BANARASI SAREE WEAVING SECTOR

OF VARANASI

– A study of the working conditions of the unorganised workers

of these sectors.

DR.Lenin and Shruti

@
PVCHR, India

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 CONTENTS
Page
Section 1 Introduction 2
Objectives of the Study
Section 2 The Banarasi Saree Sector of Varanasi 4
The Structure of the Banarasi Saree Industry 5
The Process of Production 6
The Various Players and Their Inter-Relationships 6
Role of Weavers’ Cooperatives and Their Degeneration 8
The Role and Situation of Women in the Banarasi Saree Sector 9
Some Costs Transferred on to Women Weavers 9
Remuneration for the Weavers in the Banarasi Saree Sector 10
Impact of Globalisation on the Banarasi Saree Sector and wages 11
Health Status and Working Conditions 13
Migration to Other Cities / Trades 13
Role of Government and Other Social Partners 14
Market Chain of Banarasi Saree Work 15
Section 3 Some Recommendations 17
Healthcare, welfare and education 18
Further studies to understand the sector better, 18
In the area of market access 19
An online portal on weaving 19
Further understanding the needs of women weavers 19
A special cell on the above sectors 19
A local museum 19

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 INTRODUCTION

India is the home to one of the finest legacies of traditional Crafts. Over 10 million artisans and
their families, though mostly on the brink of survival are dependant on crafts for a living.

Banarasi saree weaving is seen as one of the most exquisite crafts-forms of the country. This craft
is in great demand in the export market, and are high revenue earners for the govt., exporters,
middlemen and others who control the trade. Two Indian cities - Varanasi in the north and
Kanchipuram in the south - are famous for their elegant silk saris. India is the world's second
largest producer of silk, but India only accounts for 5 percent of the global silk market. This
market share was still enough to generate approximately $260 million in revenues during 1995.
Germany, the largest consumer of Indian silk, imported material worth DM 540 million ($231
million) in 1995. The bulk of Indian silk thread and silk cloth, however, are consumed
domestically.

The silk industry has been expanding rapidly over the last several years, with substantial
movement and international subsidies for sericulture projects and marketing schemes. In addition
to government promotion, major funds to the silk industry come from the World Bank. From
1980-89, the World Bank began active promotion of the silk industry as a means of development
by loaning $54 million to support sericulture in Karnataka. In 1989, the World Bank provided
two more loans totalling $177 million for the National Sericulture Project of which Karnataka
and Uttar Pradesh were recipients. In total, the World Bank provided a $231 million for the
expansion of the industry form 1980-89. In 1994 and 1995, the Bank provided a $3 million loan
to modernise the Karnataka silk industry and provided further assistance on a $157 million
project to upgrade the production and quality of Indian silk.

The exquisite traditional arts and crafts in India are under serious threat today, and are passing
through a time of crisis. For the average consumer, craft is perceived to be a high maintenance,
high cost product that neither wears nor functions as well as its industrial equivalent; for the
craftsperson, craft is a profession that neither gives adequate economic returns nor social status. 1
The artisans and others working in the above handicrafts sectors are being hit by a multitude of
problems. While the market for their hand made products shrinks in relative terms 2 due to the
onslaught of cheap, imported alternatives in the wake of a globalised economy, inadequate
attention to their situation by the govt., civil society organisations and others has left them on the
brink of survival, to face hunger, unemployment, gross underemployment, poor living and
working conditions, consequent poor health and exploitation. Lack of workers organisations in
some areas and ineffective ones in other areas further accentuate the problem.

This study attempts to highlight the state of the Banarsi Saree Sector, working conditions of
artisans with special focus on women. It also seeks to look at possible future directions for
improvement of the situation of artisans in these sectors in Lucknow and Varanasi.
The following were the broad objectives and scope of the Study:
1
Tyabji Laila (2003) ‘The Problem’ in ‘Celebrating Craft’ Seminar Issue #523, Delhi.
2
While markets are increasing for crafts as well as for mass produced factory products, they are increasing at a much
greater rate for the latter, thus resulting in the loss in relative terms for the market share of the former.

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Objectives of the Study
- To study the working conditions of women in the Banarasi sari weavers sector.
- To examine the impact of global and resulting national policy environment on women
home based workers specifically in Banarasi sari sector.
- To examine the market functioning and demand for the products in light of the changing
global economic environment on these women workers.

The following tasks helped achieve the above objectives:

- Examining and listing of the factors leading to the precariousness of women workers’
employment in the Banarasi sari weavers sector.
- Analysis of labour conditions in relation to gender differentials, wage and employment
conditions, opportunities, and collective bargaining rights.
- Study of changes in the nature of their employment because of changes in policy
environment at State and National level due to globalisation (from 1991).
- Analysis of different costs facing a woman worker vs. the wage that she is paid.
- A look at the costs that governments and companies are shifting onto women workers
through precarious employment contracts.
- Tracing out the market supply chain of the products from the producer groups to the
consumer.

The study was not expected to be an intensive study and focuses on a range of issues that are
required for program development. Based on the findings, the program for Market Access and
trade would be further developed around these sectors The study thus, touches upon the above-
mentioned issues and areas, to be able to give insights and direction in which to delve deeper.

The study entailed the following:

i) Field meetings with workers to get a first hand understanding of their problems. Case
studies were undertaken to understand the working and living conditions of workers.
ii) Trade Unions and workers organisations were located and meetings were held with
them to get a better understanding of the sector and issues surrounding the workers
and the functioning of the Unions.
iii) Meetings with NGOs, practitioners, academicians, and others associated with the
sector were arranged to understand the sector in a wider context, especially the impact
of the New Economic Policies on the sector.
iv) Meetings were held with the Labour Commissioner to understand the perspective of
the Government.
v) Libraries, institutes and other organisations were visited in the above cities and Delhi
for review of available literature on the subject.

