Weavers in Gorakhpur: Struggling for Survival

Abstract

The Gorakhpur Division is one of the most populous regions of Uttar Pradesh. It lies in the eastern part and comprises of seven districts of the state covering an area of about 24,890 sq. Kms; which constitutes 8.45 per cent of the state’s total area. From the view point of its population the region is first among other divisions and shares 13.27 per cent of state’s total population. Around Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur, there are areas of weavers in which about 600 to 700 weaver’s families have been living for more than 100 years Traditionally they are involved in this job. Famous Progressive poet of medieval period Sant Kabir was basically weaver and died in Maghar, a place 25 Kms. away from Gorakhpur. There also for centuries most of the population are involved in weaver industry. Some families from there are migrated to Gorakhpur. By nature, they are    hard-working, open-hearted and simple person. Due to their peace loving nature even of the time of communal tension this area of Gorakhpur maintained brotherhood and peace. Local MP Yogi Aditya Nath (Now known as Mahanth), despite his communal statements in rest of the India, so far  maintained peace and did not harm seriously to families of this area but the real problem is  coming from Economic Policy. Handloom, once the symbol of self-reliance and generating employment for millions of small workers, is on the verge of collapse following hike in prices of raw materials fall in demand and poor marketing. Industrial and Economic Policy of post independent India certainly was not in favor of small scale industry but question of survival did not come in these conditions. Indian heavy Industry in this field was not capable to displace fully small scale and establishing monopoly in internal market.  After 1990, The era of LPG (Liberalizations Privatization and Globalizations) adopted policy totally against small scale. For weavers it was next to impossible to survive in competition among Multi-National Corporations. The minimum working capital requirement on one handloom is three fold of the total cost of production of one warp. Because of the poor financial condition most of the weavers arrange working capital for one warp only. As a result of this the weavers are forced to stop production activities when they finish one warp. After they get the sale price of the products, they start again the weaving activities. If the time lag between the production and sale of cloth is long then the shutdown period of the looms will also be high. This will increase the amount of working capital requirement. In this region, the weavers are forced to sell the products to the middlemen even if they get the price of the raw materials, thus earning only the wages. To improve their lot it is necessary to provide them financial assistance at concessional rates and on easy terms.  Because of the poor financial position, the weavers become easily prey of middlemen. They are paid very low rate of wages which forces them to work hard to earn their livelihood. Whole survey clearly pointed out that in world of cut-throat completion wearers of small scale power loom cannot survive. Where mills of Kanpur are wafting to open how can power loom Industry survive?

Keywords: Weavers, Gorakhpur, Small scale industry, Working capital, Production activities

Cite this Article

Vagmita Satyadev, Weavers in Gorakhpur: Struggling for Survival, Omniscience: A Multi-disciplinary Journal. 2015; 5(2): 1–5p.