Handlooms and India: The Inseparable History Woven With Hands!

A nation of diversification in every sense-India has so much to showcase, and this might just take you by astoundment. From charismatic customs, traditions and festivals to delicious delicacies, every state has its individual cultural identity. A crucial chunk of that is the outfit of the people.

Did you know that not just the attire, but also the fabric used to produce them are unique to each state of India? 

Were you aware that 95% of the handwoven fabrics in the world are manufactured by the Indian handlooms?

With the emergence of all the leading international brands in every nearest mall, it’s no wonder that Indian fabrics have just become the benchwarmers.

However, over the last few years, there has been a flourishing recognition of our homemade arts and handlooms. In 2015, it was declared that August 7th will be marked as National Handloom Day to immortalize the efforts of our freedom fighters like Aurobindo Ghosh, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and several others who valiantly began a ‘Swadeshi Movement’ on the same date, in 1905. One of its major mission was to use the products that were made only in India and to boycott all the British goods.

In Spite of this, the query to be solved is – Will this one-day manifestation of handloom-clad people benefit the handloom sector?

This was done to bring the handloom sector onto the limelight, to aide the weavers and the karigars and to demonstrate the importance of the 2,000 years old rich heritage of Indian Handlooms to the youngsters.

In India, more than 43 lakh people are employed by the handloom sector. It is second to the agricultural sector and plays a dominant role in the export business as well. But, It is still insufficient to preserve this sector. 

The next-generation of weavers are putting in constant efforts to search for new avenues of work to earn money easily. Hence, Our vital and exclusive heritage sector is, lamentably, heading towards extinction.

On the other hand, we also cannot deny that our country is blessed with several handloom techniques. 

From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, every arena has its own handloom skills that are used to weave bountiful standout fabrics.

 Let us bring to light some of the sought-after handlooms across the Indian states:

There are many e-commerce websites offering these authentic weaves at the convenience of our doorstep and weaveinindia.com too plays a prime role in taking this legacy forward and make it a part of a common household.

                                                                                  Author: Samreen Roshan.B