Half a century before Thomas Moore’s Oriental Romance, Lalla Rooh (1817) praised the beauty of Kashmir in the West as a heaven on earth, its handicrafts, especially textiles and shawls, conquering European capitals. Everyone was fascinated by pashminas and shatosh shawls—Napoleon had given them to Queen Josephine and Queen Victoria was a lifelong devotee. Light and soft, warm and woven in exquisite patterns and designs, cashmere shawls have become synonymous with the luxury and comfort of the finest wool: ‘cashmere’. Shawls were a staple of Kashmir, but finely carved walnut wood, willow wicker crafts and carpets were also prized.
Srinagar, spread along the banks of the Jhelum, has long been home to Kashmir’s top artisans, who operated from karkhanas (workshops) in residential homes along the narrow streets of the old city. Unfortunately, the descendants of those artisans who have left an indelible mark on world fashion are now being forced to abandon their traditional craft and move to ordinary jobs, as they have to show dedicated work for generations.
The art of weaving pashmina is complex and time-consuming, requiring skilled craftsmen who work on threads 10-16 microns thinner than a human hair.
In Srinagar’s Idgah Narwara, artisans from about 400 factories once trained and worked in every section of the Kashmiri craft, from weaving to designing shawls. From a designer to an artisan, the region was a hive of talent. Until a few decades ago, residents would have their children follow in the footsteps of their ancestors, as wages were decent. Ahtisham Hussain joined a handloom workshop in 1989 after leaving school. In the beginning, he used to weave shawls on a handloom with the delicate and soft thread of Shahtosh, the world’s finest and most expensive wool. Later after the trade of Shahtosh was banned, they used Pashmina wool.
Ahtisham Hussain abandoned the art of weaving pashmina. He now works in a sanitary warehouse; (Photo: Yasir Iqbal)
The art of weaving shahtosh or pashmina is complex and time-consuming, requiring skilled craftsmen, who have to work on threads as thin as 10 microns to 16 microns – much thinner than a human hair (70 microns). Obtained from the bottom of the high-altitude chiru antelope found in the Tibetan Plateau, shahtoosh always had exorbitant prices that only archery could afford.
But chirps are endangered animals and the Shahtosh trade was banned globally in 1975 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), of which India is a signatory. The antelope is also listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India. The initially reluctant Jammu and Kashmir government, led by Farooq Abdullah, extended the restrictions in 2000, affecting the livelihoods of about 15,000 people. In 2017, a parliamentary panel led by Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury recommended lifting the ban instead of “preserving and breeding Chiru goats” to preserve the livelihoods of Shahtosh weavers.
Rauf Ahmed Qureshi works on a loom at his home in Srinagar; (Photo: Yasir Iqbal)
Pashmina wool is obtained from Changthang goats in Ladakh. The transition from raw wool to finished shawls is a laborious process that is efficient as well: it involves removing, scraping, bleaching, spinning, weaving, dyeing, finishing, cleaning and embroidering the hair. A genuine pashmina fetches thousands of dollars in the international market.
Yet, the sad part is that those who work tirelessly to make these painfully beautiful objects are paid low wages, fall into a cycle of poverty and are increasingly driven to leave the profession. There are. As a result, the craft venerated for centuries is headed for extinction. Hussain, who is 52 years old and father of three children, regrets taking up the craft. “My kids used to cry on their way to school because I couldn’t buy a packet of biscuits or snacks for them,” he says. Hussain has now quit the business and signed up as a salesman in a sanitaryware shop. Running his fingers through a salt-and-pepper beard, he seems to be a contented man – he now earns three times as much as making shawls.
According to Hussain, his craft as a weaver earned him only Rs 300, while unskilled laborers earn more than Rs 700 a day and receive social security benefits. “As a weaver, I could not afford the tuition fees of my children. Others make money from our hard work, while we become poorer day by day.” Faced with an irreversible situation, artisans refrain from passing on their skills to their offspring. Many, like Hussain, watch their children at the looms. Even those who once used to feed their families.
An official document states that the production of handmade carpets, kani shawls, khatband woodwork, namda carpets, papier mache items and walnut wood carvings is facing an acute manpower shortage. However, since Kashmir handicrafts is an unorganized sector, it is difficult to come up with exact figures about the artisans leaving the region. Prof Imtiyaz-ul-Haq, Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Kashmir, points out that Kashmir is a labor-deficient economy and about 800,000 migrant workers come here for work annually. As a result, labor wages have increased, resulting in low-paid skilled craftsmen abandoning their trade and taking up smaller jobs such as construction labour. This has resulted in a decline in the production and export of Kashmiri handicrafts.
