Ehsan Fazili/Srinagar

Author and former bureaucrat Dr. Abdul Ahad has raised alarm bells for the shawl industry of Kashmir. He says that if immediate steps were not taken to address the plight of the shawl makers who are being exploited by the middlemen, leading to their low remunerations which fail to intereste younger generations to carry on the tradition and heritage tradition, the cottage industry may lose its sheen.

Speaking to Awaz-the Voice at the launch of his book, Shawls & Shawbafs of Kashmir - Legends of Unsung Heroes Dr Abdul Ahad said, “The famous Kashmiri shawl is on the verge of collapse if steps are not taken to look into the plight of Shawlbafs - weavers and artisans – who are the backbone of the industry.”

He feels they need liberation from “exploitation, to get rid of the traditional scale of wages, and enhancement of their social status”.

“Shawls and Shawlbaf of Kashmir..” is the first such book that delves into the lives of the men behind the famous craft of shawl weaving in Kashmir

Dr Abdul Ahad with his book

“What prompted me to do research and write on the shawl makers was the plight of these poor Shawlbaf”, Dr. Abdul Ahad said, after the launch of his book last week.

He says he opted to focus on the makers of this craft as there were “hundreds of books on Shawls, the fabric and none on the conditions of the men who weave this magnificent Pashmina and other shawls and are exploited by both shawl traders and middlemen.”

He says the shawlbafs were under tremendous pressure that the next generations were no longer interested in pursuing their traditional craft and sources of livelihood.

“These artisans are as important for society as say a painter or sculptor. There is an urgency to end the sale of spurious Kashmiri shawls.” The sale of made-in-Punjab shawls as Kashmiri shawls harms the trade and affects the artisans the most.

The cover of Dr Abdul Ahad's Book

He said, “This is the first book on Kashmir shawls written by the son of the soil, as all the earlier books on the subject have been written by foreigners”.

Mahmood A Shah, Director, of Handicrafts & Handloom, Kashmir, told Awaz The Voice that about Rs 400 to 500 crores worth of shawls are exported annually from Kashmir. Over one lakh people in Kashmir are associated with the industry. These include spinners, weavers, washers and rangrez, embroidery makers, Shah said.

He said that various initiatives are being taken for the welfare of those associated with the shawl industry, which includes financial assistance, awards, and education of their children.  

Shabir Ahmad Dar, whose family has been weaving Pashmina and Raffal shawls for generations, says the conditions of the weaver had improved as compared with his ancestors’ time yet the young were losing interest in continuing the family traditions.

Dar was awarded by the government in 2018; his maternal grandfather was awarded by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1965. Dar remembers stories about shawl weavers chopping off their hands in anger and frustration for not getting their remuneration. “The situation had improved with the state and central government offering financial assistance and other incentives to us.”

He urged the young men associated with the shawl industry to "make the most of the opportunity as international customers come at our doorsteps.”

An artistic presentation of Kashmiri Shawl makers (1867)

Dr Abdul Ahad said, “The Kashmiri shawl is of great antiquity, as old as the Burzhom settlements (archeological excavations in Kashmir dating to 3000BCE-1000BCE), has found more than adequate space and warm admiration in books for its never-ending elegance, unparalleled brilliance, and un-diminishing craze among both the elite and the commoners. But its makers, the shawlbafs, who have been producing this most difficult weave among the most complex artifacts with their deft, nimble fingers just for a pittance since earlier times and, thereby, contributing bountifully to the growth of Kashmir's GDP, find no mention in these books.”

“It is these shawlbafs who, through their unwavering endeavoures, skill, and expertise, have promoted not only Kashmir’s industry, trade, and commerce but also free-from-feudal vestiges environment whose legal validity was finally vitiated by the politicians through lending it a specific colour, putting it up, thereby, as collateral for their vested interests to neo-colonialists, crony capitalists and corporate oligarchs.

He has written about the inhuman treatment meted out to the shawlmakers by many rulers in the past and the weavers offered resistance almost like fighting a war of independence.

ALSO READ: Thoufeek Zakriya is much sought after for his Jewish history knowledge

Dr. Ahad’s published books include Kashmir to Frankfurt: A Study of Arts & Crafts. He served in various senior positions in the J&K government including and retired as the Commissioner/Secretary.