The Fate of Handloom Industry
Anything that incorporates feelings of love and affection turns out to touch our hearts and give us a sense of satisfaction. Perhaps, this is the reason, the food cooked by our moms never fails to please our taste buds and fill our stomachs at the same time. Talking philosophically, the Greeks refer to this entire phenomenon as “Meraki”, which in the literal sense is the word to describe doing something with great passion, enthusiasm and love. Similarly, the weavers of India along with their families work with all their hearts for days to produce one piece of cloth. The value that it holds and the story that it boldly tells is what makes handloom made clothes a pulchritudinous weave.
Handlooms have been an integral part of India from the time of Indus Valley Civilisation and right from that point of time they have been adored not only by Indians but the rest of the world as well. As a matter of fact, even during ancient times, Indian fabrics were exported to various countries such as China, Rome and Egypt. Later, while India was under the influence of the British Colonial Rule ( 1858-1947 ), the Indian handloom and textile industry suffered a lot due to the Two Fold Policy of the British.
The objectives of the policy were to get raw materials from India at a cheap rate and thus to reduce India to a mere exporter of raw materials to the British industries and to sell the British manufactured goods in the Indian market at high prices. This policy of the British led to a major downfall in the handloom industry as the Indian handloom weavers couldn’t compete with the low prices of the power loom made British goods. Though, the scenario improved temporarily after India got its independence in 1947 but even this meagre improvement was way too short-lived as while the entire handloom sector was beginning to revive, India in 1991 had to adopt the New Economic Policy in 1991 because of the $2.2Billion loan taken from International Monetary Fund (IMF). This new industrial policy allowed various international companies to enter the local Indian markets with which the fate of the handloom industry repeated once again and the situation further worsened.
Later In the 2000s, efforts were made to promote the handloom industry but till today, the majority of hardworking weavers face the vicious circle of poverty as their skill is no longer appreciated or highly paid for.
Though, the sector somehow survives because few people still prefer to wear handloom clothes but unfortunately the number of such people in the entire country is so scanty that it is almost a dream for an Indian weaver to afford the basic necessities of life with this profession. Thus, with the help of our brand, Chowdhrain, we wish to promote the handloom industry in our country. We try our best to work with the best of weavers from the interiors of our country and present their stupendous weaves to our customers making handloom weaves readily available for them within a single tap on their screen. In the end, all we wish for is to help people smile even if it is you, our beloved customer or the diligent weavers that we work with.