The Cultural Economy
Globalization and Crafts in South Asia
Contributors: Author:Jasleen Dhamija
Edited by: Helmut K. Anheier & Yudhishthir Raj Isar
Book Title: The Cultural Economy
Chapter Title: "Globalization and Crafts in South Asia"
Pub. Date: 2008
Access Date: August 5, 2021
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications Ltd
City: London
Print ISBN: 9781412934749
Online ISBN: 9781446247174
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446247174.n11
Print pages: 135-140
© 2008 SAGE Publications Ltd All Rights Reserved.
This PDF has been generated from SAGE Knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online
version will vary from the pagination of the print book.
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Globalization and Crafts in South Asia
Globalization and crafts in south asia
JasleenDhamija
In traditional societies, crafts play an important role as means of employment and production; they are also a
significant aspect of the creative expression of the community, closely tied to its way of life. While many see
globalization as a threat to the craft industry, it can in fact be effectively used to reach out to expand markets
for the crafts while also increasing craftspersons' earnings. What is needed is a supportive government policy
that works in the interest of the craft sector and not against it. This requires greater participation of master
craftsmen in the making and implementation of all aspects of crafts promotion policy.
Introduction
In the year 2002, India celebrated 50 years of Handicrafts Development, proud of having been the first nation
to deliberately develop this sector as an industry and an avenue for generating employment. This was an
occasion to recognize the Shilp Gurus, the great masters and teachers, who had maintained and handed
down the craft traditions of the subcontinent. A seminar with participants from Asian countries with rich craft
traditions was organized. One of the concerns expressed was the adverse impact of globalization on the
crafts sector. For example, the import of cheap Chinese silk and the dumping of household goods and objects
of everyday use into the local markets was having a negative impact on craft production. The head of a large
voluntary organization saw globalization as the end of the crafts sector. The grim situation of the Varanasi
weavers was quoted as an example. What stood out in the midst of this discussion was the remark of a young
23-year-old master designer of Varanasi, who specialized in jala work, jacquard making: ‘It is our fault that
Varanasi is in difficulties. It is because we have not globalized’.
This was an extraordinary comment by a descended of designers who could trace their origins to the
great fourteenth century Sufi master of Bokhara, Sheikh Bahaud-e-din Nakshabandi. The young master
was actually reminding the seminar that global trading has existed from times immemorial. It was being
conducted for example out of the Harappan sea port at Lothal, which has been dated to 2000 BC This
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ancient seaport had well-organized facilities, including separate quarters for quarantining incoming travellers;
it had two different types of weights and measures for clientele from different regions of the world. It also
appeared to have had production centers for cotton weaving and dyeing, as was seen by the presence of a
number of implements for spinning, twisting etc. as well as large dye vats, similar to those still being used in
Gujarat to make printed and dyed fabrics made for export. In addition, there were kilns for the preparation of
agate stones, a speciality of the area which was exported all over the world and have been found in graves
in South East Asia, from Myanmar to Laos. Harappan seals possibly used for trading have been found in
Mesopotamia. South Indian archaeological sites have yielded up a number of Greek and Roman coins and
a cache of clay amphora, with markings indicating that Italian wine was favored. The large glazed pottery
vessels known even today as Martabans came from the port of Martaban. They contained oil, perhaps pickles
or was it very strong liquor, which is made side by side with these jars even today.
As many authors now point out, although ‘globalization’ has become today's buzzword, the phenomenon has
long existed and must be seen in terms of a much longer historical perspective. This is also the case with
another such term, which has become even more fashionable in the crafts trade sector: ‘outsourcing’. But
this idea too is old hat. The isolated Maldives Islands, for example, have from the most ancient times been
a site for taking on supplies of water and having sailing vessels repaired. While providing these services the
islanders also became specialists in fine quality weaving, using materials brought by traders from all over the
world to produce quality products that could be sold at good prices and exchanged for their services.
