Making the most of election season, Uttar Pradesh’s Bunkar Udyog Mandal issued a fresh manifesto demanding basic economic and social boosts from the state government, not the least of which is the demand for a dignified wage.

According to Mandal General Secretary Zubair Adil, people have been struggling in the state since the ruling regime announced disastrous economic policies like GST and demonetisation, and then its haphazard and ineffective strategy for Covid-19 management. “People’s looms have been closing down due to continued ignorance. A saree is made using 17 parts on which different weaver groups work. People from each of these groups have migrated to Bangalore, Surat and other regions because of worsening livelihood,” he said.

Recently, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promised a meeting with the community via Zoom. However, the same was cancelled for unknown reasons, said Adil, asking, “Over the years, the Chief Minister promised to address our demand thrice. Once in Varanasi, then Lucknow and finally in Gorakhpur. Now, where should we place our trust?”

Similarly, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav has orally promised 300 units of electricity to all people belonging to the weaver community. Yet, the Mandal is uncertain of where to invest their faith because the demands are not included in SP’s manifesto.

This concern is not exclusive to BJP or SP. No political party has included weaver demands in their written manifesto. Meanwhile, the electricity department continues to abruptly cut off electricity supply, the fate of previous promises and subsidies lie in limbo. Arrears continue in their passbook. There is also the socio-economic threat for weavers facing a combination of police cases from the electricity department and communal elements in society.

For this reason, the group resolved to publish their own manifesto for approaching elections. In the document, members pointed out that the textile sector is the second biggest sector in terms of generating employment, accounting for 14 percent of India’s total production. Moreover, 13 percent of the total export comes from textile and allied products, which earns foreign exchange and records India’s global participation at 0.6 percent.

“Weavers make this essential textile using their skills in weaving, dyeing and designing. However, these same weavers are weak economically, socially and politically,” said the manifesto.

It said the UP government had lagged behind in creating jobs and opportunity in the sector since coming to power in 2017. As such, many weavers were forced to leave the state with their families.

A recently published report by the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) “Purvanchal: Silence of the Looms” revealed how the artisanal weaving industry as well as the long-suffering Zardozi industry slid into further despair during the Covid-19 lockdown. Purvanchal’s handicraft, handloom, power loom businesses lost an estimated Rs 3,000 cr between 2020 and 2021.

As many as 89 percent of interviewees said they could not or did not approach local/ state administrations for relief measures because of lack of trust. This means that nearly 90 percent of Purvanchal weavers did not go to officials for rations, monetary assistance, inflated electricity bills, sewage issues due to a lack of faith in its own government. The people who did approach the government said they were dissatisfied with the response.

The Mandal argued that these grievances of the people can be addressed if the government accepts their 20-point demands.

“If weavers’ various demands are accepted, UP will enjoy great progress and be considered among the developed states of India,” it argued.

Weavers demands

Above everything, weavers demanded a dignified wage for community workers. This demand was reinforced by CJP in its report. This demand is in line with the 2011 UN Principles on Business and Human Rights that appeals to corporations, export houses and brands to respect standards of dignified wage and social security.

Further, weavers demanded pension for workers who completed 60 years and fiscal assistance to weavers through welfare centres. To reduce the cost of production, the Mandal also asked that the import duty be decreased. Regarding government subsidies, it said the government had much to do.

Around January 4, 2022 the Mandal submitted a memorandum to the Varanasi Additional City Magistrate to request the reinstatement of the Electricity Reimbursement Flat Rate Scheme 2006.

This has been a standing demand of weavers since December 4, 2019 when the government dismissed the flat rate that provided electricity to weavers at a subsidised rate. Although this decision was withdrawn after workers went on strike, the electricity department continues to charge exorbitant prices. As such, weavers have also demanded that their arrears be reset.

In line with this, weavers argued that the government should withdraw the cases levied against them in past years as well as the five percent GST on textile. Instead, the administration should focus on creating a marketing centre in the state and a thread manufacturing industry in Banaras. Banks should be instructed to give interest-free loans to weavers for this and weaver commissions should be created.

Socio-cultural background of the weaving community

CJP noted that wage workers or owners of just a few looms in this field of work are from Muslim Ansari, Dalit, OBC communities. Some Muslims hail from more privileged castes. However, nowadays, a majority of these workers are “completely impoverished and invisibilised”.

Similarly, the Mandal noted that Muslims account for about 22 percent of the state population. As such, there should be 20 percent reservation for them in education and government employment and as much as 30 percent reservation in the textile ministry. It also argued that there should be reserved seats for Muslims in politics to increase their representation.

The CJP report noted that many respondents suffered economic boycotts at work in neighbourhoods, days and weeks after the spread of Covid-19 was misleadingly associated with one community using words like “Corona-Jihad” or “super-spreaders of the virus”. Accordingly, the Mandal demanded that the government build hospitals, schools and colleges in weaver dominated regions. Another suggestion was the immediate implementation of Sachar committee recommendations and passing of the anti-Riot Bill.

CJP argued that an informed and reasoned public dialogue is essential to influence political but economic policy and decision making. Particularly, it urged public awareness around the fact that Banarasi saree and brocade creators are the real owners of this intellectual property – a detail little known to the weavers and artisans.

Gender disparity

As per Mandal estimates, the textile sector creates 4.5 crores directly in India and 10 cr jobs indirectly, including rural women, ensuring their participation in sustainable development. However, when CJP interviewed these women in the Purvanchal region, it found that most often, their work remains unpaid, even in this day and age, as it is considered part of their household chores.

