Handloom weavers have objected to changes to law
The government today responded to the concerns of India's handloom sector and assured that it is not planning changes to the law that could leave traditional weavers competing with the mechanized power loom sector.
"We have no plans to dilute the provisions of the Handloom (Reservation) Act. We don't plan to change the 11 points in the 1984 Act," union textile minister Santosh Gangwar told NDTV.
There have been protests and representations from across the country amid reports that the textile ministry is in favour of removing some products from the "protected category" and allow their production on power loom.
Currently, the law requires 11 products to be exclusively produced on handloom. It also protects handloom weaves from being copied by powerloom owners.
Speculation that the government plans to end the exclusivity has alarmed a sector that is in deep distress.
Among those worried about their future are 50 families in the village Nepura in Bihar, which is famous for the "Bavanbuti" or 51-motif sari derived from Buddhist traditions. This village of weavers also specializes in the Maldehi, Sundrahi and Kirkiri saris.
The families in this village are worried that competing with the power loom sector, which has more money and equipment, will ruin them.
"We cannot make ends meet. That's why our children have gone out to work," said Lalita Devi, a weaver. She and her husband Laxmi Prasad earn just Rs 150 a day, but it is not enough. So two of their children pitch in; they sell fruit.