While both globalization and outsourcing may have been around for millennia, the new realities of information
technology, the power of the media, rapid transportation and the accelerating pace of competition, now
disadvantage the weak and lead to their exploitation. Transfers of capital are taking place for the purpose of
quick returns on investment, rather than for trade in ways that would generate income, create employment
and distribute wealth. What has been alarming has been the transfer of capital not because of trade, but
for greater returns. They have ushered in growing disparities not only between the industrialized countries
and many that have only recently emerged from the shadow of colonial domination, but within these very
countries, between the wealthy and those who live at subsistence level. India is a glaring example. It is ranked
eighth among countries with the largest number of US dollar millionaires; and it is estimated that there will
soon be 50 million middle-class and 500 million working-class Indians. And yet the minimum wage for many
is less than two dollars a day. A recent study indicated that handloom weavers earn just over one dollar per
day and also not throughout the year.
Growing consumerism and expanding markets could benefit all craftspersons, provided they are not exploited
and adversely affected by government policies, which actually prevent them from reaching out for the potential
benefits, instead of facilitating access to credit, technology and marketing information.
A Historical Profile of Crafts in India
Crafts are created through a highly evolved technology mastered by the hands, the mind, the eye that has
produced objects of everyday daily life as well as of ritual and spiritual significance that are among the earliest
expressions of human creativity and enrichment. As pointed out by Friel and Santagata in Chapter 24 of
this volume, such objects embodied the cultural heritage and were a reflection of the collective psyche of
the people. Even when they were created in a repetitive manner, no object was ever the same as another.
Yet there has been a misinterpretation of the true nature of craft production, for which semantics have to
some extent been responsible. This appears to have stemmed from the increasing use in English of the
French notion of artisanat to mean crafts, while the word ‘artisan’ in English actually denotes a worker who
performs in a mechanical manner. This is a far cry from the hierarchy of skills and knowledge, the long years
of apprentice, of belonging to a guild system that characterized the crafts sector, which was in many countries
organized in the same way as the Sufi orders. Crafts being the very pivot of all the different art forms, the
literary, the visual and plastic arts, as well as music, were closely linked and influenced each other. Iranian
art created its design from lines, contours, shapes, masses, colours and movement with its varying rhythms.
Artistic creation had not only a strong sense of design and rhythm but a lucidity of conception which had its
parallel in music and poetry. The thought of the period strongly influenced its art; thus the overall concept of
design was not merely decorative but imbued with deeper significance. Thus there was no division between
the classical arts and crafts. In fact all art forms were closely linked. For instance, performing arts used a
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range of crafts for creating an impact on the audience. The maker of a mask for a performance had to know
the dance form before he was allowed to create the mask. This was essential, so as to know the angles from
which the audience would see the mask. The creator of a musical instrument had to know how to play the
instrument. Even the caster of the dancers bells had to know music, so as to cast them in different musical
notes, for the most skilled dancers could, by the movement of their calf muscles, create a melody. The master
of bells in the remote Rann of Kutch created a range of notes for animal herders, so that they could distinguish
each of their cattle; he was also able to create the seven musical notes to create music in the wind.
The artists and poets of Iran and India were versatile and had a deep interest in all the arts. Rudaki, the
ninth-century poet, was an expert in a range of art forms, while Mir AN Shir was a musician, composer,
painter, an admirable poet and a distinguished patron of architecture. Ghiyath-ud-Din, the famous designer of
the court of Shah Abbas, whose textiles were internationally known and coveted by kings, as we know from
Akbar's biography, was a connoisseur of art, a well-known collector, and a witty man, known for his satirical
poems. It was in this atmosphere that the crafts developed, where patrons and city dwellers were themselves
connoisseurs of art and their discerning taste stimulated higher standards. The master craftsmen too were
versatile: the master ebony carver of Nagina was a player of the sarangi, and loved to fish; he created poetry
as he engraved. Ali Hasan of Varanasi was a distinguished designer of great taste and a connoisseur of
poetry and music. The separation of arts and crafts came later as an impact of the colonizers and the setting
up of ‘arts’ and ‘crafts’; schools.
At different periods, different aspects were emphasized in crafts at all levels because of prevailing influences.
This also led to the development of distinctive regional styles expressing the traditions of the area. These
traditions were not confined to the court or the urban centers but were a part of the life of all the people, since
they actually catered to their daily consumer needs. The varying clientele, however, called for different styles,
though there did exist an interchange, and sometimes motifs, forms, and techniques were adopted by rural
areas from urban centers and vice versa.