A woman weaver’s work ranges from weaving to related work like spool feeding, saree decoration and finishing work. They basically form the backbone of this industry. Yet, their testimonies told stories of malnutrition, health issues, impoverishment, hunger and domestic abuse. Many girls were forced to drop out of school. Muslim women dealt with the double-edge sword of gender discrimination and communalism.

Earlier, at a CJP event, Saraiya weaver Qaisar Jehan talked about how most mothers have resorted to adding salt to rice to feed their children.

“Thousands of people use the products that we use. Those people get benefits of various schemes from the government. We don’t,” she told SabrangIndia.

She criticised the government for creating schemes overnight but failing to make them accessible, especially for women. Because of this, women who worked on a meter of cloth for ₹100 nowadays earn ₹10 for the same length. Tikri workers who earned ₹ 100 for a meter of cloth nowadays earn ₹15 for the exact same length.

Another weaver Anjum Ara said, “Women are the backbone of the industry, but we have no work. My daughter and I can’t even find work as domestic help; if we do the pay is abysmal. Our men are doing daily wage labour, some are driving rickshaws.”

Policy decisions

As mentioned before the few weavers who approached the government said they were dissatisfied with the administration’s response. So, the Mandal advised that community-related schemes must be decentralised and made transparent for easy access. CJP recommended state-driven incentives for cooperatives at the village, taluka, and state.

During the survey, CJP found that the central government’s Pradhan Mantri Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) that was launched on May 1, 2016 did not reach grassroot level workers. Only 10 percent of the women interviewed were registered to get the ‘ujjwala gas’ under this scheme. The rest of the women tried to apply for the scheme multiple times but to no avail.

Like the PMUY, the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was also difficult to access. As many as 52 percent of the respondents did not have a PMJDY account. Among those who had such an account, only 58 percent received cash transfers more than once.

For these reasons, the Mandal and CJP urged central and state governments to ensure that all stakeholders in the industry are consulted before policies are framed and budgetary allocations are made. In line with this, the Mandal urged for an increase in the budget for the Textile Ministry.

“This Ministry has been receiving reduced allocations for the past many years,” said the Mandal.

It argued that the New Textile Policy 2020 should include provisions that help weavers get jobs within the state. This policy includes schemes like knitting and knitwear sector scheme, Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), National Handloom Development Programme, Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme, Handloom Weaver Comprehensive Welfare Scheme and Yarn Supply Schemes among others.

“This policy is dreaded by us weavers, like the three farm laws were dreaded by farmers. We ask the government that they include provisions to end migration and allow local employment if they want to enforce this policy,” said Adil.

Call for a National and Regional Campaign

Having visited and interviewed these communities, CJP said in its report that there is an urgent need for a sustained national-level and regional-level campaign for weavers. The drive will work towards a revival of the weaving industry that is closely linked to rural-urban livelihoods and India’s cultural heritage.

Participants will call for social security schemes for different levels of craftspersons, artisans and weavers with a special emphasis on women. For this, corporations and businesses must be contacted and pushed to realise their social responsibility when dealing with creators of products.

Elected representatives especially have to play a vital role in this movement. Moreover, all Indians and consumers should also get involved to voice their solidarity with this community.

Related:

Urgent need to revive and sustain Banarasi weaving industry

UP: Weavers persist battle for fixed rate electricity subsidy

Time for a nationwide movement to protect traditional weaving industry

Purvanchal: Silence of the Looms

Curtain raiser: The Warp and Weft of Despair in Purvanchal

Lockdown Impact: Filled forms, have Bunkar Card, yet got no help from gov’t

The post Save our livelihoods to get our votes: UP weavers’ 2022 election manifesto appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On January 31, 2022, just a day after the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Father of our Nation and a huge proponent of India’s traditional textile industry, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) released a report on the state of the traditional weaving industry in Purvanchal (Eastern Uttar Pradesh). The report title Purvanchal: Silence of the Looms ascertains the impact of years of bad policies, growing communal violence, and most recently, the Covid-19 induced Lockdown on the lives and livelihoods of weavers and those engaged in allied activities in this region.

The report was launched online by Laila Tyabji, a highly respected social worker, textile expert and craft activist, who is also one of the founders of Dastkar, a private not-for-profit NGO established in 1981, working to support traditional Indian craftspeople, many of them women and village based, with the objective of helping craftspeople regain their place in the economic mainstream.

“Successive governments led by different political parties have let this sector down for decades, with the exception of the first ten years after Independence when Gandhi’s message about khadi, and handloom and swadeshi was still resonating,” said Tyabji, adding, “Look at the budgetary allocations in the first few five-year plans, and then look at what it is today. It is shameful and pathetic!”

“There was a time, a few centuries ago, when India clothed the world. We can have that again given how there is once again a growing climate where there is a shift away from fast fashion to handmade, sustainable clothing. We have the skilled creators and now is the time to invest in them, showcase them as India’s unique assets,” she said.

Syama Sundari, a noted textile expert, who is also coordinator, policy research and advocacy, Dastkar Andhra, was also a special guest at the report release.

“To see the decline of handlooms over the last decade, is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, I can’t say I am shocked by the findings,” she said. “When a loom shuts down, the survival of the entire family is at stake because they all operate as a unit. Today everything is out of their control and the rising yarn prices are only adding to the crisis,” she added. Sundari feels that skill development, employment generation and migration are all intertwined and we need better policies that focus on all three.

