UNWILLINGNES OF THE UPCOMING GENERATION OF WEAVERS TO INVOLVE IN THEIR ANCESTRAL OCCUPATION OF WEAVING

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

1. To study unwillingnes of the upcoming generation of weavers to involve in their ancestral occupation of weaving.

2. To analyze the reasons behind it.

3. To give the suitable suggestions to improvise the present scenario.

NEED OF THE STUDY:

The handloom industry is in dire need of proper attention towards the unwillingness of the upcoming generation for participation in their ancestral occupation of weaving. It is one of the most important cottage industry that has been providing livelihood to millions of people in rural India. This negligence will ultimately lead to extinction of this beautiful heritage of weaving which will be tremendously regretted by mankind.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

The study broadly examines the conditions of weavers in the present scenario of two clusters of Odisha namely Bangriposi and Birbarpur and analyze the reasons which have led the younger generation to strive for better life opportunities leaving behindtheir ancestral occupation.

SAMPLE SIZE:

Sample of 10-20 weavers from Bangriposi and Birbarpur

ABSTRACT

The paper explores the problem of the current situation of Handloom sector where the new generation does not have the willingness to involve in their ancestral occupation of weaving. From the very beginning of time the Indian handloom weavers have been involved in occupation of weaving, though before the arrival of industrial revolution which marked the entry of automatic and power looms, handlooms of India had its own glory. But now the scenario is different and the sector is not progressing as expected. Income from handlooms and its contribution in the household economy is less. It is largely dominated by domestic production and part time weaving. Various issues like social and cultural aspects, demographic profile, production, employment, market structure, technology and skill are analyzed for understanding the present condition of handlooms. The factors contributing in promoting handloom sector are identified so that mobilization can be done for promoting it as a livelihood activity. And in the recent coming years one of the major issue that the handloom sector is facing is the lack of interest of the upcoming generations in their own ancestral heritage of weaving.

INTRODUCTION

Today the problem that handloom sector is facing has taken a tremendous turn. From the very beginning of time all the weavers and artisans continued their ancestral occupation of weaving and worked in handloom sectors but now the scenario is different. Time has changed and so have the people of today’s generation who do not want to engage themselves in this activity. Rather they are finding some alternative carrier options and even their parents do not wish their children to be engrossed in this household activity. The major cause that can be identified is the absence of opportunities and facilities for a better income and life conditions. Firstly the most basic problem is with the low and poor wages of this weavers who despite of working so hard for a single piece of handloom product does not get the adequate amount of money as they themselves are unaware about the whereabouts of their final products sale. The major reason behind this problem is the presence of mahajans or the middlemen in this entire system. The mahajans are the people who take orders from the big clients or brands and then assign it to the respected weavers and hence the weavers does not have any direct contact with the clients, thereby unaware about the real pricing and marketability of their products. The weavers are dependent on the mahajans because of the capital investments they bring to them. Comparing weavers who are self-employed, to weavers working under mahajans and weavers working in cooperative societies it was found that the weavers working under the merchants get lower wages while the self-employed get more wages. Weavers working under merchants got an average monthly income of Rs200-600 while self-employed got Rs 600-1000. But again it is nearly impossible for the weavers community to completely eradicate the mahajans out of their business as they play a very vital role in providing them with the capital investment required for the raw materials. Though they have a higher possibility of increasing their yield if they themselves become entrepreneurs and start on their own but again for that they need to have proper knowledge about the market that they lack. The government also has incorporated weavers society under which it is supposed to ensure that the weavers will get all form of financial support from the government under all the acts and reforms introduced by it. Every weavers society of the handloom clusters have a master weaver who has the responsibility to look after this issues but due to lack of commitment and huge negligence toward this issue the other weavers of the cluster has to suffer too.

Secondly the handloom sector of India faces a very tough competition from the powerlooms and automatic looms. The history of this issue dates back to the time of 19th century, when mill-spun yarn and cloth from Britain impacted the production of hand-spun yarn and handloom cloth. Weavers lost markets for yarn and cloth as they had to compete with a faster mode of production. The result was the increasing indebtedness of weavers to both moneylenders and yarn dealers. Committees appointed by the colonial rulers recommended forming cooperatives to protect the interests of the weavers. More committees were constituted as the issues in the handloom industry refused to go away. The industry received a morale boost when Gandhi made khadi the symbol of the freedom struggle and handloom weaving one of the core aspects of self-reliance. After independence, the industry was seen both as an employment provider in large parts of rural India and a vehicle to protect cultural heritage. This did not however, prevent it from being branded a sunset industry in need of subsidies and protection. The industry was seen to provide employment to a large number of people but not viewed as a catalyst to boost the growth of the economy. It is important to keep in mind this contradictory image of the industry that largely influenced the policy framework in independent India. In 1950, when India emerged as a republic, the central government declared the production of several handloom products as the exclusive of the handloom sector. Traditional products like border saris, dhotis and bed sheets were reserved exclusively for handlooms. The reservation order combined the unique character of handloom production with its labor-intensive nature and sought to preserve handloom identity while becoming a cloth of the masses. Unfortunately, inefficient implementation of the order slowly led to the mushrooming of power looms in the decentralized sector, which produced perfect imitations of handloom.

