SCOPE OF WORK

Throughout the book we have talked about how the textile market has managed to
survive and live through in an era of darkness for itself.
History is a social nerve; events of today are the history of tomorrow. Unless that history
is recorded well, there is every possibility of it degenerating into mere folklore. That is
something that is happening with an integral part of our art industry, the textile industry,
proud we are definitely of the rich legacy we have inherited from our forefathers, and
reminders of our legacy are many and repeated often than we would wish.
The book not only talks about the history of the resilient textile industry but about its
present struggle for survival in a community wherein even after repeatedly proving its
calibre it has been ignored a number of times.
It shines the spotlight on how India has managed to sustain and innovate on processes of
hand manufacturing of textiles in the last seven decades. Unlike the common perception
that such traditions are static and bound with strict rules of making and usage, they have
been observed to be dynamically influenced by new stimulus — political, social, economic,
scientific — and are inspired by emerging cultural developments.
It helps the viewer not just to look at the journey of the fabric over time, but also at the
people who breathe life into it with their unique vocabularies — the master artisans,
craftspeople, artists, designers, niche design studios and popular brands.
Even to increase awareness as often, a textile designer, who is collaborating with a
fashion designer, tends to be shrouded in anonymity. In some other cases, he or she
becomes the face of the design. In others, the person actually making the textile — the
craftsperson — is not given due.

The industry holds a niche market at the moment and seems to be diminishing with time.
The pace at which the nation is developing, handlooms might soon go extinct and the
future generations might not get a chance to experience them.
Hence this book is an attempt that shall document and will continue to inspire and inform
generations to come.

The textile industry in the contemporary market is a global industry. The history of
clothing production can be traced back to the year 2000 BC, gradually it became one of
the large-scale economic activities providing significant employment, after to agriculture.
The Indian textile and clothing industry provide a wealth of craftsmanship both skilled and
semi-skilled work force which is the major contributor towards the development and
economy of the nation.

The organized Indian textile industry of modern era traces its origin to the year 1817
when the first mill was set up. From that early beginning, about 183 years ago, the
industry has come a long way and made phenomenal growth many a time against heavy
odds.

Before the British arrived and destroyed the Indian Textiles network, the Indian Textiles
were an integral part of our society, and we encouraged to be better by leaders such as
Ahilyabai, whom revolutionized the handlooms that were present in her region in an
extremely smart way. During the Maharaja era, weavers exclusively weaved clothes for
the royal families,it was a long journey from weaving for royal families to weaving for the
common man.

For centuries, Bengali textiles were imported to Egypt, Turkey, Java, China, Japan and
Europe along well-established trade routes. During the times (1750), when British were
traders and not rulers, their demand is estimated to have raised Bengal’s textile and silk
production by 33%, which was already expected to be 16 million annually the industry
became more creative, innovative and productive; exports boomed. But when the British
traders took power everything changed.
In power, the British were, in a word, cruel. They stopped paying for imports that came
from Britain and cut off the export markets; interrupting long-standing independent trade
routes. They went further, Indian textiles were cheap and British mills were unable to
compete and wanted them eliminated. The soldiers obliged smashed the looms of the
Bengali artisans and according to an account, breaking their thumbs so they could not ply
their craft.
Another way other than this crude destruction was the more sophisticated technique of
imposing tariffs and duties on Indian textiles, making their import to the rest of the world
and especially Britain unviable. Meanwhile the Indian market was flooded with cheap
fabric -cheaper than the poorly paid Indian artisans could make -from the British mills. Pre
colonization India enjoyed a 25% global trade in terms of textiles, which was diminished
later on.

India still grew cotton but only to export it to Britain. No nation no longer wove or spun
much of it; master weavers had become beggars. Gradually the population moved
towards agriculture beyond the land could sustain. This in turn effected the peasants, and
if drought or weather reduced their agricultural work, there was no back up that could
save them or no funding from the British.

A few Indian entrepreneurs set up their own mills after 1850 and tried to produce cloth
that could compete with the British imports. The American Civil War by interrupting
supplies of cotton from the New world, set off a brie boom in Indian cotton, but once
American supplies resumed in 1865, India again suffered. As late as 1896 Indian mills
produced merely 8% of cloth consumed in India, this number later on increased to 20% in
1913. The set backs of the world war 1 allowed Indian textile to slowly recapture the
domestic market. By 1945, 76% of cloth consumed in India was made by Indians.
But for most of the era, the story of Indian manufacturing was of dispossession,
displacement and defeat.

On the way to the independence of the nation the textiles played an integral role by
contributing to the Swadeshi Movement-With cotton being produced in large quantities in
England, India’s market had been disrupted, leaving weavers unemployed. Gandhi
rejected all forms of mechanisation, save for the sewing machine. The khadi, simple,
hand-woven cotton, became a symbol of honest labour and the survival of village
economies. The growth was more rapid after independence in 1947 as it had the burden
of meeting the demands a new nation. The burden was immense as the partition had
taken away a high number of weavers and mills from India. The nation was left with its
natural resources but and had to rely on imports to meet its demands. Over the following
years, they adapted their skills to ensure their continued cultural, economic and global
significance. Today it has not only grown to be the largest segment of the country’s
industrial sector with a share of 20 per cent and earning about 32 per cent of the foreign
exchange, but has also gained stature among the world textile industry by securing second
rank in terms of capacity.

Today, Indian craftsmanship remains in demand across the globe. International designers
use Indian skills to produce garments with hand-beading and embroidery. Fashion brands
appreciate the great diversity and quality of skills available in India and the ability to
create innovative designs for an international clientele. The handloom sector provides
employment to over 65 lakh persons engaged in weaving and allied activities. The
production of handloom fabrics registered more than fifteen times increase from 500
million sq metres in 1950-51 to 7,585 million sq metres in 2001-02. This sector constitutes
nearly 14 per cent of the total cloth produced in the country and also contributes
substantially to the export earnings.
In order to ensure that the art of textiles in our country does not vanish and survives the
time wherein branding and marketing are the determining factors of an industry,the
central government is focusing on a number of policies in providing best manufacturing
and infrastructure to local artisans, technology and innovation, enhancing skills and
strengths of the local industry.
Amongst the many schemes and campaings launched by the goverment, the labour
reforms, MIES and MAKE IN INDIA gave the manufactures and textiles of India a ray of
hope and a chance to regain drained color/charm which was lost in the books of history.
The reason behind this condition of theirs can be the 200 year old rule, that extorted and
shrink our textiles or we as a nation who could not value the rich legacy left behind our
fellow brothers.

The industry holds a niche market at the moment and seems to be diminishing with time.
The pace at which the nation is developing, handlooms might soon go extinct and the
future generations might not get a chance to experience them.
Hence this book is an attempt that shall document and will continue to inspire and inform
generations to come.

So this saree,which is very elegantly displayed and worn by the generation of today,
doesn’t just potray the rich art ,culture and weaving techniques of a state but talks about
the struggles and labours our forefathers and the weaving community went through to
keep this tradition or occupation alive, and shows their undying spirit which helped the
country in terms of economy in it’s initial years.