INTRODUCTION
Textiles are one of the oldest
industries known to civilization and it flourished in India from time
immemorial. Indian Textile and clothing
Industry Contributes almost 4% of national GDP, and 20% of manufacturing value
added. It also earns one-third of
India’s foreign exchange. It is the most
important Indian industry, after agriculture. Today, India’s textile sector
comprises four important segments: modern textile mills, independent power
looms, handlooms and garments.
Handloom weaving is an ancient
industry. The textile cottage industry includes cotton, silk, and bleaching,
dying, finishing, hosiery, lace embroidery, silk reeling, silk twisting. It is
the chief means of livelihood to people who entirely depend upon it. Handloom
sector plays an important role in state economy. Weaving is the basic process
among the various manufacturing stages of handloom clothes. It is defined as a
frame for weaving equipped with some wooden devices. The sound of the handloom
is the music of rural home. In the process of weaving the handloom weavers
achieve harmony of motion and rhythms in Chennamangalam.
HANDLOOM INDUSTRY
Handloom is the most important
national traditional industry of India.
The history of Indian handloom industry dates back to the epic ages.
Before the introduction of mechanised spinning, in the early 19th century, all
Indian cotton and silks were only hand woven. The handloom industry is still
the largest employer in the country after agriculture, with over 13 million
weaver families drawing sustenance from it apart from the loom and reel-
makers, dyers, warp winders, sizers and other support specialists.
Kerala has handloom
sectors in Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Chendamangalam. Our region is unique
because of the indigenous production technology used. In Kerala, handloom
industry occupies a prominent place among the traditional industries. It has
been found that hand-weaving was a full-time occupation for the large majority
of the people engaged in it.
PROBLEMS OF
HANDLOOM INDUSTRY
The
uniqueness of the handloom lies in the laborious production process. The
workers should be highly skilled and attention to minute details in the work is
must for a fine product.. But unfortunately, the wages are extremely low. Most
of the cooperative societies are paying a huge amount of money as interest..
The important thing is to attract youth to the legendary industry by providing
a dignified income.
Now,
all these sectors are witnessing a slow death. The crisis experienced by the
sector to the stiff competition from power looms, lack of working capital and
proper sales strategy, combined with an acute shortage of labour. The average
age of the working population is remarkably high indicating that youth are not
interested in joining the ranks of the handloom working class. A considerable
number of labourers are women and the few male workers are aged.
Handloom
sectors are not able to adjust itself to the changing times. The textile policy
of the Government of India benefited the mills more than the handlooms. The import duty on yarn, in particular,
placed a definite burden on the handlooms.
The rise of power looms other than mills has also affected the handloom
industry. The rising production cost, withdrawal of government subsidies and
new trade policies have ruined the industry. The raw materials of handloom
clothes like hank yarn, thread, dye and so on are exorbitantly priced. He says
that though the State government, through the Industries Department, has been
providing various welfare measures to the weavers that are not enough to
attract the youth to this profession.
The
decline of the handloom industry is synonymous with the growing hegemony of
trade liberalisation which destroyed several indigenous industries. The sector has also failed
to catch up with the changes in the market post- liberalisation. The product
bears a huge demand from a wide variety of customers, including multi-national
companies, but given the present state of affairs, they are unable to meet
their demand.
OBJECTIVES OF
THE STUDY:
The primary objective of the present research work
is to analyse the socio-economic conditions of the handloom weavers. The
detailed objectives of the study are:
1. To study
the present situation prevailing in the handloom industry with particular
reference to the problems faced by handloom weavers in Chennamangalam.
2. To examine the policy of the Government of India
towards promoting the handloom industry since independence.
3. To study the social conditions prevailing among
the handloom weavers with an objective to find out their place in the society.
4. To examine the organizational issues having
impact on the socio-economic conditions.
METHODOLOGY
The data was collected through primary and secondary
data collection methods. PRIMARY DATA
are predominantly collected from the survey instrument the questionnaire
contained qualitative data as well as quantitative data. Primary data are
collected from 30 respondents by supplying the questionnaire and through direct
interview method. SECONDARY DATA are those data which are already collected by some
agency, through books, magazines and through internet for some other purpose.
The Secondary data for the study collected from the published and unpublished
sources annual reports, research, journals and various related website.
The
study about the handloom workers reveals that;
1. Majority
of the weavers are above the age of 50 years and above 90% weavers are females.
They are engaging in this work for more than 10 years.
2. They
get wages as per the finished product ie piece rate system. Society pays wages
and DA as per the weight of their product.
3. The
workers get benefits like education scholarships for children, marriage financial
assistance etc. from government.
4. They
get medical allowances from the Society.
5. There
is a Thrift Fund Scheme in which the workers as well as the Government
contributes 8% of the wages.
6. The
society gives the members the required raw materials and the sale of finished
products is also undertaken by the society.
7. The
members get financial help from government for work shed and loom.
8. Government
has a pension plan for the weavers.
9. There
are 113 members working under this society.
10.
There is no increase in
the number of workers during past 5 years. The main reason for the decrease in
the number of workers is the low wages. The new generations are not interested
this field of work.
CONCLUSION
Handloom sector is in a path of destruction.
The main reason for this is the industrial revolution and globalization. The
handloom sector finds it difficult to compete with the power looms. This
handloom sector needs skilled workers. It is also time consuming work. A worker
produces only one product in a day. As a result the workers receive very low
wages compared to other sectors. If the wages increases the price of product
also will increase. This will affect the market share of the handloom products.
The workers get medical allowances, educational scholarships for children,
pension etc. But these Government policies are not enough to protect this
sector. The Government may provide some training programs and attractive
policies to attract more people to this sector. Otherwise it will decline and vanish
in near future.
