CHAPTER 1 HANDLOOM INDUSTRY IN INDIA. changes in the global economy and has started utilising its strengths to

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1 CHAPTER 1 HANDLOOM INDUSTRY IN INDIA 1.1 Introduction The Indian textile industry is in the process of responding to the changes in the global economy and has started utilising its strengths to build up an international status. Today, India is the second largest producer of textiles in the world, next to China. The Indian textile industry is one of the largest and oldest and considering the availability of inexpensive skilled workers and technician along with the availability of cotton in the country, it has been doing well in the recent past in terms of production and exports. In the world textile market, countries like Japan and South Korea are becoming high cost economies. Therefore, it is expected that India could move into the positions occupied by these countries due to its strengths mentioned above. The Indian textile industry can do much better with the Government policy backing the industry. In order to contribute substantially to the growth of the Indian textile industry, it is necessary that India exploits its strengths, i.e., availability of inexpensive skilled workers, and availability of raw cotton, both short and long staple varieties. The recent liberalization of the Indian Government has helped in giving a boost, but it is not sufficient to keep the Indian textile industry competitive in the world market. Because of its fundamental strengths, there are a number of opportunities that are likely to be available to the Indian textile industry, which need to be exploited to their fullest extent. 1 Table 1.1 presents the performance of Indian textiles from to From the table it can be observed that the percent share of the mill sector declined from 6% to 4% and the handloom sector also showed a decline from 23% to 18% while correspondingly the share of the

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3 power loom sector and the hosiery sector increased by 6% and 1% respectively. The declining trend was very severe in the case of the handloom sector and competitive forces played a part in limiting the growth of this sector Historical Development and Growth of Handloom Industry in India The handloom industry in India had attained a very high degree of excellence even centuries before the mechanized loom was invented to produce cloth. As the largest cottage industry in India, it occupies a place of prominence in the economy of the country. Nearly l/5 ltl of the total requirement of cloth in the country is provided by this sector, catering to all segments of the markets. 3 The Indian handloom industry has been popular world over for its workmanship. It was a big craze and status symbol in European countries to have Indian handloom products in their homes. Thus, the Indian handloom industry had an excellent past. Its history goes back to the Indus Valley Civilization. Handloom textiles are a part of the cultural heritage of India from time immemorial. Some of them earned appreciation from foreign travellers who visited the country from time to time. Their fineness was compared to that of the spider s web by Marco Polo. The Masulipatnam hand printed textiles were so perfectly coloured that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish them from the finest embroidery. India was a producer of cotton, silk and woollen fabrics for costumes. Indian textiles found their way to many countries for centuries. The creative urge of the people found expression in myriad forms of loveliness and the aesthetic textiles had infinite charm. India s graceful textiles were well known for 3-

4 their colourful weaving, precise details, unique character and design, workmanship, motif and colour combinations. History shows that hand weaving has been in existence in India for over five thousand eight hundred years now, Five thousand years ago the people of Mohenjo-daro knew how to grow cotton and spin and weave. These early inhabitants of the Indus Valley made garments of dyed and patterned cotton, as is evident from the discovery, during the excavation of the ancient Harappan sites, of a fragment of madder dyed cotton woven in a coarse plain weave. The archaeologists also found terracotta spindle whorls. These important revelations from the ancient site confirmed knowledge of spinning and weaving and the magical process of Manjistha, madder dyeing. It was a discovery of the utmost importance, for these finds were the first signs of the use of cotton and dyed garments in the Indian subcontinent. In the Vedas and Puranas, there are innumerable references to the exquisite qualities and wide range of fabrics worn by the Gods, Kings and the people at large. Each God and Goddess is described to be clad in a certain particular type of fabric, i.e., Lord Krishna in yellow colour, Goddess Kali in red blood dress and so on. Buddhist literature has many references to the magnificent cotton spinners and weavers of Kashi. The fabric was so finely woven that oil could not penetrate the cloth. Spinning was the work of women. Cotton cloths were washed, calendared, starched and perfumed. A cotton cloth from Kashi was used to wrap the body of the Chakravarti, the Emperor. It was also used on the body of the Buddha when he attained Nirvana, eternal rest. Cotton muslins form India were highly prized in Babylon. They were referred to as Sindhu, indicating their origin in the Valley of the 4