THE BANARASI SAREE SECTOR OF VARANASI

Varanasi, previously known as Benaras has been a centre of production of handloom silk since
centuries. The Varanasi silk fabrics have been eulogized in scriptures and ancient books both in
the Hindu as well as in the Buddhist eras. In spite of the flourishing trade, the weaver of dream
sarees was and is still working in pathetic conditions and living a life of abject poverty.

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The production technology more or less, has also remained ancient-pit type handloom where the
weaver sits with his legs in the pit. The textile industry here is synonymous with silk sari industry
as more than ninety five percent of the products are silk saris. During the medieval period skilled
Muslim weavers from the West Asian countries came to India along with Moguls. These weavers
found Varanasi complementing to their art of intricate pattern of weaving and settled there under
the patronage of the then Muslim rulers.

The fusion of Hindu design pattern with the Muslim ones aided by the local climate conducive to
silk handloom weaving, put Varanasi at the helm of silk weaving activities. The artistic ingenuity
of the artisans and the changing market trends has resulted in a great variety of the Banaras silk
fabric. Generally the quality and type of silk fabric indicates the weavers' occupational status and
artisanship. The better quality and high priced fabric requires greater artisanship, labour and
financial investment. No two sarees are the similar in quality, colour combination, design or
pattern. As a result, there can be no uniformity in rates, which has become a cause for rampant
exploitation.

Being a pilgrimage city it attracted lots of tourists who provided market to the produce. The
Varanasi silk saris are characterised by their intricate pattern of weaving and heavy zari art work.

The sari industry, which was thriving once with equity in profit for all sectors of production, is
now seeing mixed fortunes. With the change in time the buyer's preferences changed. The
demand for high valued intricately patterned heavy silk sari, for which Varanasi was famous,
declined. Today's fashion is marked by fast change in design, low cost of production and low
inventory. For the weaver, who once was at the centre stage of the industry, the time has changed
too. Gone are the days when the uniqueness of the creation was appreciated and patronised at a
great cost. The weaver was a producer as well as creator of designs. Now the industry in this
changed scenario has shifted to producing at large volumes with low quality design at a low cost.

Over time, designing aspect was separated from production. The continued use of the ancient
production technology however proved to be a stumbling block in increasing the production. An
improvement was made by incorporating a device in the handloom, which lifted the warp threads
according to the design punched on paper cards so that the weft thread shuttle could weave
through the design without any manual intervention. This device. Called Jacard, made it possible
to reproduce any given design.

The designs are now given to the weavers for production, thus reducing the weaver's contribution
to mere supply of skilled labour in the production process. They have been cut off from the
market. It is now the traders who keep pace with changing fashion trends and dictate the
production. These developments had a major economic implication for the weavers. They were
reduced to the status of an ordinary skilled labourer in the industry and with their supply
surpassing the demand, saw declining wages. This decline in wages to weavers in turn had
serious implications for their family. To survive, all able-bodied family members including
children have been drawn into the labour market.

No authoritative survey has been done so far to ascertain the number of looms and the weavers'
thereof. According to a survey conducted by the U.P. Handloom Corporation in 1995-96, it
reported 75,313 handlooms and 1758 power looms in the district with number of handloom
weavers placed at 1,24,832 and 2645 power looms workers. However, as per industry sources,
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presently the number of looms and the weavers are many times more than the estimates of UP
Handloom Corporation.

The Structure of the Banarasi Saree Industry

The sari industry is a household industry spread over the entire Varanasi district. Since the
beginning of the industry, saris were woven on handlooms. In recent times power looms have
also been inducted in the industry. The saris produced on handlooms are different from those
produced on power looms. The yarn, the designs as also the production processes are different.
Both types of saris have their separate market niche. The looms are installed within the houses
but separated from the living areas and are being run mostly by family labour and partly by hired
labour.

The designs are developed by skilled designers/weavers who are engaged in the trading or
employed by the traders. The designs are sent to specialised shops that translate the design into a
series of punch cards. These punch cards are given to the handlooms owners where the woman
members sew the punch cards into the specified series and then these cards are installed on the
Jacard device placed atop the loom.

There are two types of loom owners. One is an independent producer who buys the raw material
and sells finished saris. The other type is one who is attached to a particular trader who provides
design and raw material to loom owner. The payment in the case of the former is on the basis of
price negotiation while in the case of latter it is a fixed conversion charge (piece rate). Many
traders are also owners but they contract out their looms to weavers.

Sari weaving has been followed as an occupation in most of the areas during the last 30 - 40
years. It was observed in one of the areas (Baghava Nala) that the earlier generation of weavers
used to go to the loom installed at the master's or Gaddidar's house. Even now, some weavers go
there and their earning is about 80 per cent to that earned by a weaver if the work is done at their
own houses. It may be noted that getting the work to homes is in the interest of the weavers, as
the entire family can be roped in - the women and the girl children at nari hharai and the male
children at dharki phenkna at the looms.
The raw material suppliers and the finished sari buyers are middlemen/traders/cooperatives. The
industry used Indian silk as also silk imported from China. The powerlooms use imported silk or
other fibres while the handlooms require mostly Indian silk, which comes mostly from
Karnataka.

The Process of Production

Production of a sari on a handloom undergoes many processes. The silk yarn called Katan is
reeled, bleached and dyed. The dyed yarn is prepared for Tana (warp) and Bana (weft). In case of
warp reeling Tana Tanana four to five persons are needed. The length of yarn reeled on a five
feet long warp cylinder is sufficient for six lengths of a saree (33 meters). Yarn for the weft is
reeled on a small (few centimetres long) cylindrical object and the process is called Nari Bharna.

