Where is our Pashmina Handicraft?

Pashmina a prince of specialty hair  fibre is one of the finest naturalfibres.  It is a fine type of wool. Thename comes from Persian ‘Pasmina’ meaning made from wool. Pashmina, still regarded as  a status symbol, is known as cashmere in thewest because Europeans first encountered this fibre in Kashmir. This wool comesfrom a different number of breeds of the cashmere goat  such as Changthangi or Kashmir pashminagoat  and the malra from the Ladakh region. In the  moulting season of spring thegoats used for pashmina naturally shed their undercoat which grows  in winter. This  goat has a 4 to 20 cms  long outer coat of course fibre . The downcoat is made up of fine soft fibre called cashmere 2.5 cms — 9 cms in length.One goat sheds approximately 80-170 grams of fibre  a real pashmina shawl requires. The undercoatis collected by combing the goat  and notby shearing as in other fine wools. Combing is done manually on speciallyavailable wooden combs and  obtained inthe form of a loaf. Loaf is subjected to spinning on the traditional charkha soas to make yarn  and is collected onsmall bobbins. Spun yarn is then doubled on hand reeler.

Its products are available in a range of scarf 12 × 60inches,  to wrap/stole 28 ×80 inches  to full sized shawl of 36 × 80 inches andthrows as well. The traditional producers of pashmina wool in Ladakh region areknown as Changpa. These are a nomadic people and inhabit the Changthang Plateauof Tibet which has a highest altitude of 14,800 feet above sea level and a harshwinter temperature  dropping down  to even 40  degree Celsius. They rearsheep for meat and pashmina goats for wool. It is well known for its fineness,warmth, softness, aesthetic value, elegance and timelessness in fashion. Onedifference between pashmina and the generic cashmere is that of fibre diameter.  Pashmina fibres are   finer and thinner (12-15) microns thangeneric cashmere fibre of (15-19) microns and therefore, ideal for making lightweight  apparel like fine scarves. Thistrade is done worldwide. China accounts for 70 percent of world cashmereproduction, Mongolia 20 percent, the remaining 10 percent of production is in Australia, Afghanistan, India, Iran,Nepal, Pakistan, United States of America, the central Asian Republics andelsewhere.

   

In Kashmir the founder of the pashmina industry istraditionally held to be the 15th century ruler of Kashmir Zaiun-nul- Aabedeenra  who introduced weavers  from Central Asia. However, others  consider Mir Syed Ali Hamadani ra who came toKashmir  along with  700 craftsmen. Sans contesting the position of  pioneer it is an irrefutable fact that this trade has a more than 600 hundredyears old history in Kashmir. Raw pashmina  comes from China, Mongolia and Ladakh to Kashmir where manufacturers develop it into a finished product. Allsteps from combing , removing impurities, guard hair, de-hairing,  aligning fibres are traditionally done byhand by wage-based specialized crafts women who alone act as spinners and  men asweavers. The major centres of pashmina are in the old district of the city of Srinagar (presently districts ofSrinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal). It takes approximately 180 hours toproduce  a single traditional pashminastole of 70×200cm. Lakhs of people are associated with it and earn theirlivelihood gracefully contributing to the economy pari passu as the trade islabour intensive and 20-25 spinners (women) are required to feed one weaver.This  craft has been awarded GeographicalIndication Mark/Label in 9/2013. GI Mark is a stamp which  when put on any pashmina product certifiesthat   it is of  real pashmina material  which is (i) hand spun, (ii) hand woven and,(iii) below 16 microns. It is done at Craft Development Institute (CDI) atBagh-i-Ali Mardan Khan Nowshera Srinagar. It is said that Testing & QualityCertification Centre at CDI lacks the Enforcement Wing. Under the  J & K Handloom Act 1985 only handloomproducts  are to be promoted and notpower loom products. 

However,  with theintroduction of motorization and mechanization in the trade by the wildcapitalism more than 4 lakh (un-officially) people are stated to have beenrendered jobless. Local artisans allege that scores of influential  traders have introduced spinning machines  and power looms  despite a ban imposed upon their use. It issaid that more than 40 power looms ,mostly located in industrial areas, meantfor producing count ruffle, are actually producing pashmina shawlsclandestinely. Once the cloth is ready carbonized acid is spread on it whichmajorly affects its quality & life. Power looms are following a practice ofusing nylon with pashmina which is against the traditional values of thiscraft. This  craft, one of Kashmir’soldest handicraft legends and legacy, is threatened by its imitations as the highpriced hand made fibre looses markets against its cheap machine made namesake.The laws protecting the genuine pashmina shawl are observed more in breach thanin implementation as the machine made rival is giving  a run for its money to the original hand made pashmina. Lakhs of artisans inthe state directly/indirectly associated with and  dependent on this highly famed and expensiveKashmiri Pashmina shawl sector are living in penury as they earn minimal wagesdespite undergoing long & continuous hours of work.The delicate/sedentarywork has also affected their vision, hurt their knees, developed back &neck pain resulting in hardships in making their both ends meet. Thecourtesy  has been the apathy of the successive  state governments  which have failed  to frame long term welfare schemes for them.Moreover, the spurious pashmina gives a bad name to the original hand made  Kashmiri pashmina which was known for itssuperior quality all over the world. Although march of machines can not bestopped  yet the impurities in stuff,deficiencies in size and fake manufacturing should have been guarded againstand  pristine purity  & glory of the original Kashmiri shawlupheld. The mammonites  adultering  the wool stuff/size  and projecting machine made shawls ashandmade ones  has brought disrepute  to the people and doom to the trade.Moreover, the supply of shawls not conforming to the  ordered design has cast slur upon thecraftsmanship   disturbing the exchangevalue  with reduction or withholding ofsupply orders also. To augment employment, economy and exchange the trade needsimmediate and healthy revival. Any further procrastination  will render moreand more people job/income less. The Department of Industries &Commerce,  The Handloom  and The Handcrafts Departments/Corporationsare to join  their heads & hands toretrieve the trade & traders from the abyss of its bone & backingbreaking times. Pray this velvety touch and queenly look handicraft will againrejuvenate in the kingdom of shahtoosh.

[The author is a former Sr. Audit Officer  working as Consultant in the A.G’s OfficeSrinagar.]

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