmir is a labour poor economic system and nearly 800,000 migrant staff come right here for work yearly. Consequently, labour wages have shot up, leading to low-paid expert artisans quitting their trades and taking on menial jobs, reminiscent of development labour. This has resulted in a decline in manufacturing and export of Kashmiri handicrafts.
For occasion, nonagenarian Ghulam Mohammad and his 4 sons did walnut carving, however not a single member of the subsequent era have taken up the job. Instead, they’ve moved to the West Asia to work and are actually prompting their fathers to stop the craft. “Our children were not willing to allow us to carry on with our karkhana,” says Zahoor Ahmad, citing the rationale for quitting the commerce. Besides low wages, Hussain attributes the regular attenuation to a ‘slow poisoning’—eye issues and orthopaedic points are widespread afflictions amongst weavers and embroiderers. “This trade sucks the blood of craftsmen, but all we get is exploitation,” he says.
Foreign exports of Kashmiri handicrafts have fallen steeply over the previous decade. Artisans attribute it to machine-made merchandise offered as ‘genuine’ Kashmir merchandise that finally devalue the model
While Europe continues to be enamoured of Kashmiri handicraft, it additionally has a big market in West Asia and China. Over 900,000 persons are related to the commerce, together with 280,000 artisans registered with the federal government’s handicrafts and handlooms division—66,000 are weavers, the remainder are engaged in walnut wooden carving, papier mache craft, crewel embroidery and different trades. But right here, too, there’s approaching gloom—annual commerce has fallen steeply, with overseas exports dwindling up to now decade. From almost Rs 1,700 crore in 2013, annual exports have dipped to Rs 563 crore in 2021. While officers blame the pandemic for the precipitous drop, exporters and artisans level to a extra insidious foe: machine-made professionalducts offered as ‘genuine’ Kashmir handicrafts. Thus, an ersatz ‘Pashmina shawl’ made on a machine and priced at Rs 3,000 is offered to unsuspecting clients, devaluing the Pashmina model. According to businessmen, abroad shoppers now take a look at the professionalduct in laboratories for genuineness. Mill-made merchandise have additionally put many craftsmen—from girls who would convert fibres into advantageous yarn on a charkha (spinning wheel) to weavers—out of jobs.
Rauf Ahmad Qureshi, founder, Kashmir Pashmina Karigar Union, who nonetheless makes use of girls staff for producing handmade shawls, says machines have ruined their commerce. “One machine spindle spins 200 grams of Pashmina fibre a day or more, with 10-20 per cent nylon. Its yarn is cheap, costing Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 a kg,” he says. But the thread/ yarn produced from the wool on a standard charkha, says Qureshi, is 100 per cent pure and priced at Rs 40,000-50,000 a kg. “The yarn produced on spinners is woven on power looms with a capacity to make 100 shawls a day. It’s sold as ‘Kashmir Pashmina’, threatening our legacy. They should have a machine-made label to avoid cheating clients,” he says. The union has been asking authorities to close unlawful machines and to assist promote nationwide and worldwide consciousness of the GI (Geographical Indication) tag that was secured for Pashmina merchandise in 2008.
Since a GI tag identifies a singular product of a area, its enforcement is predicted to weed out counterfeits. The merchandise can be examined in a laboratory and real objects can be labelled with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. Seven Kashmir handicrafts have secured a GI, together with Pashmina, walnut wooden carving, papier mache craft, sozni craft, kani scarf, carpets and Khatamband.
Rauf Wadera, marketing consultant with Tahafuzz, an organisation representing Kashmiri artisans, says the popularity has enabled larger entry into international markets. But now, the important thing concern ought to be offering artisans with social and financial safety. “A separate labour protection policy should be there to ensure minimum wages for artisans,” he says. “A benevolent fund for contingency needs, health insurance, provision for children’s education and supply of raw materials at a fair price are also needed.”
President of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Sheikh Ashiq was amongst Kashmiri enterprise leaders who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on April 5. He submitted a memorandum searching for exemption of taxes on all handicraft merchandise. His proposals embrace organising particular manufacturing centres to push the trade in the direction of being an organised sector and thus enhance the lot of artisans.
Tariq Ahmad Zargar, director, handicrafts and handlooms Kashmir, says artisans are benefitting from the Karkhandar scheme, launched in 2021, that goals to revive languishing crafts by enhancing artisans’ abilities and inculcating a spirit of entrepreneurship in them. The authorities has incentivised the programme by providing Rs 2,000 a month to every trainee artisan. Later, every certified artisan is paid Rs 50,000 in two instalments. “We are working on branding, packaging and introduction of new designs for international market requirements. Besides, we are concentrating on access to new markets, especially the US, which remains untapped,” says Zargar.
Hopefully, the scheme would cease a number of the world’s best craftsmen from being compelled to relinquish their commerce as a result of sheer need.