For example, Ghulam Mohammed and his four sons carved walnuts, but not a single member of the next generation took up the job. Instead, he has moved to West Asia to work and is now prompting his father to give up the craft. Zahoor Ahmed says, “Our children did not want us to allow us to run their factory.” He cited the reason for leaving the business. In addition to low wages, Hussain attributes the persistent impairment to ‘slow poisoning’ – eye problems and orthopedic issues are common problems among weavers and embroiderers. “This trade sucks the blood of artisans, but we get only exploitation,” he says.
Over the past decade, there has been a sharp decline in the overseas exports of Kashmiri handicrafts. Artisans credit this by selling machine-made products as ‘real’ Kashmir products which ultimately devalues the brand.
While Europe is still crazy about Kashmiri handicrafts, it also has a huge market in West Asia and China. More than 900,000 people are involved in the trade, including 280,000 artisans registered with the government’s Department of Handicrafts and Handlooms – 66,000 are weavers, the rest are engaged in walnut wood carving, paper mache crafts, crew embroidery and other occupations. But here too, there is a near-disappointment—an annual trade has fallen sharply along with declining foreign exports over the past decade. From about Rs 1,700 crore in 2013, annual exports have fallen to Rs 563 crore in 2021. Authorities have blamed the pandemic for the sharp decline, with exporters and artisans pointing to a more insidious enemy: machine-made products sold as ‘genuine’ Kashmir handicrafts. , Thus, an ersatz ‘pashmina shawl’ made on a single machine and costing Rs 3,000 is sold to unsuspecting customers, devaluing the pashmina brand. According to traders, foreign customers now check the authenticity of the product in laboratories. Mill-made products have also put many artisans out of jobs – women who turn the fibers into fine yarn on a charkha (spinning wheel).
RAuf Ahmed Qureshi, founder of the Kashmir Pashmina Artisans Union, which still uses women workers to make handmade shawls, says the machines have ruined their business. “A machine spindle a day or more spins 200 grams of pashmina fiber with 10-20 percent nylon. Its yarn is cheap, costing Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 per kg.” But Qureshi says the yarn or yarn made from wool on a traditional charkha is 100 per cent pure and costs Rs 40,000-50,000 per kg. “The yarn produced on spinners is woven on a powerloom, which has a capacity to make 100 shawls a day. It is sold under the name ‘Kashmir Pashmina’, which threatens our heritage. They should have a machine-made label to avoid cheating customers,” he says. The union is asking officials to help stop illegal machines and promote national and international awareness about the safe GI (Geographical Indication) tag for pashmina products in 2008.
Since the GI tag identifies the unique product of an area, its implementation is expected to wipe out counterfeit products. The products will be tested in a laboratory and the genuine items will be labeled with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Seven Kashmir handicrafts have achieved a GI, including pashmina, walnut wood carvings, papier mache crafts, sojni crafts, kani shawls, carpets and khatabands.
Rauf Wadera, advisor to Tahafuz, an organization representing Kashmiri artisans, says the recognition has enabled greater penetration into global markets. But now, the main concern should be to provide social and economic security to the artisans. “There should be a separate labor protection policy to ensure minimum wages for craftsmen,” he says. “There is also a need for a charitable fund for contingencies, health insurance, provision of children’s education and supply of raw materials at reasonable prices.”
Sheikh Ashiq, president of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), was among Kashmiri business leaders meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on April 5. He submitted a memorandum demanding exemption in taxes on all handicraft products. His proposals include setting up specialized production centers to push the industry towards an organized sector and thus improve the number of artisans.
Tariq Ahmed Zargar, Director, Handicrafts and Handlooms Kashmir, says artisans are benefiting from the Karkhandar scheme, launched in 2021, which aims to revive the sluggish craft by improving the skills of the artisans and instilling in them a spirit of entrepreneurship. The government has encouraged the program by offering Rs 2,000 per month to each trainee artisan. Later, each eligible artisan is paid Rs 50,000 in two installments. “We are working on branding, packaging and introducing new designs for the requirements of the international market. In addition, we are focusing on access to new markets, particularly the US, which remains untapped,” says Zargar.
Hopefully, this scheme will prevent some of the world’s best artisans from being forced to leave their business because of their scarcity.