Work, Earning, and Indebtedness: Three-Pronged Crisis in the Handloom Textile Sector in India
Anamika Singh, Noyonika Chatterjee
Introduction
This note is an exposé on the current situation of India’s handloom-textile industry.
We are using the term exposé with careful precision here. Instead of often presenting the handloom sector with a romantic anecdote and assuming that handloom carries a thriving tradition of beauty and workmanship in the Indian context, we present three economic concerns which is unfortunately associated with this sector.
This note looks beyond the tremendous cultural value associated with handloom sector, we are going to take a detour to provide an exposé.
This centuries-old craft is well known for its magnificent fabrics, which are weaved in sophisticated patterns that capture the vast diversity of Indian regions and sub-regions that have distinctive weaving techniques and materials. According to the Annual Report of the Textile Ministry, 2022-23, the handloom sector is one of the largest unorganized economic activities. After agriculture, it ranks as the second largest source of employment, employing 35.23 lakh individuals. The sector employs more than 25 lakh women (72% of total individuals) as associated workers and weavers, making it an essential factor in women’s employment and empowerment.
This note discusses the triadic conundrum of debt, income inequality, and the waning significance of handlooms in a sector heavily reliant on women’s workforce. While the last handloom census report (Fourth All India Handloom Census, 2019-20) observes that it is a sector that directly addresses women’s empowerment, the actual situation on the ground, as studied by some scholars, differs significantly (Bhowmik, 2019). We also aim to understand the underlying factors contributing to the economic marginalization of artisans, especially female artisans. Further, we aim to broadly understand how the relationship among debt, income inequality and the waning importance of handloom production impact women’s continued engagement in the labour force.
Our key findings suggest that women are heavily involved in handloom weaving, that their earnings are inadequate, and that they function as invisible ghost workers by doing pre-weaving tasks. This is how debt dependence enters the sector for the most vulnerable section engaged in the handloom sector. The annual reports from the textile ministry publish the handloom cloth production data for 2016-17 (Figure 1.1). The handloom sector in India has been facing demand and supply side challenges from the power loom and mill sector: changing consumer preferences and alternative employment opportunities; these challenges significantly curtail its production capacity. With a declining production share, the question remains: who remained as workers in this sector?
References:
Bhowmik, M. R. (2019). Fourth Handloom Census: Government’s Claims Belie Ground Reality’. Economic and Political Weekly, 54(49).
Himanshu. (2018). Too Little, Too Late. Economic & Political Weekly. https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/9/budget-2018%E2%80%9319/too-little-too-late.html
Ministry of Textiles, G. (2009-10). Third Handloom census of India. NCAER. https://handlooms.nic.in/assets/img/Statistics/Handloom%20report.pdf
Ministry of Textiles, G. (2015-16 to 2022-23). Annual Report. GOI. https://texmin.nic.in/documents/annual-report
Ministry of Textiles, G. (2019-20). Fourth All India Handloom Census. GOI. https://handlooms.nic.in/assets/img/Statistics/3736.pdf.
Patnaik, Prabhat (2016). Economic Liberalisation and Working Poor in India. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol 51(No. 29). Economic Liberalisation and the Working Poor on JSTOR
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Textiles and Apparel Industry Report (2023), India Brand Equity Foundation. https://www.ibef.org/download/1707292186_Textiles-and-Apparel-December-2023.pdf.