5 Indus. Roman emperors paid fabulous prices for the treasured Indian cottons, which came to be known as woven winds. Hundreds of years later, in Moghul India, these wondrous cottons, the Mul Mul Khas, were given poetic names: Abrawan (running water) or Shubnam (morning dew). They were said to become invisible when wet and stretched on grass. Silk cloth was also widely used. The word Vichitra Patolka is mentioned in the beginning of this era in Buddhist texts to indicate tiedyed patterned multi-coloured silks akin to the Patolas of Gujarat. There is also mention of scarlet flowered silks being worn by the highborn women of Madurai in South India. 5 During the epic age, handicrafts are reported to have been in a highly developed stage. The industry enjoyed a rich heritage of weaving, and the handloom industry was the sole supplier of cloth in the country. 6 The handloom industry in India has passed through different stages of development. It has passed through the cycles of prosperity and depression. It is a well-known historical fact that India had flourishing handlooms in the early times. 7 The decline of the handloom industry began in the latter days of the Hindu period. It was accelerated during the regime of the Pathan rulers. There was, however, some revival in the days of the Moghuls. Among the finer crafts of the Moghul period were the muslins of Dacca, the shawls and carpets of Kashmir, the silk cloth of Delhi and Agra. The supremacy of Indian handicrafts began to decline towards the end of the 18 th century. The Industrial Revolution in England during the second half of the 18 th century and competition from cheaper English goods owing to the policy of laissez-faire and other factors led to the decline and fall of Indian crafts, particularly handlooms. 5

6 The series of widespread famines in the last quarter of the 19 th century adversely affected the handloom industry in the country. This attracted the attention of the government, which appointed two commissions, viz., The Royal Commission of 1880 and The Famine Commission of These two commissions recommended the protection of all crafts to support the people rather than providing them other public works. The Famine Commission of 1901 also made a similar recommendation. The Central Government asked the provincial governments to conduct investigations into important cottage industries like hand weaving. But all these investigations did not bring much benefit to the handloom industry. 8 Between 1896 and 1900, the competition between handlooms and mills was not serious, their relationship being complementary. The mills spun the yarn which the handlooms wove. The Indian mills during this period are estimated to have used 85 million pounds of yarn annually for manufacture of cloth, while handlooms consumed not less than 200 million pounds. In other words, at the beginning of this century, the handloom industry was twice as large as the mill industry. From then on, many mills started weaving in addition to spinning Handlooms Under Plan Periods? As found in Table 1.2, the amount of allotment under the Plans rose continuously. However, the share of handlooms in Plan outlay fluctuated widely from 1.27 per cent in the II Five Year Plan to 0.19 per cent in the VII Five Year Plan. Variations in production and employment were not as sharp. Handloom exports rose continuously, especially during the last 10 years, when the value of exports more than trebled. 6

7 In the First Five Year Plan period, the All India Handloom Board was formed to monitor the development of the handloom industry. A number of emporia and sales depots for handlooms, handicrafts and village industries were established during the First Plan period, 10 In the Second Five Year Plan period, efforts were directed towards increasing production and sales of handloom products. Researches were also undertaken to increase productivity in the handloom sector. 11 In the Third Plan period, apart form strengthening the existing handloom production base, efforts were made to stimulate the export of handloom cloth. Further, expansion of Weavers Service Centres at Bombay, Madras, Varanasi, Calcutta and Kancheepuram was undertaken. The two Institutes of Handloom Technology were reorganized to facilitate better training of handloom weavers. In the Fourth Plan, measures were taken to activate the Handloom Reservation Act and to strengthen the co-operativisation of handlooms. Handloom exports increased considerably. 13 During the Fifth Plan period, employment through handlooms increased by 20 per cent and exports increased substantially from Rs.5 crores to Rs.100 crores. Twenty-five Intensive Handloom Development projects were established all over India during this period for employment generation in rural areas. Nine new Weavers Service Centres were set up. 14 In the Sixth Plan period, considerable efforts were made to ensure adequate raw material supply through establishment of co-operative spinning mills. Financial assistance was given to set up wet processing units for better marketing of handloom products. State level apex societies were provided with adequate financial support to establish retail 12 7