Scholar and Textile industry expert, Dr. Vasanthi Raman, who was one of the guiding lights of this project hit the nail on the head when she shed light on the true agenda of corporate houses that have now entered the industry in droves and are changing its traditional structure. “Unfortunately, bad polices and the corporate culture want to dismantle the artisanal industry and reduce weavers and artists to daily wage workers,” she said.

She also shed light on one of the key findings of our report with respect to gender roles in the weaving industry saying, “The work of the women is invisibilised and usually unpaid. But the industry cannot survive without their labour.”

In fact, the CJP team of researchers led by social scientist and activist Dr. Muniza Khan ensured that we spoke to women respondents and highlighted their plight. Seven such women whose work ranges from weaving to allied activities like stone application, saree cutting and polishing etc. joined us from Varanasi for the report release ceremony and shared truly heartbreaking stories.

“Our condition is so bad; most people only eat once a day. Most mothers just add salt to rice and feed their children. Our wages have been slashed significantly,” said Qaisar Jehan, a woman weaver from Saraiya.

“Women are the backbone of the industry, but we have no work. My daughter and I can’t even find work as domestic helps; if we do the pay is abysmal. Our men are doing daily wage labour, some are driving rickshaws,” said Anjum Ara, whose unemployed sons were forced to migrate to Surat to find work.

“One of my boys is sick, another one used to work as a daily wage labourer but lost his job. My daughters used to do stone application work on sarees, but even they have no work now,” lamented Anwari Begum.

Dr. Muniza Khan further gave examples of how women, often acting under socio-cultural conditioning, reacted when the team first approached them. “Some would refuse to speak t us outright insisting we speak to the men of the household. People are so conservative that we often found little girls wearing hijabs,” said Dr. Khan, recalling, “In one instance, when we tried to take pictures of some girls aged as young as five or six years, they refused saying it was a sin for girls to be photographed!”

Then there were other challenges in the team encountered as we painstakingly conducted detailed interviews of 204 respondents, 37 video interviews and 19 audio-interviews in: Varanasi (13 locations), Gorakhpur (Rasoolpur, Purana Gorakhnath), Azamgarh (Mubarakpur, Ibrahimpur, Shahpur) and Mau (Ghosi, Madhuban). The entire exercise was spread over several months in 2020-21. “Some people thought we were from the NRC and shut their doors in our faces fearing persecution,” recalled Dr. Khan.

CJP secretary Teesta Setalvad summed it up saying that it was about time that all Indians came together to save this industry that represents a unique heritage of our nation. “This report should start a campaign that addresses not only the policy ignorance but also the slashing of the budgetary allocation for this sector. We need to empower the weavers and small enterprises so that they become independent in the true sense,” said Setalvad. She also urged the Grihastas (Master Weavers) and Gaddidars (Shop owners) to commit to paying weavers and artisans, including women workers a dignified wage.

The entire report may be read here.

Related:

Purvanchal: Silence of the Looms

Curtain raiser: The Warp and Weft of Despair in Purvanchal

Lockdown Impact: Filled forms, have Bunkar Card, yet got no help from gov’t

Lockdown impact: “Those who once greeted me with ‘salaam’, don’t even talk to me any more”

Lockdown impact: Religion-based discrimination rampant in Varanasi?

Lockdown impact: Unemployed fathers, abused mothers and daughters deprived of education

Lockdown impact: Lungi weavers left in the lurch

Lockdown impact: A Zardozi artisan vows to never teach his children his craft

Lockdown Impact: President’s award winning Aquaculture scholar sells fish for a living

Lockdown Impact: Crushing debt, mounting bills

Lockdown Impact: Weaver family drowning in debt

Lockdown Impact: Weavers forced to become tea sellers!

Lockdown Impact: Weavers forced to become tea sellers!

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Sui Dhaaga: Made in India.
Image Courtesy: The Financial Express

Last year, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, actors Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan released a special-teaser video of the film, paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and revealing details about the film’s subject. Varun Dhawan had also earlier told news agencies that, “from Gandhiji to Modiji (Narendra Modi), our country’s leaders have always endorsed the mantra of Made in India,” and therefore, their “story of self-reliance” would “connect to the grassroots level with every Indian.” It is 2018, and grand essentialist narratives that connect with every Indian are a hoax. A practitioner of art understands, that today, a phrase like “indigenous art” must be pronounced/ defined with all the diversity it entails. Therefore, any piece of art which engages with the subject needs to explore the rich and complex relations between the so-called “archaic” indigenous art forms, the contemporary representational forms and emphasise/recognise that such discourses demands a re-interrogation and problematisation of the very process and forms of its aesthetic construction. This lack of research/ investment into specificity is visible in every stage of the filmmaking process.

We know from the trailer that it is a story of a Mauji (Varun Dhawan), a tailor based in North India. There are 8 states in North India – including the Union Territories of Delhi and Chandigarh, with their own native textile history. We are told that the film’s principal photography began in the town of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh in February 2018, and the actors were said to have bought traditional Chanderi sarees from local weavers in the town, as a token of appreciation. In the film, however, there is not a single reference to the Chanderi style of textile, let alone Madhya Pradesh. However, owing to the characters’ easy access to Delhi, Meerut and Agra, it is safe to assume that the story is based in Uttar Pradesh.

