Rhythms of handlooms in dance of democracy

With little over two weeks left for the Rongali Bihu festivity, shuttles have started moving faster on traditional looms as Assamese weavers are busy weaving Bihuwan and Phulam Gamosa. This year’s Rongali Bihu festivity coincides with the Lok Sabha polls, and the demand for traditional hand-woven Assamese gamosa has increased manifold. Apart from weaving Gamosa for offering to near and dear ones, the festival brings an opportunity for the weavers to add to household income by tapping market demand for the unique traditional handloom product. The surge in demand sounds like an alert for the officials of the Handloom and Textile Department to intensify vigil against the flooding of gamosa made on power looms by unscrupulous traders. The legal protection regime for Assamese Gamosa was further strengthened after it got the Geographical Indication tag in 2022. The Gauhati High Court, in a judgement and order passed on June 26, 2023, upheld the ban on the sale of gamosa manufactured on power looms clamped through impugned notices and notifications under the Handlooms (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act, 1985. The court also stated that “as the Gamocha of Assam had received the GI Tagunder under the provisions of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, and is registered in favour of the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles of Assam,” penal provisions in the Act stipulated for applying false GI as well as for selling goods with false GI will apply. The action against violation of these legal provisions requires round-the-year vigilance and seizure of stocks of Gamosa manufactured on power looms by Handloom and Textile Department officials. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the 1985 Act states that the handloom industry is characterised by sizeable unemployment and underemployment, which are due to factors like a lack of organisation among weavers, inadequate availability of inputs, including working capital, and the absence of a regular and reliable marketing system that can observe the entire production. Of all these, the lack of an adequate marketing system is one single factor that comes in the way of the proper development of handlooms. Although a number of developmental measures have been undertaken towards the improvement of the industry, due to marketing difficulties, production in the handloom sector continues to suffer. The inherent technological constraints suffered by the handloom sector put it at a disadvantage when the sector is forced to compete with mill and power loom sectors in the open market. It is in this context that the reservation of certain items for exclusive production by handloom acquires importance, it adds. The economic condition of the majority of handloom weavers in the state has not changed much over the past more than 37 years since the enactment of the Act. The rising cost of yarn and other input costs pushed the prices of different types of hand-woven gamosa compared to cheaper power-loom gamosas, adding to the sustainability challenges of traditional weavers in the state. Enforcement of the ban on power loom gamosa by the authorities needs to be supplemented by patronage for traditional handwoven gamosa. Building awareness about distinguishing an authentic handwoven gamosa from a powerloom gamosa can ensure a drastic decline in market demand for the prohibited product. Unfortunately, no visible initiatives to increase awareness of the provisions of the Handloom Act and GI tag have been witnessed, which explains why power loom Gamosa continues to flood the Bihu markets. The weavers using the GI tag on Gamosais are of paramount importance to increasing the confidence among buyers about the authenticity of the product. Making the process of obtaining the GI logo easier for the weavers will be essential to encouraging its use among them. The awareness drive among weavers about the importance of the GI logo cannot be left alone for the Department of Handloom and Textile, and panchayats, self-help groups, NGOs, lawyers’ bodies, and educational institutions also need to extend cooperation by facilitating such initiatives. The demand and supply gap will only widen if the weavers fail to get a reasonable price for their products. Focusing on building awareness of the authenticity of the handloom product and individual commitment to the preservation of the rich handloom tradition will gradually convince buyers to pay higher prices for handwoven gamosa. Bridging the gap between demand and supply will require weavers to boost production. The weavers will be keen to increase production only when they are assured of the procurement of their products at remunerative prices by traders and general buyers. The political parties and candidates need to demonstrate their commitment towards weavers and Assamese culture and heritage by pledging not to purchase a single piece of powerloom gamosa and to purchase only hand-woven authentic gamosa. The Dance of Democracy has put the spotlight on the Bihuwan and the phulam Gamosa to remind all stakeholders about the persisting demand-supply gap of traditional hand-woven Gamosa in the state.