Languishing Crafts in India: Issues and Policies in A Global Context Dr. Mansukhani Sonam* Associate Professor, Anant National University, Ahhmedabad-382115 *Corresponding Author Email: sonam.mansukhani@anu.edu.in
Online published on 30 January, 2019. Abstract The decentralized Indian handicraft industry has played a significant role in the Indian economy. India is one of the leading exporters of handicrafts in the global market, with a contribution of INR 168.51 billion (KPMG, 2013–17, 2017–22). This industry provides employment to nearly 7.2million artisans (KPMG, 2013–17, 201722). It is known for utilizing indigenous resources, small scale of operations and traditional technology. These crafts are deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of different regions. While some of these may be active and surviving, others are languishing or on the verge of extinction. The languishing crafts are those which may be practiced but are fading away into oblivion due to the onslaught of global forces. Factors like competition from foreign countries in terms of designs, processing and finishing, technology as well as credit accessibility and delivery and controls by middlemen in marketing have served to augment the problem (Ghouse, 2012). The current scenario in the case of languishing crafts cannot be delinked from the history of colonial supremacy which served to weaken the base of these industries (Desai, 1948). For understanding this, a theoretical base has been applied. Thus the paper with a focus on languishing crafts will seek to explore the issues faced by these industries and the artisans within a global context. An extensive review of secondary sources in terms of books, journals and websites has been undertaken for the same. Top Keywords Handicrafts, artisans, languishing crafts, extinction, global. Top |