Handloom weavers’ landscape of India: An interpretation of their identity and existence

Abstract

Handlooms in India are representative of the weavers’ skilled craftsmanship resulting from the traditional legacy that has persisted over centuries. Their contribution to India's overall employment is significant – ranking the second highest in rural and semi-urban employment, following agriculture. This research examines the contours of handloom weavers’ identity on its current landscape in India through the pervasive veracities of its socio-economic trajectories over a period that resonates with the conditions prevailing before independence to the present. We use mixed methods comprising basic statistics and Geographical Information System-based map along with the analysis of the Indian film ‘Kanchivaram,’ interwoven within a critical textual analysis of other scholarly work – all falling within the gamut of Digital Humanities – to support the narrative structure analysis of change/loss of identity and existence of these weavers – as portrayed in this film produced in 2008. This study walks us through the range and diversity of weavers’ spatial location, traits, and hardships, while traversing us through the slow loss of identity among handloom weavers. This study offers a critical and thorough grasp of the difficulties encountered by the weaving communities by highlighting trends of decline, changes in cultural identity, and the influence of political and economic forces on their traditional craft. Accordingly, we hope this study will be helpful to the researchers, artisans, and policymakers to trace and identify the undermining tangible and intangible factors responsible for framing the weavers’ landscape and help them strategise to protect and improve their identity.