Mauji is said to have inherited the craft of tailoring with a sewing machine from his grandfather. But that is all we know about the skill. Since the film lacks this background information, the audience has to draw their insights from the material they are faced with. If Mauji is a young man based in UP, in Northern India, then I assume the craft he has inherited would be unique to UP. It soon becomes clear that Chikankari stitching is the skill he has inherited, as when his mother is admitted in the hospital, he and his wife, Mamta (Anushka Sharma), stitch a maxi for his mother out of disposable garments lying at home. To an audience familiar with basic fabrics, it is easily identifiable as having been made from the chikan fabric of Lucknow. Following a quintessential image of Yin and Yang, Mauji stitches the fabric, and Mamta imprints on the fabric with block prints, alluding to the more feminine art of embroidery. Is it too much to ask of a film aiming to promote self-sustenance, entrepreneurship and indigenous crafts to identify and name the craft? The answer is unfortunately in the affirmative for a commercial Hindi film.

Image Courtesy: Pinkvilla

This absolute lack of research, detail, or even acknowledgement of the art form that you are supposedly drawing your inspiration from speaks volumes about the film team’s idea of representation. The film’s lucrative alignment with ‘Make In India’ (MII) (launched 2014), the Prime Minister’s glorious plan for inaugurating a type of Swadeshi movement to encourage companies to manufacture their products in India and increase their investment, comes as no surprise. But much like the collapse of the MII, which as per the current policy, permits 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in all 25 sectors of the MII program (except for space (74%), defence (49%) and news media (26%)) has a mighty fall.

A semblance of reality in the film comes through the character of Guddu (Namit Das), the brother of Maujji’s sister-in-law (Manukriti Pahwa) who sees in them an opportunity for profit-making. Guddu is the perfect middleman, the archetypal Delhi “jugaadu” figure who, like a parasite, thrives through a network of connections and relations, within and peripheral to the system, who become rich by feeding off of the labour of workers. He takes them to meet his boss, the owner of a garment label under the pretext of helping them with financial matters. However, their maxi design is stolen from them, and in exchange, they are lured with the petty promises of a stable job and fixed salary. In a striking scene, the handblocked-design imprinted by Maujji and Mamta is appropriated by the factory owner into a mechanised embroidery panel. The feeble couple accepts this offer with resignation due to their family’s urgent financial needs. However, the harsh truth dawns on them when Mauji discovers that the same maxi that they had been selling to poor patients in the government hospitals to ease their stay and treatment, was now being charged as a compulsive fee for four times the price. The film points to this power nexus between big commercial enterprises and public institutions as well as malpractices by middlemen and mediators for their imperialistic gains. It also reveals the transformative journey of a work of art to a commodity as it travels from the hands of the artist to the consumer in the market. Originally slated to release on Gandhi Jayanti this year, construction of Mauji’s native self, standing up to the Goliath-like Didi, the foreign-educated daughter of the factory’s owner is a useful/fit analogy to understand small-scale swadeshi self-reliance versus big imperialistic industrial ventures. It is this experience of injustice and humiliation that prompts Mauji to start his own practice, except that his practice ultimately turns into a private enterprise itself, and that is my problem with the film.

For a film that aims to raise questions about the contemporary relevance of indigenous art practices, instead of proposing new ways to battle with the economy, the film only rehashes the same regimes; in a manner that only changes the players, while the (rules of the) game remains the same.

In his quest for self-reliance and independence, he participates in the same fashion show that the company he was fired from was competing in. Thus, the film ends up becoming not the story of an individual’s fight against the system but his integration into the system.

To procure garments for display at the fashion show, he turns to his neighbours in the community, who we are told also hail from a community of tailors who were trained in tailoring practices but had to resort to odd jobs for livelihood. Remaining true to its nature of a commercial Hindi film, Sui Dhaaga, once again, tells me nothing about the social, historical or economic circumstances under which the community gave up on their traditional livelihood, or how they were adapting to modern circumstances, or what motivates their participation for the survival of their cultural practice. Suddenly, almost magically, things start falling into place, and Mauji’s collection is made ready by the neighbours very much like the creatures that helped Cinderella stitch a magical dress for the prince’s ball. Further, to make up for the lack of historical-material detail, the film recourses to constructing this grand narrative of the virtuous poor or primitive communal living. The film once again achieves its purpose of resurrecting a secular India, with the Muslim Nusrat, arranging a huge space for them to build their studio in, where neighbours come together to help, for the sake of goodwill and not in want of profits or motives. We see colourful images of hybrid textile practices from dyeing to hand blocks to all kinds of yarns being pulled out. I understand that this model of communal building is needed to pose resistance to the commercial forms of production and present an alternative ecosystem for local communities. However, the sheer absence of cinematic grammar that reflects on the evolution of these forms or their struggle with modernity point to deep-seated flaws in the documentation. Moreover, this coming together seems more like a one-time opportunity rather than a sustained conglomerate of communal cooperatives which ridicules the film’s claims about sustainability. We do not know if the neighbours are going to go back to their old life of odd jobs or if be a part of Mauji’s team of swadeshis. These are relevant questions that must be asked of a film which premises itself upon the story of a working-class professional’s social mobility.

The fashion show segment of the film briefly gives one a preview into the loopholes of big corporate and cultural institutions and the façade behind their CSR initiatives. However, by showcasing Mauji’s successful participation in the same capitalist fashion show to compete for the same awards, the film exposes its method and incorporation into mainstream markets. I understand that on the one hand, the film points out that there is no space for the indigenous arts to sustain unless it fits in, but rather than critiquing faults in the system, the film celebrates this. In the end, “Sab badhiya hai,” for individuals who successfully assimilate themselves. That the film ends on team ‘Made In India’s’ win at the fashion show confirms this. Such a narrative that focusses on a product rather than the process, pushes the film towards the same utilitarian approach which it sets out to resist.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum
 

The post Sui Dhaaga: Weaving Deception appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On that day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that from midnight onwards, notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would be withdrawn from circulation. But the decision – which was taken on a pretext to curb the black money hidden outside the banks – did little to end the menace of black money, but did sound the death knell for the weavers of Varanasi.

