Pashmina shawl artisans struggle to make ends meet. They appealed to Kashmir’s administration to safeguard their livelihoods.
The Kashmiri Pashmina shawl artisans are surviving through some of the worst times ever, as they struggle to make ends meet. They have been struggling for the past two decades.
The local artisans say that if the government takes some tangible measures for safeguarding the Pashmina trade, they can at least feed their families in tough times.
Ghulam Mohammad, a local artisan, said Kashmiri-made Pashmina shawls possess a unique identity across the world. However, due to the intervention of a few vested interests, the Pashmina shawl has begun to lose its identity in markets.
He added that a few local elements were duping outsiders in the name of Pashmina, and selling them fake material for petty gains.
“Pashmina is made by hand. However, some dupe customers while selling them machine-made shawls, as customers don’t know the difference between real and fake,” explained Mohammad.
Mohammad said this malpractice has contributed to the devastation of the livelihood of thousands of artisans, who were earning handsome wages in the past.
He added that if the government takes strict action against such elements first, it can navigate future ways for the artisans to take the art of Pashmina to newer heights.
Given the present circumstances, he said that artisans like him don’t see the future of the trade as secure. “Since 2006, we have suffered huge losses due to official apathy, so our younger generation is disinterested in taking up the Pashmina trade.”
Tariq Ahmad, another artisan said that, “I gave my 20 years of my life to the Pashmina trade, but I am hardly to manage the daily needs of my family. Like others, I earn ₹400-500 daily, which is insufficient to even feed my family.”
He also said the Pashmina shawl can’t be made by an ordinary person. Rather, it requires someone with a huge amount of experience.
He said that a few elements import machine-made shawls from Amritsar in the neighbouring state Punjab, to dupe customers by pasting Kashmiri labels on them.
The artisans appealed to the government to take strict action against such elements who leave no stone unturned to malign the Pashmina trade for monetary gains.
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This article was originally published here.