The earliest evolution of a global style can be traced to the ateliers set up by the Caliphate of Baghdad. They
began as Dar-al-Tariz (or ateliers) for the creation of robes to be worn by the Caliph and his court and later
evolved as important ateliers of craftsmanship to serve the Islamic courts. Throughout the Islamic World, from
Arabia, the Maghreb, West Asia, Spain and India, the ateliers exchanged designers' patterns and even master
craftsmen. It was under discerning and assured patronage that these skills were nurtured. Ideal conditions
were provided to the masters to work in unhurried concentration on developing skills and perfecting them.
It was in this ambience that some of the finest crafts were developed. The later royal ateliers continued this
tradition and provided an opportunity for artists involved in different techniques to work together, and thus
create a stylistic unity during a particular period. If a fine Seljuq metal water ewer is closely studied we will
see in its sculpturesque fluted form an echo of the fluted tomb towers of the period. A closer examination will
show the use of motifs of stylized human and animal figures which are typical of the period. This in turn can
be seen in murals and pottery, which are combined with the stylized Kufic lettering, used in the arts and crafts
of the period.
In the past, craftsmen were guided by guilds. In India the guild system existed from ancient times and the guild
leaders were nominated to the governing body of the city states. It is likely that in Iran as well, besides the
workshops which catered to the court, there existed craftsmen's guilds, though there are no records to confirm
this. It is an accepted fact that after the thirteenth century in the other Islamic states of the Near East as well
as in Egypt, the guild system developed. In Byzantium and late Roman Empire, state organizations existed
which regulated the different occupations. The tenth-century work known as The Book of Perfection has a
detailed account of the guild system in Constantinople. The fact that the organization of the Sufi khanegahe
appears to be based on the craft guild system also suggests that the system might have existed in Iran earlier
than in other Islamic states. Claude Cahen in his study of pre-Ottoman Turkey also mentions that it is possible
that Iran and Central Asia did not have exactly the same traditions as those of Egypt and Syria which had
formerly been under Roman influence and occupation, and it is likely that the guild system may have existed
from pre-lslamic times. These guild systems protected the interests of the craftsmen and guided them at every
step. Under colonization and other developments of the modern era, including the establishment of arts and
crafts schools, the guild system appears to have collapsed and was replaced by a new system which created
the separation of crafts and arts and deprived master-craftsmen of the ability to develop their own responses
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to changing market needs.
Industrialization
It is well known that industrialization transformed ways of life everywhere. As the machine was seen as an
answer to all problems, the artisan was seen as an extension of the machine; and man in turn in early modern
theories of behaviour was seen as a push-pull automaton, as B.F. Skinner observed in his 1991 classic
Beyond Freedom and Dignity. Man himself may be controlled by his environment, but it is an environment
which is almost wholly of his own making. The physical environment of most people is largely man-made. The
surfaces a person walks on, the walls which shelter him, the clothing he wears, many of the foods he eats,
the tools he uses, the vehicles he moves about in, most of the things he listens to and looks at are human
products.
Twentieth-century economists saw industrialization as the solution to unemployment and inequality and South
Asia was where the first experiments in post-colonial governance were carried out. Western-trained national
planners and economists saw industrialization as the panacea. In India, however, the influence of Gandhi
on Jawaharlal Nehru led to a dual economy policy: Small scale and ‘cottage’ industry was to be developed
alongside heavy industry. It was recognized that the Cottage Industry or the Handicraft Handloom sector was
the largest employer after agriculture and also the largest production activity in the non-formal sector. Its
demands on capital and energy were limited. It could respond to the needs of a dispersed rural population, to
the lack of facilities, as well as the possibility of working with local resources and local skills; an export market
could be built up for it.