Varanasi is the centre of weaving industry and known across the world for the finest Benarasi sarees. But the beauty of the saree compares in stark contrast to the condition of the weavers, a number of whom have started moving on to other jobs. Their children, once in school, are also now turning to weaving to ensure that the industry remains afloat.

Take the example of Wakeel Akhtar, a 50-year-old weaver who had grown his business of weaving enough to progress to power looms from handlooms. But for the past one year, only one of his eight power looms are running. The rest remain idle and gather dust.
All thanks to demonetisation, which was followed by GST.

Akhtar said, “During demonetisation, we started taking loans from several people. And that loan kept us running for several weeks. Otherwise, we were spending too much of our time standing in bank queues, rather than working on our looms.”

Soon after demonetisation, Varanasi’s weavers lost their daily earning. As a sector which survives on daily payment basis, the weaving community of Banaras was able to reach some sort of settlement only four months after the currency ban.

“For the bigger businessmen and firms, we were the tools to return the old currency in the banks,” said Akhtar, referring to the fact that small-scale workers, craftsmen and weavers were getting paid in older currencies, and they had to stand outside banks to exchange them.

But there are much bigger problems before the weavers, like the kids who have left schools and started learning to weave. 42-year-old Mohammad Azam is the father of three children. All were studying in the school until April 2017. After the academic session concluded, Azam was unable to register them again for the next session.

Azam explains the situation, “There are two kinds of weavers. The first is the loom owners. We have to take care of everything, from threads to the looms. And second are contractual weavers, who come here and work without any sort of responsibility for things, and they have to get paid a definite amount every day, irrespective of the conditions.”

“Both sections have taken a hit, but the second category has moved to other jobs. We, the loom owners, have no such option,” said Azam. “So I did not have any money to let my kids continue the studies. Now all have indulged in weaving because there is no any way out of this,” he added.

Sabir Ali, 30, was only a weaver before, but now he deals in other kinds of stuff related to weaving, like making threads. For him too, this was the only option. Ali said, “Luckily, I still weave, but fewer than before. But many of my friends went to Surat or Mumbai, in order to earn better in other jobs, as weaving is a dying business in Varanasi.”

Ali said, “Soon after problems of demonetisation ended, it was the cashless India thing which took a toll. Businessmen started to pay us in the cheques – as the government introduced a rule of not paying more than Rs 10,000 in cash.”

“We were people who lived on the daily wages. We used to spend our every day’s earning into the food and clothes. Now with the cheques, we have to wait three days for the amount to appear in our bank accounts, “said Ali. “So to feed, we have to have something else, so I am also selling low-quality threads to weavers.”

Sabir Ali took us into a house of his friend. There were four people sitting in the loom and finishing Banarasi Saree and cotton Saree jobs that came to them after four weeks of idleness. Aslam Ansari said from behind of one of the loom, “And we will get our payment more than a week after we submit our work.”
But the more surprising scene was in the adjacent room, to show which Sabir Ali took us into the particular house. There were two boys named Mohammad Alam (13) and Shamim Akhtar (14) who were weaving together on a loom. Shamim Akhtar still goes to school, while Alam quit recently. They both were learning to weave. Sabir Ali said, “They are not studying not because they are poor, but because their father cannot earn much on his own.” The kids nodded to this claim.

It is not a new thing to see kids learning the weaving process, but seeing them leaving studies because of weaving is indeed new.

The weavers, who were slowly recovering from the demonetisation disaster, were hit again in 2017 when the government introduced GST as “one nation, one tax”.

Rajeev Kumar Modi, a 45-year-old thread dealer in Varanasi, is also suffering the pain of demonetisation and GST. Modi said, “Soon government banned the currency, my warehouse left filled with the raw materials and threads for several months. No weaver was able to buy from us, so we were not able to bring more.”

“Soon the conditions normalised over a period of time, but after GST, weavers do not come here often,” said Modi.

He also said, “Previously we used to sell 20 or 30 kilograms of threads every day, now this has become our weekly count.”

Cotton and silk threads fell under 5 percent slab, while the artificial silk threads – which constitutes the major part of the business in Varanasi’s weaving community – fell under the 18% GST slab. Earlier, the Central Board of Excise and Customs refused to consider saree as readymade or made-up. And even if it was considered made-up, a mere 2% tax was levied on Sarees. But after GST, the prices of the final product as a saree went up by around 20%, but weavers’ wages were cut down.

“A businessman has to sell a saree to various customers with a profitable margin, so he cut down our wages. If we were getting thousand rupees for completing a saree before GST, now we are getting only Rs 700-800 for the same piece,” tells Shamim Ansari, a 32-year-old weaver from the city. “Our wages fell down because the profit margins had to be maintained,” he added.

In addition to the GST on threads, GST of 5 percent was also introduced on the Sarees, which faced heat from the various confederation of Saree dealers. And seemingly, government’s apathy towards the protest has hit the PM’s own constituency most.