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Many such reels are needed to complete a saree. It is used in shuttle Dhirri as also to bring out
the designs Buti on the sarees. Nari bharna is almost a continuous process so far the loom is
running. All other processes are one-time set-up jobs. Once set-up, six sarees are produced in a
row i.e. till the warp yarn is exhausted. The design set-up on Jacard lasts till next design is
introduced.

The Various Players and Their Inter-Relationships

There are three kinds of weavers - Individual weaver, Master Weaver and Weaver of the
Cooperative Society. The most exploited of them, the Individual weaver uses one’s own
material, loom, design and colour. The most critical problem for him/her is the sale and
marketing of his fabric, which he accomplishes directly or through the Gaddidar, the middleman
or the trader. The Gaddidars control the production and marketing of silk fabrics and have
considerable influence upon the social, cultural, economic and political life of the weaving
community.

The Master weaver supplies material, design, colours, and the ideas. He engages wage earners
and looks after the complete operation of the weaving process and the marketing of the fabric.
The weaver (ordinary weaver – not the Master weaver) earns meagre wages for the preparation
of sarees, which may take him 5-6 days to 12-15 days. Therefore, this weaver has no option but
to work hard to weave a saree in a shorter duration to earn more. This renders weaving an
activity in which weavers are exploited. While they work harder, they in fact contribute to the
greater profit of the Master weavers. Gaddidars and Master Weavers have access to the market
and the demand trends. The numbers of these traders are only around three hundred. Hindus
dominate the trading community while weavers are mostly Muslims. The weaver is only
concerned with the production and is cut off from the market. They depend upon the traders for
design and sale of their produce. In the city, the looms owners are mostly Muslims of weaving
community living in different pockets/mohallas.

The weaver has poor connections in the raw material market as well as the retail market of silk
fabrics. If the weaver goes to Gaddidar with a finished product, he may point out many defects
viz. stains, defective design or pattern, motifs, etc. After considerable haggling, the final deal is
struck. The weaver is often given a post-dated cheque of a faraway bank. In need of immediate
hard cash, the weaver goes to the commission agent with the cheque and gets money after paying
2-3 percent commission. The weaver, in need of hard cash, may sell his product directly, but is
forced to accept a cheap rate.

Till the recent past, the Banarasi Silk Saree trade was entirely in the hands of Hindu traders
belonging to the trading communities. Their shops are located in Kunjgali locality in the city.
Weaving was entirely in the hands of weaving community among the Muslims. The traders had
the capital and links to the markets in India to carryover their trade. Both the Hindu traders and
Muslim weavers had a peaceful coexistence. The relationship between the two, however, has
gone through periods of strains.

The weavers, cut off from the market, were not able to actively participate in the price
negotiation of their produce and depended upon the trader's mercy. The traders had twin
advantages-market information and mercantile capital. With the growth in the population of
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weavers, more and more skilled labour was added to the industry while there was little growth in
the demand. Increasing supply of labour saw decreasing price/wages to the weavers. At the same
time, the fluctuating prices of silk and artificial shortages created by the suppliers caught the
weavers in a precarious situation. The increase in prices of silk also made it out of the reach of
many poor weavers who switched over to cheap artificial fibres. This led them to start using
relatively poor quality of raw material, where the piece rate earning is much less than those out
of the weaving done by using the better quality of the raw material.

There is a slight difference in the earnings of an independent loom owner and those attached to a
trader. Normally an independent loom owner should get a better price but lack of holding
capacity and fluctuating raw material prices force them to compromise with the payment
delaying tactics of the traders. This apart, the traders often find quality excuses on grounds of
flaws in the quality of weaving to make deductions from even the agreed price. Due to such
machinations of the trading community, the earnings of the weavers ultimately comes down to
piece rate (conversion charges) irrespective of the status of a weaver - independent or attached.
However, in majority of cases the payments to the weavers are made on a piece-rate basis. The
normal piece rate varies from Rs.300 to Rs.I000 for a silk saree on handloom, depending upon
the complexity of the design. The number of days it takes to complete a piece of saree depends
upon the design and normally varies from three to 15 days. Some designs may even take a
month.

The saree industry is not seeing much growth in demand whereas the growing population is
adding more and more skilled labour on the production side. The reasons for such an influx of
labour are obvious. The weaving skill is passed down from one generation to the next in the
weaver's family. The weavers are often illiterate, have relatively less ‘security’ of survival of their
kin due to lack of awareness / poor healthcare infrastructure, and are afflicted with myriad social
problems characteristic to poor, marginalised communities. This makes them prone to having
large families, and live under the illusion that there is assured employment in the weaving trade,.
As the children of the weavers grow up, they set up their own looms or work as hired labour on
others' loom. Lack of education and alternative employment opportunities force them to continue
in their own traditional trade. Then migration of weavers from city to rural areas exposed the
rural labour to this trade. The rural labour found this trade offering better returns compared to
working as marginal agricultural labour and they too adopted weaving.

This mismatch between demand and supply of labour and consequent declining profits for the
loom owners on the one hand and lack of alternative opportunities in other sectors of economy
on the other hand proved to be a genesis to all sorts of social malaise in the industry. Weavers
were being attached with Master Weavers for a little amount of loan (either in cash or in the form
of raw material) incurred by them and likewise labour including child labour gets attached to
loom owners. In other words, the industry has both bonded adult and child labour as well as
bonded loom owners.