8 S.No (1) showrooms to ensure better marketing of handloom products. Modernisation of looms was also undertaken. b The Seventh Plan period concentrated on increasing the share of handloom cloth, thereby increasing the employment generation. Measures were also taken to strengthen handloom training, research and marketing. Plan Period (2) 1 I FYP 2 11 FYP FYP 4 IV FYP 5 V FYP 6 VI FYP, 7 VII FYP 8 VIII FYP 9 IX FYP Table 1.2 Growth of Handlooms in Five-Year Plan Periods Plan Outlay (Rs. in cr.) (3) 11.6 (0.59) 59.5 (1.27) 34.5 (0.40) (0.24) (0.40) (0.32) (0.19) (0.28) (0.38) Production in million sq.meters (4) Employment in millions.._ (5)... Value of handloom exports (Rs.ln.cr) (6) Source: Massing Commission Reports, Government of India. Note: 1. Plan outlay for the I First Five Year Plan includes provision for Khadi, village and small industries. 2. Figures in columns 3.4, and 5 represent performance in the last year of the Plan period. However IX Plan figures relate to A.D. Special attention was paid to the development of handloom in hill and tribal areas. 16 In the Eighth Plan period measures were taken to ensure reasonable wages for weavers, supply of hank yarn at reasonable prices, establishment of silk yarn bank and export development. Efforts were 8

9 directed towards strict monitoring of the implementation of the Handloom Reservation Act of Several welfare measures were undertaken for the handloom weavers. In the Ninth Five Year Plan, the handloom sector faced severe competition from the power looms and the following new initiatives were taken during this period Deendayal Hathkargha Protsalian Yojana Under this scheme, assistance was given for product development, infrastructure, and institutional support, design input, training to weavers, supply of equipment, market incentive, publicity and improving exports National Centre for Textile Designs (NCTB) The National Centre for Textile Design was set up to provide information about fashion trends, colour and design forecast for the benefit of the weavers, exporters and handloom agencies. The centre aimed at benefiting the weaver by linking him to the market Handloom Development Centers and Quality Dyeing Unit Scheme With a view to ensuring timely supply of yarn of requisite quality, to provide training in improved weaving practices, marketing of the cloth and working capital to sustain long term production needs etc., the scheme envisaged 3000 Handloom Development Centres and Quality Dyeing Units (QDUs) in different parts of the country over a period of 4 years. Other schemes are, housing to weavers, thrift fund scheme, insurance to handloom weavers, research and development, marketing through ACASH (Association of Corporations and Apex Societies of Handloom), conducting international trade fairs and domestic exhibitions for promoting handloom goods market. 9

10 1.4 Performance of Handloom Sector in India A profile of the performance of the handloom sector during the last 13 years can be found in Table 1.3. In the total clothing scenario, the volume of output in handlooms rose continuously except in and However, annual growth rates fluctuated sharply during the period. The share of handlooms in total textile production has decreased continuously since because of the growth of powerlooms and hosiery. Table 1.3 Production of Fabrics in Handloom Sector in India S.No (i) Year (2) Production in million Square meters (3) Percentage of increase over previous year (4) Percentage share in total textile production (5) J Source: Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. 1.5 State-wise Distribution of the Number of Handlooms From the point of view of number of handlooms, the first six most important states ate Assam, which has 1,409 thousand out of the total of 10

11 3,891 thousand handlooms in the country (i.e., per cent of the country s total), followed by Tamil Nadu (11.02 per cent), West Bengal (8.69 per cent), Manipur (6.94 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (6.71 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (5.65 per cent). These six states together have Table 1.4 State-wise Distribution of Handlooms in Urban abid Rural Areas Statcs/UTs Number of Handlooms (in thousand) Rural as % of Total Urban Rural Total State s % Share in the Tata! Number of Handlooms in the Country 1. Assam 65 1, Tamil Nadu West Bangal Manipur Uttar Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Tripura Neg Orissa Mizoram Bihar Karnataka Nagaland Maharashtra Kerala Madhya Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Neg Rajasthan Himachal Pradesh J&K Gujarat Haryana Punjab Delhi Meghalaya Neg Pondicherry Total % Source: Compendium of Textile Statistics, 1999 (pp ) per cent of the total handlooms in the country. Extending this list to the first fifteen, the other states are Tripura (3.06 per cent), Orissa (3.06 per cent), Mizoram (2.67 per cent), Bihar (2.13 per cent), Karnataka 11