One can argue that the issues of weavers have come to the notice of the government and that they are working to address these issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Trade Facilitation and Craft Museum Centre in Varanasi in September this year. The goal to establish the centre was to promote the work of weavers and artisans of the city. However, ​many weavers have not even heard of the centre, and those who know little about it say – if Mohammad Saqib to be quoted – that the centre is a museum and showcase of weavers’ work. “One should see the conditions from the ground that we are not able to build up any kind of product in our traditional workshops and looms,” added Saqib.

Moreover, the central government erected a Weaver’s colony and training centre in a Karsara village nearby of Varanasi in 1993-94. But the training centre lies unused because of its distance from the city’s centre which is more than 15 kilometres. So, while the government seems to have taken steps, their effect is limited and does little to assuage the pain of the weavers. And this is visible in areas around Bajardiha or Peelikothi – the two major centres of weavers in Varanasi – many weaving houses can be seen locked, even in peak times. Mohammad Jamaal, a 77-year-old resident of the community said, “This was the season of weaving. No one could sleep due to high demands ahead of wedding season. You could see weavers working at least 16 hours a day. Now you can see most people shutting their shops.”

Courtesy: Two Circles

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Resham Silk Thread worth hundreds of thousands was bought between November 8 and 15, pushing the price up by a thousand rupees per kilo, as producers and businesses made a practical decision to change cash for silk

There’s a stunned paralysis when you move around the streets of Banaras. After ‘Notebandhi’ as de-monetization has been aptly termed, the season has come to a standstill and a weird kind of paralysis has gripped the market(s). Iconic both as a spiritual and religious pilgrimage spot for the Hindu Sanatana Dharma, and for Buddhists, and also the hub of a vast and complex trade centre and production hub, market of small and large, self-made industry, the Banarasi silk weaving industry, Banaras sits comfortably with both identities. Both the trade and production sides of Banaras –the business centre- depend heavily on cash flow, both also have a smooth and complex system of credit note exchange; for the systems at work for decades, the rather mindless, de-monetization has meant simply a sudden paralysis: a freeze.

Awaiting December 31, and the new cash-credit withdrawal norms, the over 10-15 lakh weaver producers and petty and big businesses who depend and revolve around this art of weaving work there wily business heads around the impact of this de-monetization move; one frenetic bit of activity was witnessed between the night of November 8 and 15, 2016 as the impact of the decision first sunk in.

From the night of November 8 until November 15, just like gold (in other parts of the country) the price of pure silk resham went up substantially, from Rs 4-5,000 a kilogram. “Paison ka Resham Ban Gaya (Money was converted into silk,” one large producer, on conditions of anonymity, told this writer.
 
Another, upper middle class master weaver converted as much as Rs 40 lakhs in old notes (Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 that were declared to be illegal) into pure Banarasi silk thread! (This was on the belief that Resham kahin jaane wala nahin, the silk thread at least was going nowhere and could be used in the weaving business!). Money even travelled as far as Surat in Gujarat to be exchanged, many businessmen told this writer.
 
Synonymous with the weaving of the Banarasi Silk Saree, the narrow streets of this vast and complex megapolis on the banks of the Ganges, are homes to the famous handlooms that weave the magic of master craftsman’s designs. The powerloom has encroached on the catholicity of this art, however. The price of a Banarasi saree can go up and beyond Rs 1,00,000 and the joys and complexities of weaving with pure resham (silk) thread) can be understood only by connoisseurs. 

A vast population of 10-15 lakh persons are closely linked to the Banarasi saree production business, only half of whom are Muslim. Though the word bunker (weaver) tends to draw imagery of a talented Muslim artisan, the production and trade is at least, 50 per cent, also beneficial to non-Muslims. From buying the thread to weaving the magic designs to selling the final product, this business is heavily dependent on not just cash but credit flow. More of that a bit later.

Trade Hub

Banaras is also the epicenter of booming trade and market. Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Purvanchal, Western and Central Bihar and northern Madhya Pradesh –nearly four dozen districts are serviced by the whole sale mandis located in Banaras. From the ever necessary, ghee and oil, to suji and maida (different kinds of flour especially used in creation of sweets), to the mandi that sells the shaadi ka samaan (the peculiar and typical goods needed for the Indian wedding), all these are procured by the retailer from the mandi at Banaras.

Post November 8, the traders engaged in this wholesale and retail businesses have been caught literally with the shutters down: they were and are not able to change the monies (legit not black!!) needed for the high daily and weekly turnovers, they are not able to ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ goods with the Rs 24,000 limit (savings) and Rs 50,000 (current account). “Itni boori haalat hai ki bade bade karobhar walen rickshaw chalan rahe hai,” one such businessmen, requesting anonymity told this writer.

An academic and political activist, Akhilendra Pratap Singh told Sabrangindia, “Be it power loom or handloom production or the larger economy of trade; this economy is basically cash-based. De-monetization has not just frozen the local economy but ground to a halt, arbitrarily stopped, and destroyed the economy without any gain. Cash is what turns the economy, and the piece of paper, the hundi is the credit or the guarantee that the monies promised will finally, eventually be paid. This is an age-old, well worked out and established system; a cottage industry and production system that has with one cruel stroke been completely destroyed,” he explained.

“In any state or country if both the production systems and trade collapse, you can understand the vulnerable state of that economy. There are lakhs of people working within this system of trade and production and each of them have been severely impacted by this mindless move. There are the workers, the weavers (who are the petty producers) and the traders who have been totally destroyed. My reports are that 70 per cent of the economy is badly affected. In Badhoi, also known for its weaving production centres, 60 per cent of the work has stopped. In distress, people are running to villages, with no cash and no work.”
 