The worst sufferers are the children. Compelled with requirements to maintain their earnings, the
weavers make their children sit on the looms. Their help in creating design pattern (Buti) and
operating the shuttle (Dharki phekna) speeds up production process. If the weavers have looms
more than what his family member could operate, hired lahour and hired children come in. Hired
children can be sold and bought for a little amount or loan extended to their parents. A bonded
person however can move from one owner to another provided the new looms owner pays off the
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outstanding debt to the first loom owner.

Role of weavers’ cooperatives and their degeneration

The plight of the weavers attracted the attention of the government, which intervened with the
establishment of co-operative institutions. The objective was to end the isolation of weavers from
the market and vertically integrate them with the source of supply of raw material on the one
hand and with the actual market on the other. Aspects of micro-credit were also incorporated in
their functioning.

Being plagued with mismanagement and corruption, cooperatives failed in their appointed task.
Benefits failed to reach the poor weavers. A few resourceful persons among the weavers
pocketed benefits by floating fictitious co-operatives. These handfuls of beneficiaries within the
Muslim weavers emerged as another set of traders calling themselves as Master Weavers rather
than Gaddidars. They use this terminology as a justification for obtaining continued benefits from
the co-operatives. Thus the industry has now two sets of traders, Hindus as Gaddidars and
Muslims as Master Weavers.

For the poor weavers, both Gaddidars and Master Weavers are one and the same and are being
perceived as belonging to the same flock. The Gaddidars / Master Weavers get workers cards
issued from the silk cooperatives, and obtain silk raw material from the cooperatives as workers.
The cooperatives claim that after accounting for all the working expenses, the profit is distributed
among the weavers at the end of the year. Unfortunately this is not the case.

Weavers share is used as a working capital, bank loans and for various other schemes. The
members are supposed to be provided with insurance, and have access to the Thrift funds. The
Master weavers, with the help of dummy memberships of the cooperatives, try to appropriate the
benefits which are actually given by the Government to the cooperative societies. The provision
of insurance and various other funds exist only on paper.

Therefore, instead of ameliorating the plight of the weavers, it can be inferred that the Govt.
established cooperative institutions created further misery for them, by helping create another set
of exploiters – the master weavers. The co-operative intervention has made a very conspicuous
difference in their lives. It has created islands of affluence in an otherwise poor locality of
weavers. One will find a sprinkling of palatial buildings sharply contrasting with the poor
dilapidated houses of the weavers in the decaying Madanpura Muslim locality where most of the
Master Weavers are living. Another fall out of this affluence was displacement of poor weavers
living in the adjoining houses of the Master weavers. The locality is so dense that there is no
place left for expansion. Thus the poor weavers were offered ‘attractive’ prices to sell their
houses to their affluent neighbours. The displaced weavers migrated to rural areas. Lack of space
to accommodate the growing population also lead to migration of weavers to rural areas.

The role and situation of women in the Banarasi Saree Sector

The involvement of women in the various processes of saree weaving is primarily a response to
supplement the family incomes, particularly, if the family is not in a position to hire workers or to
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a small extent if the number of persons who could work on saree weaving is relatively less in the
family. The latter, however, does not seem to be an important factor as the average family size
was in the range of 6-8. The case of adult females working as hired labour in the saree industry is
also less and it is only in select pockets such as Lohata - a village having a high concentration of
saree weaving. The attempt to augment family incomes, given the low piece rate wages in nari
bharai and also the financial constraints faced in setting up even a handloom appeared to be
important push factors for adult females to move out of their homes and choose to work as hired
labour, despite social constraints.

The roles that women in the Banarasi Saree weaving process play are critical in the process of
weaving, but is neither given the recognition nor remuneration due to them. Most of the work
done by women is strenuous, repetitive, and un-stimulating. The work of saree katran 3 is done by
women. This work is done by continuously sitting for 6-7 hrs. The women, who do the cutting,
earn Rs. 5 – 15/- per day by their work. These women are unorganised. The cutting work is
usually carried out at home.

The Gaddidar provides the sarees for the katran work. Anta and Nari filling 4 and cutting work are
carried out by women. It takes 7 to 15 days to produce each saree. In the Silk saree-weaving
sector, non-involvement of women is the norm. Women are involved in the menial tasks such as
the above mentioned ‘nari bharna’, ‘taana kheechna’, ‘anta bharna’, making holes in cardboards
for jacards, cutting of threads and finishing of the woven saree. There is no monetary
compensation for these tasks, which are conveniently ignored from the entire saree weaving
process. Women are not allowed to sit on the handlooms, as it is seen that women are weak and
cannot sit on these machines. There is no attempt to adapt the looms in accordance with the needs
of women. In addition, there is a feeling that if the women were to come on the looms, men will
lose their jobs, and the cost of the saree will drop drastically.

Some costs transferred on to women weavers

In the Banarasi Saree Sector, the various players transfer costs to women, who bear the brunt of
subsidising the production. In fact if the women did not do the menial jobs without getting any
remuneration, the cost of the finished product would be much higher than what it is at present.
By not providing adequate healthcare and welfare infrastructure for the women workers the
Government is culpable of transferring this cost on to women, who often suffer silently or live
considerably reduced life spans.

Women working for long hours, in the absence of crèche or day care facilities for the children
implies a lost childhood for the children of weavers. This is an unfortunate cost that is thrust
upon the children and women of the weaving communities. The children pay in terms of a lost
childhood, no or less education, poor parenting and suffer consequences when they attain
adulthood. Many children are drawn towards drugs, criminal elements and indulge in other
undesirable / anti-social activities.

Gaddidars and master weavers along with the male weavers / members of a family transfer
3
Cutting.
4
Winding of different spools used in the weaving process.

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significant production costs (eg. Nari bharai) on the women members of the household. This cost
goes un-accounted for while deciding the market price of the finished product. Measuring the
financial implications on the transfer of the above costs on to women of the sector needs further
attention.