12 (2.11 per cent), Nagaland (2.00 per cent), Maharashtra (1.75 per cent), Kerala (1.34 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (1.21 per cent). These fifteen states together have per cent of the country s total number of handlooms Working and Idle Handlooms Out of the total of 3,891 thousand, 279 thousand handlooms are idle (Table 1.5), which constitutes 7.17 per cent of the total. The largest Table 1.5 State-wise Distribution of Working and Idle Looms Number of Loan (in thousand) Idle Looms as % of Total Number of Looms States/Uts Working Idle Total 1. Assam 1, , Tamil Nadu West Bengal Manipur Uttar Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Tripura Mizoram Orissa Karnataka Bihar Nagaland Maharashtra Arunachal Pradesh 46 Neg Kerala Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh Himachal Pradesh 31 Neg J&K 25 Neg Gujarat Haryana Punjab Delhi Meghalaya 8 Neg Pondicherry 5 Neg. 5 - Total 3, , Source: Ibid. percentage of idle handlooms is in Madhya Pradesh (34.04 per cent) followed by Orissa (22.69 per cent), Kerala (19.23 per cent), Haryana (15.00 per cent), Bihar (12.05 per cent), Delhi (11.11 per cent), Mizoram 12

13 (9.61 per cent), Gujarat (8.69 per cent), Punjab (8.33 per cent), Assam (7.81 per cent), Nagaland (7.69 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (6.51 per cent), Tamil Nadu (6.29 per cent), Karnataka (6.10 per cent) and West Bengal(5.62 per cent). These fifteen states have 264 thousand idle handlooms, which is per cent of the total number of idle handlooms in the country. The major states where the problem of idle handlooms has assumed significant proportions are Assam (110 thousand), Tamil Nadu (27 thousand), Orissa (27 thousand), West Bengal (19 thousand), Uttar Pradesh (17 thousand), Madhya Pradesh (16 thousand) and Mizoram, Bihar and Kerala (10 thousand each) Handlooms of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu occupies a prominent place in textile production and the handloom products of this state are quite famous all over India and even abroad. The handloom goods are better known as Kaithari in Tamil. At present, there are about 1354 Primary Handloom Weavers Co-operative Societies, producing about million square meters of fabric of the value of Rs millions. There are about 2.83 lakh handlooms operating in Tamil Nadu, accounting for 25.5 per cent of the output of the handloom sector of the country. Handlooms provide employment to around 10 lakh persons through weaving and allied trade activities. In Tamil Nadu the handloom centres produce pure cotton goods, pure silk sarees and dhotis, furnishing goods and blended goods. 1.8 Handloom Co-operatives in Tamilnadu As Table 1.6 shows, between 1995 and 2000, the handloom Co-operative sector shrank, as shown by the decline in the number of societies, number of looms, production and sales. As per Table 1.6, and in 13

14 a span of five years, the Number of weavers co-operative societies, the number of active looms, production and sales in Tamil Nadu, handlooms suffered a declining trend. Table L6 Performance of Handloom Co-operatives in Tamil Nadu S.No Year No. of No. of Production Working wcs Handlooms (in lakh meters) Sales capital (in lakh) (in crores) (in crores) (1) (2) (3). (4) (5) (6) (7) (-16.88) ( ) (- 7.26) (21.20) (-3.68) (6.38) (- 4.66) (2.13) (0.74) (- 0.38) (-6.28) (- 5.76) (3.25) (12.65) (- 2.02) ( ) (-6.53) (- 2.84) (13.82) Source: Department of Handloom and Textiles, Government of Tamil Nadu. Figures within parenthesis indicate the percentage growth or decline in the parameters. 1.9 Co-optex Co-optex is the apex body of the handloom co-operative societies. Established in 1935, Co-optex is a leading textile co-operative marketing federation, with a paid up capital of Rs.36 crores and a sales turnover of Rs.329 crores in It has a wide range of product categories (about 30) with a large number of variations within each. It is the nodal marketing federation for several handloom weavers co-operative societies, with 328 exclusive showrooms all over India. Co-optex manages its distribution through fifteen regional warehouses, including nine within Tamil Nadu. The textile market went through drastic changes due to competition from low cost long lasting synthetic powerloom/mill goods. In customer preference there was a shift from traditional sarees to other fashionable dress materials. These factors forced Co-optex to

