India's Handloom Challenge

By:
Ashoke Chatterjee
Date:
  • Article Title: India's Handloom Challenge
  • Title of Journal: Economic and Political Weekly
  • Vol #: 50
  • Issue #: 32

The Indian weaver is dismissed in high places as an embarrassing anachronism, despite demand for his or her skills and products. In the new millennium, globalisation and a mindless acquiescence to imported notions of a good life threaten to take over, even as the West looks East for better concepts of sustainable living. Analysing today's crisis in the handloom sector, plagued by low-cost imitations from power looms, this article points out that we are caught in a meaningless dichotomy that could damage Indian handloom's unique reputation of coming from a system unmatched for delivering genuine sustainability.

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