Remuneration for the weavers in the Banarasi Saree Sector

There are no other employment opportunities. Most of the adult weavers reported to have started
working in the industry right from their early days of childhood. As regards wages, they are able
to weave a saree in nearly 10 days and for this get something around Rs. 350-400, the actual sum
depending upon the quality of the weaving. An average weaver in this area was reported to be
working for nearly 12 hours a day. During the marriage season when the demand for Banarasi
sarees increase and also during the Id festivals when the need for ready cash is more, most of the
weavers reported to increase their working hours to nearly 16 hours a day.

In the context of wage determination, regarding what is the basis of this settlement- what kind of
bargaining and negotiating mechanisms are used in the entire process, it is the dismal truth that
there is no system of a written contract, the weavers go and buy raw silk from the market or from
the Gaddidars. If it is the latter, then it is an advance by the Gaddidars to the weavers and when
the weavers have finally woven the saree, the Gaddidars generally take it. Till the time the saree
is not sold in the market, the weavers do not get anything. The other arrangement is that a weaver
gets the design and silk from the Gaddidars and then weaves a sari, (the weaving normally is
spread on an average between 7-10 days) and the saree is then given back to the Gaddidars. The
weaver gets a wage payment, only when the saree is sold. In order to manage his cash
requirements, in the intervening period, he, may have to resort to taking advances from the
Gaddidars - the weavers enters into a form of bondage with the creditor. Such practices are also
common in the saree industry. The possibility of additional wage earnings, coupled with no
assistance from the weaver's co-operatives forces the weavers to take their children out of school
and ask them to work at homes in saree weaving.

It came as a surprise that in saree weaving areas though a large number of weavers' families have
been into this occupation for the last two to three generations (such as in Baghava Nala), most of
them do not have a completely owned loom. All looms are on contract and are owned by
Gaddidars of Bari Bazaar, who provide the weavers with the necessary raw materials. The
weavers, we were told, are capable of earning about Rs. 400-500 for a saree, which in turn
requires about 8-10 days to be completed. There has been virtually no increase in the wages for
the past five years. Most of the women folk of the family are involved in nari bharai and
children work for nearly 16-20 hours over a period of a week.

The weavers, it appeared have come to terms to live with such low wages and refrain from
making any effort to set up their own looms, whereby they could ask their terms and conditions
to be met vis-a-vis the Gaddidars. This is because the weavers feel that, if they set up their own
looms, then their own funds would get blocked. This is because their ‘staying capacity’ is too low
to sustain during the lead-time when the saree is given to the Gaddidar and payment is received.
During the financial crisis, most of the weavers tend to take an advance from the Gaddidars.
They are not willing to incur any loan from the local moneylenders. In Baghva Nala again, the
weavers manage to get a minimum of Rs.500/- in addition to the amount they have "saved" with
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the Gaddidar. The repayment of this is done in equal instalments of Rs. 50/- at the time when
completed sari is given to the Gaddidar. Only in a few selected places such as Baghava Nala,
were the weavers found to be able to perceive that by taking advance or loan from the Gaddidars
they actually get into some sort of bondage, till the entire loan is repaid.

For most of others, the element of indebtedness is not there because no interest is paid on the
amount taken from the Gaddidar. At times, they might feel harassed at the hands of these
Gaddidars. On such occasions, the weavers look for a new master/Gaddidar, who pays the loan
incurred by the weaver. In this way, the weavers keep on working for one master/Gaddidar or
another. The form of bondage remains the same, only hands change.

Impact of globalisation on the Banarasi Saree Sector and wages

The demand of finished sarees has gone down over the years. Since the 1990s’ the labour wages
have declined to about half of what they were earlier. The saree quality has gone up, compared to
what they were those days. Also, in earlier days, the sarees used to be of 5 metres, but now they
are 6 metres, while wages have not shown any commensurate increase. Also, the power looms
are snatching the work from the laps of the weavers. Middlemen and Gaddidars are living like
parasites on their earnings.

Shopkeepers on the one hand give difficult designs to weavers and on the other claim that there
are no buyers for the finished products. Such excuses using the vulnerability of weavers are often
used to further tighten the noose on the necks of the weavers, as any cutbacks in number of
orders has a crippling effect on their already precarious economic status. Thus weavers assume a
greater onus of getting the work. Also they have additional tasks these days, such as cutting of
jacard cardboard designs, which was earlier, not their responsibility.

A weaver sits from 8:00 AM till 6:00 PM for 10 to 12 days and earns approximately Rs. 350/- on
one saree, which gets produced in this much time. During this period, he takes help for all the
Nari, Dharki and Anta filling needed for the job, from his family – primarily the womenfolk in
the household, thus reducing them to the status of unpaid workers. Though important, these tasks
are not given the status and value that they deserve, and are usually not included when the
pricing of the saree / labour wage fixing is done. According to activist and thinker Ms. Muniza
Khan of the Gandhian Institute of Studies, Varanasi, “ The plight of women is such that even if
they earn Rs.10/- they do not have the right to spend it. They work, trapped in dark hovels like
chicken. Their contribution does not have the kind of recognition that it deserves. Their
contribution is not accounted for while the product pricing is done. There has been no work done
with women, and for any change to happen in the sector, their education, organisation and
struggle for their rights will need utmost priority.”

