The Fourth All India Handloom Census 2019–20 reveals that the lack of market demand, dearth of capital/funds and the non-availability of credit are the major issues that handicap the working of the handloom sector. The sector is still characterised by some precapitalist and non-capitalist production relations and the low earnings and poor living conditions of the weavers ensure that they survive at subsistence levels.
The Fourth Handloom Census, released by the government in August this year, glosses over the sad state of affairs afflicting the handloom sector in the country while lauding the government’s “successful” welfare policies for lakhs of weavers.
A switch from the handloom to the powerloom has altered the livelihood, ethos, and lifestyle of the weavers of the Banaras silk industry. This article is an attempt to understand how these artisans have coped with the transformation wrought by technology, how they perceive changes occurring in Banaras’s composite culture, and their reactions to the current political dispensation led by Narendra Modi.