The Economics of the Saree Producing Industry of Banaras

This is a unique system of cash flow and credit that also represents a Unique Business Model. The wheels of this model revolve around credit flow. The Weaver, the Bunkar is at the heart of it.

Ateeq Ahmad, a writer and small producer of Banarasi sarees himself explained the way this system works in an hour-long interview to Sabrangindia.

“The wholesalers from metro cities buy the sarees woven by weavers/small producers/ master craftsmen. The transaction is 100 Per cent on credit, Udhaar par chalta hai.

How does it work?

“There are roughly 10-15 lakh persons involved in this business-50 per cent Muslims; 50 per cent Non-Muslim. The payment to the Weaver/ Small Producer is always through post dated bearer cheques.

“This post-dated Bearer Cheque is used as a Credit/Promisory Note in three different ways depending on the financial weight/strength of the Weaver-Producer.
 

 
 
“In either of the three scenarios, one Bearer Cheque passes through at least two-three Hands, sometimes as many as six hands before it is finally encashed at the bank. A Bearer Cheque is used as both a Promisory Note and Credit Note.
 

The Banaras Battawalla

Batta means literally Discount.

“In the third case, when the Cheque immediately goes to the ‘Battawalla’, the small weaver gets the amount on cheque minus a percentile: The percentile amount depends upon the worthiness of the party who’s signature is on the cheque: if it is a credit worthy party, then 2 per cent is cut (two per cent ‘batta’ (discount); if the party does not have goodwill then the small weaver has to sacrifice as much as 4-5 per cent of the total amount.
 

Who is the Battawalla?

“There are several in the Batta Bazaar of Banaras that opens from 3-7 p.m. every day at Chowk, the heart of the business district . There are 2-4,000 Battewallas who sit and trade post dated bearer cheques for cash. Peak time for the business at the Chowk is 3-7 p.m. (could be a lawyer part time!) The Battawala is a part time money lender: he could be a front for a large financier who is able to supply the cash that is needed.
 
“The Battawala is Supreme within the business: he can command the shots especially at festival time (Eid or Diwali) where the vulnerable small producer needs the money immediately on the post dated cheque) and is willing to sacrifice larger amounts from the sum total for the small but vital joys of buying festive clothes for his/her family.”

The Night of November 8 and Notebandhi

Since that fateful night of November 8, this entire business of the Saree Mandi, credit driven business of Banarasi Sarees is in a state of stunned paralysis as the impact of Modi’s Monetization move has simply put, just paralysed this credit flow. It is presently not at clear how this de-monetization will impact on this complex but practical system. How will it impact the producers?The shop owners (Dukandaars)?  The System of Credit Flow (Udhaar)?
 
With one drastic and ill-thought out decision, a fatal blow has been dealt to a well oiled system. After November 8 no one is accepting the post dated bearer cheque as no one is sure of what permissible levels of cash withdrawals will be after December 31.
 
Today, with the confused and ever-changing announcements by the Central Government, a Rs. 50,000 limit on cash withdrawals for the current account has been placed. And this business demands Rs 5 lakhs worth of withdrawals per day! From where will the money come? As anger and resentment brews, hundreds of thousands of persons are waiting –with bated breath-for the new rules to be announced that will be effective, post December 31.
 
The saree weaving business is the backbone of eastern Uttar Pradesh, much more than agriculture Even. Of the 38 lakh strong population of Banaras, as many as 10-15 lakhs are intimately involved in this business.
 

Background

The cruel blow caused by de-monetization has been made worse when, for the first time in three years, the weavers and producers were actually looking for a windfall during the current wedding season. Since 2014, the duplicate Saree market, dominated by Surat in Gujarat has hogged much of the business, despite the town falling within prime minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency. Surat produces artificial silk thread, available at much lower cost. Duplicate Banarasi sarees are being produced using artificial material. This has severely hurt the Banarasi saree weaving sector, putting pressure to reduce the cost of original Banarasi saree in the market.
 
According to the Union Ministry of Textiles, out of the 38.47 lakh adult weavers and allied workers in the country, 77% are women and 23% male weavers, 10% of the weavers are from scheduled castes (SCs), 18% of the weavers are from scheduled tribes (STs), 45% are from other backward classes (OBCs) and 27% are from other castes. (Though not aggregated it is clear that ‘other castes’ refer to the highly talented Muslim weaver, the traditional bunker of Banaras.

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This reporter's first destination was Jawahar Bhawan in Lucknow. A large group of women in bright parrot  green Saris called out to me in the midst of their sloganeering. They had seen my camera. Clearly and as stated by them later no reporter, channel or camera unit had spoken to them till then.
 

Green sari is the uniform of anganwaadi workers. They had come from all across the state of Uttar Pradesh. There are four and a half lakh anganwaadi workers and two and a half lakh  assistants in the anganwaadi of Uttar Pradesh. Their slogans of "Azadi" , an age old slogan by women's movement was echoing in the entire premise of Jawahar Bhawan. The other slogan could have pierced your heart – Roti Do Ya Maut Do. Give us bread or Give us death.

Their demands are- The Anganwadi workers must be paid 10,000 Rs and their Assistants 5000 Rs. They should be observed as state government employees.Anganwadi centers should be closed for summer holidays. Both Anganwadi workers and their assistants should be entitled to post retirement Pension. There are many vacancies for angwanwadi workers. The people in service should be immediately promoted to these posts. Cooking Gas connection in every anganwaadi center. An insurance policy of 5 lakh for all anganwadi workers and their assistants. 25% yearly increment for both Anganwadi workers and their assistants.