The story of the raw material is no better. As regards the availability of raw silk, it appears that
the industry is going through a phase of crisis. There is often an artificial scarcity of raw material
created by traders. If a small weaver was to go to the market to buy silk, then it would be difficult
for him/her to buy in larger quantities, by way of buying a gathia (bundle)- which normally has
5-6 kilograms of raw silk. The smaller weavers cannot buy in such huge quantities, because they
do not have the purchasing power and because they do not have enough business in which the
raw silk, if purchased could be used. This indicates that the interventions by the government co-
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operatives or community cooperatives in helping the weavers to gain easy access to the most
important raw material i.e. silk, has been not of much positive consequence, as the small and
marginal weavers are left out in the bargain. They also do not have enough money at their
disposal to block it by way of purchase of raw silk at the so-called subsidised rates offered by the
cooperative. It is apparent that, the whole structure of the co-operatives is to allow the bigger
weavers to take the advantage of the subsidy offered.

Bangalore silk is good but expensive. Earlier it was an important raw material, as it used to be
available in abundance, and that too at cheap prices. Prior to 1990, the cost of this silk used to be
Rs. 100/- per kg. Now it is available at over Rs 1500/- per kg. The entry of the multinationals is
doing harm to the sector. Imported Chinese silk is cheaper. Chinese silk, brought in from Nepal,
is available at Rs. 1100/- per kg, and hence it has become the choice of most artisans. While
multinational players are being given a free hand to operate, potentially weaver friendly
institutions such as cooperatives are being allowed to decay, at the cost of the marginalised
weaver.

Surat produces artificial silk thread, which is available at a much lower cost. Also, the Banarasi
saree designs are being copied and duplicate Banarsi sarees are being produced, using artificial
material. Entry of artificial silk has hurt the sector in terms of reduced business. This puts
pressure to reduce the cost of the finished Banarasi saree in the market. As the middlemen and
shopkeepers do not forsake their profits, the weakest link, i.e. the saree weaver has to bear the
brunt, in terms of reduced wages.

The low economic status of the weavers is due to a number of factors. When the product is
substandard or the product loses its demand in the market, the weaver has to sell it at a price that
may not even cover his labour cost. In the weaving industry, imitation is not valued. The product
with a unique design, pattern and texture commands a high price. As soon as the design is
copied, the product gets devalued. The weaver has to bear this loss. Change of product
invariably involves substantial investment that affects the weavers adversely. Power operated
looms also compound the problem, as an electricity connection is not easy to come by.
Moreover, continued declared and undeclared power cuts add to the agony.

Health status and working conditions

Weavers sit on hand loom machines to weave the sarees. As most of the looms are situated at the
residence where there is no adequate ventilation and provision of light, it results in weavers being
afflicted by weak eyesight and serious respiratory ailments including byssinosis 5, which is an
occupational disease, and is often inadequately diagnosed as TB. The nature of the machinery
requires the loom system to be partially embedded into the ground, and for a worker to sit, one
needs to make a pit for the weaver to be able to keep his legs. In the pit where the temperature is
different resulting in the numbness of the lower portion of the body. In fact in the words of Arjun,

5
An occupational respiratory disease characterised by shortness of breath, cough and wheezing. The condition is an
allergic reaction to dust and fungi in cotton, flax and hemp fibres. Prolonged exposure of many years results in
chronic airway obstruction, bronchitis, and emphysema with fibrosis, leading to respiratory failure, pulmonary
hypertension and cor pulmonale. [Glanze Walter D. (1993) Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, Galgotia Publications Pvt.
Limited, New Delhi.]

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a weaver, “Handlooms today are the graves of living people.”

In addition, the reduction of labour wages has had a direct, negative impact on their nutritional
status. They fall sick easily, and diseases such as TB, Pneumoconiosis, swelling of their legs,
stomach ailments, backache, anaemia, weakness and debility etc. which are common ailments, as
far as Banarasi silk weavers are concerned.

As wages are poor, an average worker does not consider health to be a major priority. Food,
housing, transport, loan repayment and other expenses have a greater priority in the lives of the
weavers. Women do not go to seek medical advice unless they are bedridden. Even in such
circumstances, they feel guilty of ‘using the precarious family financial resources on oneself.’

Weavers look forward to much better healthcare facilities than what exist today. In the words of
Abdulla Ansari6 “The weavers suffer from ailments, which need special attention, as they are in
any case weak and fall ill easily owing to their poor living and working conditions. Private
medical practitioners only look at earning money from the poor weavers and their families, while
the Govt. neglects them. It would be ideal to have govt. run medical facilities for the workers and
their families, and such a facility could be run on the lines of the ESIC hospitals.”

Migration to other cities / trades

The exploitation in the sector has reached such serious proportions, the many skilled artisans
have left weaving and begun to do other work, such as pulling rickshaws, making incense sticks,
peeling and selling green chanas (seasonal work), and the women have begun to do domestic
labour in the homes of middle class families in their neighbourhood. In addition, weavers are
leaving Varanasi and migrating to Surat. This is due to the better status of weavers in that city,
which has a better demand for their products and provides better wages for their work. In fact in
Surat, many weavers are ironically joining the ‘duplicate’ Banarasi saree manufacturing process,
as it is becoming increasingly economically viable to do that. Influx of thousands of ‘unskilled’
workers into weaving from the rural hinterland due to exigencies in their areas coupled with the
abandoning of the sector by rare skilled crafts persons, if left unchecked can sound the death
knell of the sector itself, thus depriving humankind of one of its finest traditions.

Role of government and other social partners

On the availability of various government services, the most talked about issue was that of loans
and credits from banks. Though a section of the weavers are of the view that the government has
been concerned towards their plight and was trying to do things at the policy level and was
willing to advance loans at subsidised rates, the blame mainly lies with the delivery mechanism
and the agencies involved in the implementation of these support systems. It was learnt that most
of the time the banks deduct up to 40 per cent of the sanctioned amount. Such a state of affairs,
makes the weavers wary of any government financial help and thus they prefer not to take any
financial help, whatsoever from the government.