The creation of a network of craft organizations where nothing existed previously was the herculean task
undertaken by Kamaladevi Chattopadhya appointed by Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India's first Prime
Minister. Lack of data and experience did not deter Kamaladevi, a remarkable woman whose organizational
skills had been developed during the freedom movement, from taking up the challenge. Despite the fact that
the mandarins of the country's Planning Commission saw crafts as an antediluvian activity and the leftists
called it slavery of the people, craft activity was revived and also rebuilt; old markets which had been lost were
regained and new ones created. One current estimate puts the number of persons involved in this cottage
industry sector at 36 million. It is also the largest employer after agriculture and provides subsidiary income
for rural populations still tied to the land; it is also one of the largest export sectors after agriculture and is the
biggest employer in the non-formal sector, the largest employer in most developing countries. According to a
recent Indian study, the formal sector employs only seven per cent of the work force, the bulk of which is in the
non-formal sector, which makes the lowest demands on the government for capital, energy and investment.
The mistaken notion exists that the Indian crafts sector is heavily subsidized. In fact, no subsidies are offered
to the sector and industry receives far more financial support for research, capital formation, soft loans, etc.
The cottage industry sector is widely dispersed and herein lies its strength, as well as its weakness. The
strength is its ability to use local resources and create products which can find an easy access to markets
at multiple levels; the weakness is that there is no support group or political organization to make its voice
heard, so as to get the government to pay greater heed to its needs. These needs are limited, the most
important being direct access to raw materials and credit and a supportive distribution system, instead of the
corrupt, lethargic bureaucratic machinery. Most of the support organizations set up by the government are
non-functional; despite this, the sector is flourishing and there is a growing demand for quality products both
within the country and for export. A number of dynamic masters have emerged, who are running successful
businesses in their own villages and towns because they are able to understand market trends, learn and
develop new technologies and change their level of operation, and are helped by certain NGOs and even
some forward-looking business houses.
India has been a pioneer in this field and set an example for other developing countries. It has been the
leader in terms of concentration of skills, range of products and employment, as well as income generation. In
countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Iran and Central Asia, this sector today employs large numbers
of people and is a major source of income and employment as well.
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Impacts and Unrealized Potential of Globalization
A number of organizations working with the craft sector consider that globalization exerts a negative impact.
They believe that the opening up of the market, which would lead to competition from cheaper products,
newer patterns and changed tastes, will shrink the local market. It is also felt that the dislocation of
communities, changing labour patterns, as well as changes in ways of life and the rejection of old traditions
will also have a negative impact as many craft products are linked with the observance of traditional rites of
passage, etc. However, a realistic view would be that globalization per se is neither good nor bad. It depends
on how we use globalization as a way of opening up and/or tapping new markets. Reaching out to the growing
middle class that has entered the consumer market in a big way is important. However, crafts still need to be
supported and protected. At present the adverse impact of globalization on crafts, especially in India, is not
just competition from the products of other countries that are dumping cheap goods, but also the fact that the
government now allows the export of raw material needed by the handicraft sector. One of the most crucial
commodities for the handloom sector that can now be freely exported is hanks of cotton yarn, of which there
is a shortage. The mills which produced yarn concentrate for the use of power looms and textile industry
cannot produce enough for the hand-loom sector. Now that they are allowed to export hanks, the shortage
has escalated and the price of yarn has increased. Retailers of handlooms are unwilling to increase their
prices and the weaver is hence forced to take production short cuts in order to maintain his meagre earnings.
The result is that the quality of the woven fabric suffers. This act on the part of the government has a far more
adverse effect than the dumping of cheap goods.
There is also encroachment on regional creative expression, for instance the copying of the brocaded silk
scarves of Varanasi by local jacquard users as well as the Chinese, or attempts by the latter to make
Kanchipuram saris. This needs to be prevented by more effective recourse to the WTO. A Commission of
NGOs and Master Craftsmen should be set up to keep a vigilant eye on these dangers. The government's role
should be protective and supportive; and it should involve master craftsmen and NGOs in its efforts. Whereas
the USA protects its farmers and industrial producers in many different ways, many developing countries are
neglecting the needs of the craft sector, and in fact appear to be working against its most basic interests.
