Out of Tradition: Master Artisans and Economic Change in Colonial India

Roy, Tirthankar

doi:10.1017/s002191180700126x

Cited by 20 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Therefore, it was probably the intense ‘competition within the artisanate’—between the urban and the rural, between the more commercialized and the less and between the more and less resourceful actors—which ‘socially shaped’ an environment (McKenzie & Wajcman, 1985) conducive for accepting a whole new variety of hand-driven looms (cf. Roy, 2007, p. 964). Later, this shift played a crucial role in determining the quality, style and aesthetic elements of the woven items of this region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociotechnical System of Silk Weaving in Bishnupur Region in West Bengal

Banerjee

Chakrabarti

2022

Journal of South Asian Development

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The article analyses the sociotechnical system of the silk weaving industry in the Bishnupur region of West Bengal through a detailed description of processes and interactions between important technical elements and the human agents within a richly structured environment of silk cloth production. It shows that the various processes of silk cloth production and marketing constitute an ensemble of economic inequalities, skill differentiation and differences in power and prestige. Different groups restructure the hierarchy by participating in the network of silk cloth production in which raw materials are converted into stable or viable products. The article thus provides an overview of how capitalist development is shaping the lives and livelihoods of silk weaving artisans in West Bengal.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociotechnical System of Silk Weaving in Bishnupur Region in West Bengal

Banerjee

Chakrabarti

2022

Journal of South Asian Development

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“…Likewise, Vijaya Ramaswamy (2017) shows that movement and migration were commonplace amongst artisans in pre-colonial India, although at times these movements were forced, compelled by powerful rulers demanding their services. Later, in the colonial era, this involved a shift in work regimes within which artisans operated, as they migrated not just between locations but also out of home-based manufacturing and into handicraft factories (T. Roy 2007). These factors all played a part in Saharanpur: woodcarving and associated trades were likewise connected to earlier patterns of migration, and the late colonial period saw the emergence of factory working arrangements (Hāndā & Jain 2000;Watt 1903;Nevill 1909).…”

Section: Saharanpur and Artisanship In Pre-colonial Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Those who remained in weaving industries often became tied to moneylenders and merchants as a result of declining local markets and an increased reliance on export through middlemen (Gooptu 2001). While many craftworkers were displaced by the arrival of large-scale industrial production and the import of mass-produced British goods, Tirthankar Roy (2007) also suggests that the craft sector remained relatively vibrant, as craftworkers 'could gain from trade by obtaining access to imported raw materials and distant markets […, utilizing] new opportunities of capital accumulation, which process induced changes in technology and industrial organization ' (p. 963). Although craftworkers were forced to adapt, often saw a decline in status, and experienced increasing precarity and forms of marginalisation enacted during colonial rule, a large portion of India's population remained employed in the craft sector (Roy 2010).…”

Section: Indian Muslims Craftworkers and Colonialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Networks, Labour and Migration Among Indian Muslim Artisans

Chambers¹

2019

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List of figures vii List of tables ix Acknowledgements x 1. Marginalisation, connectedness and Indian Muslim artisans: an introduction 1 2. A brief history of Indian Muslim artisans 22 3. The Indian craft supply chain: money, commodities and intimacy 49 4. Muslim women and craft production in India: gender, labour and space 78 5. Apprenticeship and labour amongst Indian Muslim artisans 6. Neoliberalism and Islamic reform among Indian Muslim artisans: affect and self-making 7. Friendship, urban space, labour and craftwork in India 8. Internal migration in India: imaginaries, subjectivities and precarity 9. Labour migration between India and the Gulf: regimes, imaginaries and continuities vi CONTENTS 10. Marginalisation and connectedness: a conclusion Glossary of Hindi, Urdu and Arabic terms

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“…From the multitude of fabrics and techniques that make up this draping marvel, the six yards of elegance, feminity, and grace, plays an important role on every occasion in this beautiful land. 2 India is home to 95% of the world's handlooms and this sector contributes to India's export earnings. As per handloom census, the handloom workers in the country have declined from 65.51lakhs (1995-96) to 43.32lakhs (2015-16), accounting for 15% of the total textile production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An in-depth study on jamdani and tangail weavers of Purba Bardhaman District, West Bengal, India

Datta

2018

JTEFT

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Handloom sector is the backbone of the Indian economy and is the oldest industry since times immemorial. The sector is considered as the second largest economic activities in the country, after agriculture that provides employment to around 43.32lakh weavers and ancillary workers. India is home to 95% of the world's handlooms. The sector makes a contribution to almost 15% of woven fabric making in the country and further adds to the export revenue. Weaving is a family activity that engages the entire family in the process of making fabric. The strength of the sector lies in its uniqueness, openness to innovations, flexibility of production, adaptability to the supplier's requirement and the wealth of its tradition. The glory of handloom industry was the thing of the past, at the present time the industry is in crisis. The sector is appreciated for transferring skills from one generation to another. Today it is no longer appreciated instead it is cursed or blamed. The major reasons are mostly substituted products, poor marketing, and competition from power loom, availability of cheaper imported fabrics, changing consumer preferences, economic liberalization, and alternative employment opportunities. All of these reasons have threatened the vibrancy of handloom sector amidst government policy of promoting and encouraging the handloom segment through a number of welfare programmes, schemes, and protections. The textiles of this region are very famous and are known globally. The study tries to capture the mechanism and present scenario of the handloom activities.

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Out of Tradition: Master Artisans and Economic Change in Colonial India

Abstract: on various aspects of the transition in the artisan industries. The point of the artisanal roots of present-day Indian industrialization has been made

Cited by 20 publications

References 21 publications

The Sociotechnical System of Silk Weaving in Bishnupur Region in West Bengal

The Sociotechnical System of Silk Weaving in Bishnupur Region in West Bengal

Networks, Labour and Migration Among Indian Muslim Artisans

An in-depth study on jamdani and tangail weavers of Purba Bardhaman District, West Bengal, India

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