6
Abdulla Ansari is an Office Bearer of the Bunkar Sewa Samiti, Varanasi.

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Some weavers also revealed that some loan facility had been announced about 10-12 years back
and in fact some weavers had also got some benefit under it - but the whole issue of repayment
has been mired in controversy, at the level of administration and the politicians- whether the loan
should be waived or not.

The issue of power problem was clearly seen. This holds even for the handloom weavers, for the
fact that wherever the looms are installed, no natural light is available, and thus the lack of
adequate power supply hampers the work of the weavers. The burden of electricity. bills is very
high and the weavers are facing problems in clearing those outstanding bills. For them, even if a
loan were to be offered to clear these bills, they would not go for it, as they feel that would again
be caught in the same quagmire of rising burden of loans.

Some 90 per cent of the weavers have not been able to pay their electricity bills, which is ranging
between Rs.50,000 to Rs.1,50,000/- for a large number of families. Many families (about 150 in
Jamaluddinpura) sold their houses for payment of their electricity bills and have gone to the other
localities (such as Chaubeypur and Kanwarpur). It was also said that while the 90 per cent of
them are burdened with over dues in terms of payment for electricity bills, the remaining 10 per
cent do not have enough money to get a connection - they are thus stealing electricity.

On the issue of silk price, it generally hovers in the range of Rs. 1100-1600 per kilogram. In fact,
some of the weavers said that a few months back the price in the government co-operatives had
been higher than the price in the open market. Generally, the government price is + or - Rs. 50-60
when compared to the open market price. When a large quantity of silk is imported from China,
then the price of silk may fall as low as Rs. 1000-1200. But then the price of the final product
also falls and therefore, the adverse impact falls on the wages paid to the weavers.

On the issue of interventions made by co-operatives, we learnt that almost every locality in the
urban areas has weavers' co-operatives. However, the general feeling is that the weavers are
antagonistic to the style of functioning of these co-operatives. Most of the benefits from these co-
operatives have only accrued to a select few. "Co-operatives are basically a one man beneficiary.
However, during periods of shortages or silk supply there are a few occasions when some more
weavers (who are in the good books of the committee members) do get some raw material.

As regards, loans for setting up a handlooms, which requires about Rs. 8000-10000, bank loans
are preferable to those offered by the co-operatives. In fact, most of the loanable funds available
with the co-operatives have been reportedly used by the functionaries of the co-operatives. There
is an apparent lack of community participation to ask for loans from government sources. This is
despite the fact that the weavers are aware of the various government schemes. The weavers are
wary of taking any loans from such sources, whereby they would again be caught in complex
web of loan related problems.

MARKET CHAIN OF BANARASI SAREE WORK

In the market chain of Banarasi Saree work as seen in the diagram – 1, there are multiple and
complicated stages that the raw material undergoes, before it comes out as a finished Banarasi
Saree. The process is long, and the end product reaches the Gaddidar / Grahastha, who have the
- 14 -
overall control on the process. The workers are usually at the mercy of the Gaddidar / Grahastha,
as they decide the returns that the weavers and other artisans get at the end of their work, and are
firmly under the grip of the Gaddidar / Grahastha.

The arrows in the diagram represent the flow of raw material. After the arrival of the raw
material from Surat, China or Bangalore, it reaches the handloom owner, individual weaver or
power loom owner through the silk cooperatives / silk wholesaler. Subsequent to that the raw
material undergoes various value addition stages, after which the weaver weaves the saree.

Each value addition stage from the taaniwala to the dyeing process (shown by small arrows) is
handled by artisans, who are experts in their trade. Finally the woven saree goes back to the
handloom owner / powerloom owner, in case the raw material was taken from them (depicted by
thick arrows). The finished saree reaches the market via the Gaddidar / grahastha / kothedar. The
finishing of the saree is done at the level of the Gaddidar / grahastha / kothedar (small 2 sided
arrows depict this exchange of finished products).

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 BANGALOR
CHINA E SURAT

RAW MATERIAL REACHES SILK WHOLESALER / COOPERATIVES

HANDLOOM OWNER INDIVIDUAL WEAVER POWERLOOM OWNER

TAANIWALA

DEGAMIN/BLEACHING

TWISTING / KATAANWALA

DYER

TANI TANNE WALA

TAANI LAPETAN

TAANI JUDWA
BANA WORK , NARI FILLING
AND DARKI FILLING (DONE BY
WOMEN OF THE FAMILIES OF
POWERLOOM / HANDLOOM / DYEING OF KATAAN BANE
INDIVIDUAL WEAVERS)

WEAVER WEAVES
SAREE

GADDIDAAR /
GRAHASTHA /
KOTHEDAAR CUTTING /
KATRAN

POLISHING
CUSTOMER
RAFU /
DYEING
WHOLESALER / RETAILER

DIRECT EXPORT /
EXPORTER
Diagram – 1 (Market chain – Banarasi Saree Work)

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 SOME RECOMMENDATIONS

To strengthen the workers groups and improve the lot of unorganised sector workers, especially
women, concentrated efforts are needed from multi-stakeholders, including civil society
organisations, govt., workers’ unions, media, corporate sector and others.

Given in Table – 1, is the summary of the main problems affecting the Banarasi Saree Weaving
Sector. At a glance, we can also understand the problems, the larger issue involved, the affected
sections, the perpetrators and some recommendations to deal with the problems. Detailed
recommendations follow the table.

Table – 1 Recommendations to deal with main Problems of the Banarasi Saree Sector.