Thirdly, the poor working conditions of these weavers are another cause of unwillingness among the youngsters. In general, weavers sit for an average of 10 hours a day, legs dangling into deep pits, passing shuttles filled with bobbins of fine threads back-and-forth across their hand looms. These does not have a good impact on the health conditions of weavers as it requires too much of physical fatigue and can cause severe health problems. Weavers and their families suffer from a range of health issues. They suffer from backache and poor eyesight as they work in dark dingy places sitting continuously for such prolonged hours. As most of the looms are situated in a house where there is no adequate light and ventilation, it results in weavers being afflicted by weak eyesight and serious respiratory ailments, shortness of breath, cough and wheezing due to allergic reaction to dust and fungi in cotton, flax and hemp fibers. Also, the loom is partially embedded into the ground, and one needs to make a pit for weaver to be able to keep his legs. In the pit the temperature is different resulting in numbness of lower portion of the body. The workers suffer other various work related diseases such as pain in different parts of the body ( hand, neck, head and eye sore, legs etc.), anemia, rheumatic complaints due to long hours of working in a particular position. Most of the handloom workers get ill due to excessive hard work, lack of proper nutritious diet, lack of knowledge about health care. The Handlooms today are the graves of living people

DATA AND METHODOLOGY

The study is based on primary data as well as secondary data.

Primary Data: The main source of the data are the weavers themselves and executive members of the society. For proper information from the weavers a structured questionnaire was served to the weavers who were working in the societies. A part from this, personal interview and observation methods were used in collecting the first hand information.

Secondary Data: Secondary data for the study has been collected using published reports by the government, departments, published research papers in the reputed journals, books, thesis and listing websites relating to the presented research

To fulfil the objectives of the study primary data has been collected from the respondent weavers. Both qualitative and quantitative technique of research has been used in the study. Interviews have been qualitatively analyzed and interpreted. The Study was conducted in Bangriposi village of Mayurbhanj District and Birbarpur of Odisha. Purposive sampling method was used. Primary Data was collected from 10 household interview schedule. The first part of Schedule dealt with General information of the respondent about the demographic profile and other necessary information’s, the second part dealt with the social conditions of the weavers and third regarding the economic conditions of weaver family. Further questions were asked regarding the systems in their weavers cooperative society, working conditions and health parameters. Also, involving the major question whether their children want to get involved in this occupation or not and if not then why?

SUGGESTIONS

• Government needs to provide free health insurance and health checkups to ensure the proper health of the weavers and the artisans working in such poorworking conditions. ?
• The government needs to increase training and development programmes to enhance the skills of weavers in manufacturing and marketing aspects in changing business environment. ?
• The Government needs to open more branches in States and give rebate on theHandloom cloth and improve the Handloom markets. ?
• For enhancing marketing of Handloom Garments, Government needs to conduct promotional programme like trade fairs, public relations, sales promotion and advertising etc. ?
• The Government should follow price stabilization scheme like minimum support price regarding raw materials of handloom sectors. ?
• Apart from providing the weaver with a regular income, design innovation has to be brought by bringing skilled artisans together and conceptualizing to create new products. ?
• There is an urgent need to strengthen the co-operative institutions in the handloom sector. There is great potential in this sector to absorb new weavers.
• There need to be a long-term plan from the government side to develop the clusters according to the domestic and international market needs and requirements. ?
• Creation of environment of empowered and participative decision making among weavers.

CONCLUSION

The handloom sector has been slowly deteriorating over the years and there has been a steady decline in the industry over the years. Handloom weavers are facing severe livelihood crisis because of adverse government policies, globalization and change in socio-economic condition. Suicides are on the rise. Ineffective implementation of the schemes, increased unfair competition from the power loom and mill sectors are responsible for the crisis. Handloom is unparalleled in its flexibility and versatility, permitting experimentation and encouraging innovations. The strength of Handloom lies in the introducing innovative designs, which cannot be replicated by the Power loom sector. Thus, Handloom forms a part of the heritage of India and exemplifies the richness and diversity of our country and the artistry of the weavers. Concerted efforts are being made through the schemes and programme to enhance production, productivity, and efficiency of the handloom sector and enhance the income and socio-economic status of the weavers. Only after bringing positive changes in this sector one can imagine the possibility of participation of the current generation with their utmost desire and dedication. Until and unless certain changes are being brought in the entire system it is hard to convince the upcoming generation to show their active involvement. If the government manages to provide sufficient wages with good working hours and health assurance, it can bring a huge change in the facet of handloom industry. There by providing a ray of hope for the sustainability of rich cultural heritage of handlooms.

REFERENCES

• IRACST – International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management (IJCBM), ISSN: 2319–2828 Vol. 5, No.1, Jan-Feb 2016
• Journal of Rural Development, Vol. 32, No. (4) pp. 427- 438
• NIRD, Hyderabad. ? International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
• International Journal of Business and Administration Research Review, Vol.2, Issue.7, Oct - Dec, 2014. ?
• https://thewire.in/culture/handlooms-are-dying-and-its-because-of-our-failure-to-protect-them
• Asian Journal of Management, Engineering & Computer Sciences (AJMECS)