If an active NGO sector and government could pool their resources and mobilize the crafts sector, they would
be able to capture a large market outside as well as within the country. China, for instance, has, by mechanical
production of crafts, lost the intrinsic value of the crafts. They have a treasure house of crafts, which can
still be effectively revived and they could develop the skills of 72 ethnic minorities effectively. Today China
has a very limited demand for its crafts locally, but if it tried to develop its production by maintaining the
unique quality of its crafted objects, a significant domestic market would open up. India for its part has an
essential market amongst Indians and the large and affluent diaspora, which has maintained the rich cultural
traditions. It is interesting that Fabindia, a leading private concern known for the sale of handloom products
and garments, and which has branches all over India, has opened stores in China at the invitation of the
government.
Many business houses dealing in silks, hand-looms, matting and crafts are doing very well. They function as
large businesses. These certainly benefit the craftsmen, but what is needed even more is the establishment
of joint promotional units, which would provide the services needed by the craft communities, so that greater
benefit could accrue to them. The initiative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO) of setting up ‘Clusters of Craftspersons’ in India was extremely successful. The scheme became
popular with the government, who used the nomenclature, but not the modus operandi. Two of the main
government craft organizations set up cluster schemes, but these only produced reports and studies, which
had no impact on production, technology or designs. Nor did they address the vital questions of credit and
marketing. Millions were spent, but for no benefit to the weavers. Rather it was the so-called expert institutions
selected to look after the schemes who benefited.
For the long term development of this sector the crafts must be brought into the mainstream of the educational
system. There is a need to set up training institutes where the children of the crafts practitioners themselves
can participate. This would meet two important needs of the sector: prepare the next generation to become
entrepreneurial (cf. Aageson's chapter on entrepreneurship in this volume – Chapter 6) and increase the
status of the crafts practitioner. The Design Institutes and Art Colleges have no place for them; indeed most
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of them are elitist organizations inaccessible to the children of craftsmen. Most professional institutions such
as schools of architecture, engineering, or design Institutes all have master craftsmen on their technical staff,
but none are members of the faculty. It is important that this sector be given much more adequate recognition
and the status of the master craftsmen be brought on a par with all the other creative practitioners. Schools
all over the country have music, dance, drama and today even the media, as part of their extra curricular
activities; however, mastery of crafts is not taught – what they teach is a degraded form of craft skill. There
are also no institutions except Shantiniketan, founded by Rabindranath Tagore, where degree courses are
taught for crafts, but even here the latter are kept apart from Kala Bhawan, the Art House.
South Asia has the world's richest range of crafts in a highly evolved craft sector yet its master craftsmen and
craft practitioners are looked down as they belong to the lower castes. Recently, when a Rajput became a
painter and then later a potter, his family felt that he had lost his caste, his status and they were stigmatized
because of his taking to pottery, even though it had brought him national and international acclaim and
honours. The patronizing attitude towards the practitioners of crafts still exists and many of the organizations
and NGOs do not have any masters of crafts as their advisory members, even though they are meant to
benefit the crafts people. The most typical attitude is to hold international seminars on topics like the ‘Crafts
and its Makers' or The Crisis of Crafts’ but with not a single practitioner of crafts present.
Today the old systems of support have disappeared and no new ones have taken their place.
Instead, we blame globalization for adversely affecting craft traditions. The opening up of the market to the
import of goods has indeed affected some sectors, but it could also be a good way of offering competition
and thus improve product quality. The other opportunity is to find new markets. We balk at the Chinese for
encroaching on our markets and also for imitating our traditional weaves. Yet the dire situation of the weavers
of Varanasi is not due to Chinese products, but to the fact that the traditional wedding sari, their mainstay, is
now being woven on the power loom, with the use of the jacquard, at one third of the price of the handloom
sari. It is the sale of power loom cloth as handloom that is most grievously affecting the handloom weavers.
The policy of protection to the handloom sector is not being applied by the government. The proposal to have
a handloom mark or a compulsory selvedge for power loom cloth is yet to be applied. Globalization can offer
access to newer markets, improved design inputs and technology, in other words, better returns on existing
skills. It can also inculcate a sense of self worth, of social justice and the importance of nurturing the rich
repertoire of indigenous knowledge and skills.
• weavers
• craft production
• Sufism
• exports
• India
• handicrafts
• globalization (business)
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