15 reorient its marketing strategies from product orientation to market orientation Textile Industry in Dindigul District Dindigul District has emerged as a key district in the production of textiles, including yarn and handloom fabrics. Due to lack of adequate soft water sources in the district, chemical processing activities are very limited, consisting of rural cottage level dyeing units and a few major yarn dyeing units. There are about 17 ginning units in the district and 120 spinning mills, having 13.5 lakh spindles and 3280 open-end rotors. In respect of powerloom weaving, there are 20 powerloom units, having about 250 powerlooms. In the district, 10,025 handlooms are operating with major production of cotton drills, sarees, dhotis and polyester/art silk/blended silk goods, tie and dye kora silk sarees and 26,000 weavers depend on handloom weaving operations. 22 About 20- years back, there were about 50,000 handloom weavers in the district and the handloom trade was flourishing, with the famous Chinnalapatti Sarees and other fine variety of art silk sarees. They were sold throughout India and even exported. Due to lack of modernization of handlooms, product diversification, non-availability of quality yarn at cheap prices, lack of design development facilities and lack of trade related guidance and counselling to the handloom weavers in rural areas, the handloom weaving industry declined gradually over the years and most of the skilled artisans in the handloom trade have migrated to far off places to undertake road laying and other building works. The handloom industry could be revived if suitable developmental efforts are undertaken in the district. The leading handloom areas in the district are Dindigul Town, Chinnalapatti, Sithayankottai, Palani and Vedasandur. 15

16 1.11 Handloom Co-operatives in Dindigul District There are 32 handloom co-operative societies functioning in Dindigul District at present, and their performance is given in Table 1.7. Table 1.7 Performance of Handloom Co-operatives Inn Dindigul District (Rs. in lakhs) SI. No (1) Year (2) Production (3) Sales (4) Employment in Nos, (S) Earnings (6) Working capital (7) ( ) ( ) (0.35) (- 6.43) (49.26) (-0.66) (-1.47) (-31.88) (145.05) ( ) (- 4.74) (3.73) (14.69) (33.43) (25.65) Source: Assistant Director of Handloom and Textiles in Dindigul District Figure in paranthesis indicate the percentage growth or decline in parameters In terms of constant prices, production and sales showed decline, while the working capital registered a dramatic increase. Hence, this research work is pursued to analyse the factors responsible for the lacklustre performance in production and sales while huge volume of working capital has been invested during the 6-year period. 16

17 References 1. Mahadevan, Textile Spinning, weaving and Designing Ablishek publication, chandigarh, 2001, p.l. 2. Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, New Delhi, Annual Report VIII Plan, Report of the sub group on Handlooms, Development Commissioner for Handlooms, New Delhi 1989, p Mahajan, R.K. Dissertation Report on marketing of Handloom products in public sector with special Reference to Jammu District, 1991,p.l. 5. Sudan A.S. marketing mix of Handloom products-a case study J & K state Handloom Development corporation Ltd, 1989, p Ibid, p Report of Industrial Commission 1918, p.l. 8. Fact finding'report on Handloom and mills, Calcutta, 1945, p Buchanan, D.H., Development of capitalist Enterprise in India, p Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, ChapterXX, Village and Small Scale Industries, First Five Year Plan, Pp Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Village and Small Scale Industries, Second Five Year Plan, Appendix VII, Pp Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Chapter XXV, Village and Small Scale Industries, Third Five Year Plan, Pp

18 13.Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Chapter XIII, Village and Small Scale Industries, Fourth Five Year Plan, P Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Chapter V, Village and Small Scale Industries, Fifth Five Year Plan, P Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Chapter 12, Village and Small Scale Industries, Sixth Five Year Plan, Pp Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Chapter 4, Village and Small Scale Industries, Seventh Five Year Plan, Pp Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Chapter 6, Village and Small Scale Industries and Food Processing Industries, Eighth Five Year Plan, Pp Government of India, New Delhi, Planning Commission, Chapter 6, Village and Small Scale Industries and Food Processing Industries, Ninth Five Year Plan Document: Office of the Textile Commissioner, Compendium of Textile statistics, 1999 p , 20.1bid. 21.Government of Tamil Nadu, Handlooms and Textiles; publicy and programme; Demand No.25, Department of Handlooms and Textiles, Chennai, Office of the Assistant Director Department of Handloom and Textiles, Dindigul District,