Some of the Angan waadi workers and their assistants screamed at this reporter- "3,000 Rs mey tumhara ghar chal sakta hai?". Can I run my house in Rs 3000?
 

– Some of their demands are- Land rights and worker rights of Famers and workers respectively must be protected.
-Land Rights of the poor should be the focus of government and not land acquisition.
– Social Security of all workers, weavers, craftsmen must be ensured.
– The constitutional Right of workers to express their views, form unions and protest against Government anti-people policies must be restored and not played around with.
-All power plants, dams and highways like  Kachri Power Plant or Kanhar Dam must be made in consultation with the local people of the state. All illegal land acquisition must stop.
– Dalits, Adivasis/tribals and other minorities must not be branded Maoists and Terrorists the moment they protest or don’t want to comply with the powerful people. False cases and false encounters to silence the underprivileged must stop.
–  A safe environment must be created for women.
– All the rights given to communities under Forest Act must be ensured strongly.
– Forest Officers and Forest offices when working against the Forest Act must be investigated. Tendu Leaves, Honey and small fish cultivation under Forest Act are with some Forest communities. Their rights must be protected.
– The violence against the poor in the name of Gau Raksha across the country must be immediately stopped and the perpetrators must be severely punished.
– Communal Violence Bill must be passed immediately.
– The State must encourage hospitals like AIIMS to be established in the country. Privatisation of education must be stopped and public education system must be strengthened.

 Just as I stopped listening and listing the demands of this group I heard a huge uproar by a crowd that was rushing towards the same venue where the workers unions were protesting.  Some of these people with garlands on their neck and Tika  ( A colourful mark Hindus put on their forehead after their prayers) on were  neatly dressed and clearly more privileged than the working class people who were protesting so far. This group had the confidence and assertion to take over the street. Not just the park assigned to protest. The waiting Police rushed towards them. The workers in the park got up and came closer to each other. They were watchful and concerned. Someone in the crowd said  “opposition waaley aagaye” suggesting BJP workers may have come on the streets to silence the workers protest.

This reporter moved closer to the other group now. Some people were fainting in the summer heat. Some were shouting at the Police Force that was refusing to let them go further. The loud but unclear slogans gradually became audible. These people were sloganeering against the Police, then the Chief Minister, then the Prime Minister. They were also on the strike!

On asking who were they I was told they were from the Teachers’ Union and like the Anganwadi workers, craftsmen, nurses, weavers and all other workers they had come out to protest. Some of them were parched and dehydrated but all of them looked determined, feisty and fearless.

The Strike in Lucknow, this 2^nd of September 2016, moved from parks and government offices to the streets! Healthcare, Pension, Holidays, permanent posts and Salary increment talks are clearly back in vogue!

The legitimacy of basic demands sounded irrefutable with the slogans of "Hamari Maangey Poori Karo" rising high!

The post Give us bread or Give us Death : Uttar Pradesh workers scream! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image: Indiatimes/Tarique Anwar
 
“The Joint Director (Handloom), Varanasi, spent Rs 1,93,11,516 in the year 2015-16 out of which Rs  49,880 (0.23%) was spent for payment for professional and special services.The rest of the amount was spent for salaries, dearness allowance, travel, medical allowances, etc. For the year 2014-15, total expenditure was Rs 1,76,60,071 out of which expenditure for payment for professional and special services was Rs 46,000 (0.26%),” says the study.
 
 “This is how the government is treating weavers who mostly comprise schedule caste, OBCs and Muslims. It reflects political intention of government towards handloom weaver community. In the name of welfare of handloom weavers, meritorious and efficient good boys of government are enjoying good salaries. The situations of weavers in other places have become even more critical,” says M Mohan Rao, founder president of the RCJS. 
 
 “Since the new government came to power, earlier scheme of distribution of handloom accessories have been also abolished in Varanasi. This state of affairs is creating a livelihood problems to as many as 65 lakh handloom weavers engaged in the weaving occupation. We see the suicidal cases in handloom sector which is primarily the result minimum wage rate implementation of schemes. The situation in Varanasi worst,” he added.
 
The report highlights the absence of any support system and non-compliance of minimum wages. Mass migration of weavers to Surat, an industrial town in Gujarat famous for power looms, is also taking place. 
 
There is also vast speculation that this is part of a hidden drive to cripple the vibrant Banarasi saree and weave market in north India and divert profits to Gujarat.
 
Abolition of welfare schemes like health insurance, work shed, and thrift funds have also been exposed during the course of the research. 

Image: AFP

The federation has put forth the following demands: universal minimum income support of up to Rs 15,000 per month, insurance and provident fund services to weavers, immediate subsidy up to 20 percent on cotton hank yarn and silk zari, protection of the objective of current Handloom Act and implementation of schemes through co-operatives.

After agriculture, handloom sector provides jobs to around 6.5 million households that have been long ignored by all the governments.
 

Here is a List of Problems, But No Solution

Here's a look at the problems faced by the weavers:
1. Scarcity of silk yarn and cotton
2. Non implementation (indirectly abolition) of Handloom Reservation Act – which is causing tough completion with powerlooms
3. Abolition of government schemes like health insurance, work shed, thrift fund and etc
4. Non compliance of the minimum wage programs in this sector

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