School of Business, Public Policy

& Social Entrepreneurship (SBPPSE)

Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD)

DILLI HAAT- A Microcosm of Incredible India?

GROUP Abhishek Verma S183F0001

Divya Sardana S183F0011
Submitted to: Prof. Kritika Mathur
3 Harish Kumar
Saviour Basumata
S183F0016
S183F0037 Ambedkar University Delhi
Trishla Sharma S183F0044
 DIILI HAAT- A Microcosm of Incredible
India?
What sellers speak about the product and what they actually sell has become a paradoxical
phenomenon at Dilli Haat. The depreciating authenticity of the goods sold at Dilli Haat has raised
several questions in the near past. Any person looking up for original, good quality leather bags would
be shown a comparatively low quality Racine bag that are being out rightly sold as ox skinned and
buffalo skinned bags. Ask about the legality of using animal skin bags under the nose of government
officials, the sellers blatantly state about their approval from the state. Such instances when recorded
stand in direct conflict with the agenda with which the concept of Dilli Haat was created.

Dilli Haat was established in the year 1994 with the aim of displaying authentic rich culture of the
Indian subcontinent. It aimed at providing a platform where the buyers could directly meet
craftspeople, thus attempting to eliminate the role of middlemen completely. However, the situation
gradually turned out to be an opposite one. The market which was meant for artisans came to be
dominated by the traders, thus “compromising the idea of what the establishment stands for” (Jaya
Jaitly, president of Dastkari Haat Samiti & one of the founders of Dilli Haat).

The following is a study of one such Gujarat based owner who has his employees sitting at Dilli Haat
and he himself was nowhere to be found. The employees sit at the stall and the employer very
conveniently reaps the benefit off them. Since Dilli Haat was established with the aim to promote the
craftsmanship of those skilled but marginalized labour who have loads of talent but limited means,
people like the owner of the Gujarat based stall seize the opportunity to take advantage of their
poverty.

The craft market at Dilli Haat continues to be characterised by some disturbing features. There is
usually a very wide differential between manufacturer’s price and retail price for all handmade goods.
It is impossible to arrive at a precise figure, but a ratio such as 1:10 between price at source and the
retail price is not at all rare. ‘The profit margin is around 800-900 rupees during the peak season at
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Dilli Haat’ says Mohammad Ali* , a stall keeper at one of the Gujarat based stores at Dilli Haat.

However, instead of simply criticising the duplicity inherent in the sellers, one should also analyse the
reason behind such deception. Some economists also point out that there are many more levels of
middlemen in India than elsewhere, which also increase the ratio.

1
* Not his real name.

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Limited information and finance restrict access to three key means of value addition: training in skill
upgradation, design input, and technical advancement. People like Ali face difficulties in accessing
and understanding viable new markets that poses another challenge. While rural artisans see
traditional markets disappearing, they are often not aware of the potential new market for their
products. If they are aware, they do not know how to access these markets, nor to understand the
requirements for interacting with them.

It is thus not surprising that the more sophisticated traders and merchants, like the employer of the
Gujarat based store, who are often their only means of access to distant markets can exploit the craft
producer badly. The crafts producer at the bottom, usually, is squeezed the hardest.

“Many traders posing as craftspersons have come to occupy the stalls permanently. They have found
about 20 different ways to keep sitting there through underhanded methods and have taken on the
form of an ugly mafia. They gang up against any honest official trying to enforce any rules and
threaten to beat them up." ~Jaya Jaitly

The initial policy of rotation within a fortnight does not seem to be credible as when Ali was asked
about how frequently do they come at Dilli Haat, he replied: ‘You will find us at Dilli Haat every time
you visit, if not at this same location but somewhere around here.’

Since these stalls were not handled by craftspersons themselves but by contractors and traders, it
becomes a difficult exercise to get down to the basic cost structures and logistics as all of them tend to
hide behind the garb of duplicity and hypocrisy and are scared to reveal anything that would threaten
their easy going life under the protection of government. As the product’s cost structure is behind the
curtains, these sellers are selling these handicrafts at a very high price, especially to foreigners. This
pricing issue is not just with the goods but also with the prices of services which is being offered at
Dilli Haat. For instance, one of the sellers was offering her service to apply mehndi2 at whopping one
thousand bucks. She also claimed that the mehndi design will remain for one year.

Some of the other major issues were that these sellers are willing to sell goods without proper invoice
i.e. without charging GST3 (@ 18%). This results in heavy revenue loss to the government. Also the
entry tickets are priced heavily for the non-nationals. The purpose of Dilli Haat was to promote Indian
Culture and craftsmanship and not to maximise profit. Stray dogs are also one of the concerns being
faced by the people there and they lead to serious questioning of the hygiene factors.

2
The practice of making designs on hands with henna which is a reddish-brown dye.
3
Goods and Service Tax

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The only way for Dilli Haat to regain its lost authenticity is to reformulate all the grass root level
strategies and frame policies which will collapse the entire on-going Mafia system at Dilli Haat. E-
bidding system should be deployed to allocate stalls to the traders instead of drawing by lots; this
would bring about more transparency and will give opportunities to other traders as well. Prices of the
goods and services should be strictly regulated so that buyers don’t feel cheated by the cunning
sellers. RFIDs should be deployed to each product being sold at the stalls so that seller cannot deviate
from the regulated prices. Proper rate list of the goods or services being offered by the stall should
be displayed at a conspicuous place preferably at the entrance of each stall. Buyers should be
provided with the facility of refilling cards at the main entrance to buy goods and services using that
card instead of cash. This would also solve the issue of selling goods without proper invoices. Only
then there is a possibility that the image of Incredible India will portray its true meaning and people
like Ali will not be forced under their circumstances to work for any other trader.

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REFRENCES

 Liebl, Maureen and Singh, Martand- Handmade in India: Preliminary Analysis of Crafts
Producers and Crafts Production.
 Kathuria, Sanjay- Handicrafts Exports: An Indian Case Study.
 Fabeil, Noor Fzlinda- Entrepreneurship in Rural Malaysia.
 Mital, Amita and Vig, Shrey- Dilli Haat: Reviving Lost Glory

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