Crisis in our backyard - Weaver issues of Varanasi

By Abhishek Joshi :

“This one is a original banarasi sari”, my mother wore it on her wedding, I wore it on mine and am preserving it for my daughter-in-law” quipped my friends wife, with a delight of a li’l munchkin found her toy and having lost all hope of seeing it back. She took pains to open the family chest to lay bare the traditional treasure on me having asked, whether she still has a banarasi sari. What further intrigued me was the comment and emphasis laid on the “original” aspect of it.

She would know. There are no longer original banarasi sari’s churned by the weavers of Varanasi. With qualitative restrictions abolished and duties reduced on the cheap import yarn, the exclusive silk which since ages has been Varanasi’s bastion has lost its turf to cheap imitation of a sari which has countless families still protecting the assault through secure chest to gracefully pass on the tradition to next generation.

Varanasi or "kashi" as it is revered as pious city, the cradle of ancient civilization has seen the world come around to evolve around her. The oldest living cities in the world, kashi has seen the religion embedded into its lifestyle. The puja ceremonies, the ghats, one of the param teerths for being blessed by god themselves by just a visit and a holy dip. The Vedic chants on the ghats and temples which have resonated since countless centuries, the hermits, the sadhu’s now all stand lost, buried deep inside the pious spirit of the city which has seen close to 190 people commit suicide over the last decade and further risking survival of another half a million weavers.

The bridal pride, considered the finest of the lot as a banarasi sari, with rich embroidery and studded with excellent fine art craft has since centuries been adorned by royalties and paupers alike. A sari could be for anyone, depending on the grandeur and expectation of equality. Such is the craft and it social connotations that a wedding must got inter woven as a ritual, as part of the tradition. Made with equal immense pride this has been an art mastered and passed on to the next generation of weaver’s community. Woven intricately on handloom, most of the times by the entire family, a typical Banarsi sari takes 10-12 days to be completed. Generation after generation since past 700 years has seen this trade being undertaken to sustain the livelihood of the entire community.

The elusive originality lost its artisan sheen since early 1990’s. The economic liberalization took its first victim right in the center of this ancient cultural city with an impact which has not allowed it to raise itself even now. With shifting consumer preference, cheap polyester yarn and much cheaper dumping of fake Chinese silk found its way in the market creating a trade imbalance forcefully to depart ancient hand woven craft to a industrious power loom industry. It just takes 2-3 days to make a cheap imitation of a Banarasi Sari, for the uninitiated. Almost 60% of the handlooms have closed down in Varanasi. The government policies did not allow it to sustain either and though relative short term dumping restrictions were forced, it found barter for another market to flourish to source silk procurement from down south. High dependability of the trade on middle men, the “seths” who fronted the sales had plagued the weavers since long but this allowed to exploit the artisans with impunity. High cost of pure silk, widened the gap further and allowed more subsititues to enter the fray destroying the already diminishing demand of this traditional fabric forcing the entire community of weavers already deprived of education, health, pay and sundry benefits accorded to other textile industries to scout for alternative source of employment leaving this tradition to die its own natural death and carrying it with them, the death of the artisans themselves in form of suicides.

Women and children who were linked as non wage labours as part of trade were the severest hit due to synthetic substitutes and non availability of demand for the hand loom fabric. Whatever little demand could have been generated was subdued by the policies, intermittent government rescue missions letting them fall again on traders to plead credit for raw material sourcing, its unavailability due to shrinking profit and high rate of interest charged as surrogate greed by the trader implied on the weaver. The frontal payment is released only when the sale has happened for the fabric and while the bread earner succumbed to this frustrative dynamics of trade the women folk lay exposed to further exploitation to sustain the remaining family.

The economic hardships in form of debt repayment, family strife not able to find buyers for their talent and no application of skills other than weaving due to opening of the markets in form of liberalization, left these weavers to take the final step of as one of their last decisions. Some who could not perhaps muster the courage resigned to their fate and continue to dabble between begging or as non skilled labourers without being aware of the next meal availability. Appalling poverty conditions have left the children to be malnourished, with multiple starvation deaths being reported and glorious past of Varanasi was put to immense shame when children were reported to be sold for 3 months of food supplies.

Numerous initiatives have been announced by the government and support agencies to revive the fading art not most have received the desired expectations. Support has come through non governmental aids and associations but unless the governance supplements these efforts it shall continue to remain as a paradox for looking towards grants and seed help for the weavers and limping them back by not owing the moral responsibility of ensuring the craft lives it’s age. The sops offering, input for handloom credit, even creating a “handloom mark-up brand” and cross subsides of waiving the industrial charges would not support the deprivation unless the self sustenance model of development with integrated approach is deployed. Impact of WTO round of negotiations to allow cross subsidies on handloom textiles and opening of markets needs to be balanced with protectionism strategy as well.

Proponents of “swadesi” have been maliciously criticized and considered as a hurdle for globalized growth but indigenous industries need measures of protectionism. Availability of input could not assist much for long term unless the demand for these products is created, alternative markets are identified or parallel occupational livelihood opportunities are created and centuries old small industries are looked upon with respect by preserving the glorious tradition.

Substitutes within trade could not be disdained but hallowed populist measures should also not be adopted either. The art and craft are intricately woven over generations and form part of our rich culture heritage and needs acute changes to ensure people are not forced to make way for the economic growth. Proletariat involved in securing this tradition needs encouragement and not bemused in the global market trade alignment of opening ourselves to the world at cost of severity of livelihood, deprivation, starvation and suicides in our own backyard.


Until then what essentially seems as a state function remains protected in treasured chest of selective families as rare belonging to be kept alive for the next generation.