Problem Issue Affected Perpetrator Recommendations

Poor Wages Fair Trade Weavers  Gaddidars  Establishment / revival of trade
for and their / Master unions, cooperatives and other
weavers, families. Weaver. workers organisations.
No wages  society at  Campaign on fair trade amongst
to women large. patrons.
for tasks  other  Portal of weavers for direct
appearing traders. access.
‘menial’  Direct market access
mechanisms, such as ‘artisan
haats’ at local and National level
Poor  Health Weavers/  Employers  Establishment of specialised
Health of and families.  Govt. health care mechanisms.
weavers welfare Severity of  Crèches and day care centres.
and their  Govern- Impact  Preventive and promotive health
families ance. varies programmes / awareness
across generation.
gender / age  Framework to study and deal
/ occupation with occupational health issues.
Poor  Welfare. Weavers –  Gaddidar  Establishment / revival of trade
working  Enforce- impact  Traders. unions, cooperatives and other
conditions ment of varies workers organisations.
labour across  Sensitisation of Govt. office(s)
laws. gender. especially enforcement wings of
labour commissioners office(s).
Inadequate Fair Trade Weavers  Internatio  Establishment of silk depots for
/ costly raw nal Trade . weavers.
material  Local  Reforms and transparency in
Traders. licensing mechanisms.
 Govt.
Low Dignity Weavers  Society at  Museum at local and National
dignity of and their large. levels, giving history of

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work, non- families.  Govt. Banarasi Saree weaving.
recognition  Gaddidars  Educational programmes on
of and mass media.
contributio traders.
n of
weavers as
‘artisans’
Poor Governance Weavers Government.  Establishment / revival of trade
electric and their unions, cooperatives and other
supply families. workers organisations and then-
 Sustained petitioning with the
concerned dept. – UPSEB.

Healthcare, welfare and education. In the area of health, it is important that at least one
dedicated hospital be established in Lucknow and Varanasi, to look after the workers of these
sectors. This is important as occupational diseases such as byssinosis, numbness in the limbs,
deterioration of eyesight etc. need special attention, which is not available in general hospitals.
The Sambhavana Trust Hospital in Bhopal7, established to give specialised medical care to gas
victims in the aftermath of the Bhopal Gas Disaster, the dedicated Employees State Insurance
Corporation hospitals set up in various parts of the country under the ESI Scheme, and the
Chattisgarh Miners Shramik Sangh (CMSS) 8Trade Union run hospital are some examples of
specialised medicare which can be studied and their best practices replicated.

Crèches and educational / nutritional facilities for children of working mothers would need to be
established, to ensure participation of women, and proper care of their children during their
absence from home. Organisations such as the Mobile Crèches, who have experience of working
with the children of the unorganised sector could be contacted for trainings / running of the
centres.

Learning exposure programmes for weavers, who could go to states like AP, Tamil Nadu etc. to
learn about the workers struggles and best practices in these states. This programme could be run
on an exchange basis. Establishment of night schools to enhance literacy amongst weavers could
be of immense help, to tackle the issue of illiteracy amongst the weavers.

Further studies to understand the sector better, and map best practices for learning, even from
other states are needed. For example, the framework of the Bharat Bunkar Kendra, established by
the Govt. during the 1960s needs to be studied, and revitalised. This could help weavers even
today. Similarly silk licensing mechanism needs to be understood, as politics of licensing is of
critical relevance to the upliftment single weaver.

7
Sambhavna Trust Hospital is a medical centre run by a Trust consisting of the gas victims, their organisations and
concerned individuals and organisations.
8
CMSS is a Trade Union of miners in Dalli Rajhara. It is known for its work with notable contribution of Late Sh.
Shankar Guha Neogi, the landmark Trade Unionist. The Trade Union runs various welfare schemes including a
hospital for workers and their families to look after their specialised Medicare needs.

- 18 -
In the area of market access, establishment of professionally managed cooperatives will help in
the establishments of middlemen free distribution facilities for the artisans to sell their products.
Establishment of a cooperative bank / Thrift and Credit Society of weavers could help in making
capital accessible to weavers at low interest rates, thus helping them to become free of
moneylenders and middlemen. Establishment of ‘haats’ and exhibitions in Varanasi and other
cities is also recommended. In Varanasi, a permanent exposition on the lines of ‘Dilli Haat’
would also be useful. Besides this, up-gradation / integration of weavers expositions into the
traditional melas of Varanasi would be immensely beneficial.

An online portal on weaving could go a long way in spreading awareness and to promote the
sectors, with facilities for sales. The online portal could dramatically enhance direct market
access to weavers, and for the purpose, a dynamic section, having frequent update facility of an
online directory of weavers could be of immense use.

Further understanding the needs of women weavers and creation of special enabling
mechanisms to help facilitate their role in the industry is needed. These could include designing
special looms built with their needs in mind. Special fund for women weavers could help them
becoming economically independent.

A special cell on the above sectors needs to be established in the office of the handicrafts
commissioner, for any grievances and complaints. Information regarding this cell and its
functions would need to be disseminated for its successful functioning.

A local museum needs to be established, to document the various practices in the concerned
sectors. This museum could go a long way in helping the artisans understand practices in
different sectors and regions. It could also help in making different sections of the population
aware of the sector, and appreciate the nuances of production, which is taken for granted. This
effort could go a long way in helping artisans know and appreciate their past heritage, instilling
pride and ownership.

Some other recommendations

- Study of other weaving systems used in the North – Eastern states and in other countries
needs to be undertaken to improve loom design, especially with reference to women’s
needs.

- Special shops selling the products ‘directly from weavers’ need to be established, to
ensure better prices to weavers. Establishment of ‘silk depots’ for easy availability of raw
material.

- Better electricity supply could ensure better lighting.

- Standardisation mechanisms for some sarees can be explored.

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