Crisis looms over Banarasi silk

The silk industry in Varanasi is almost as old as the world’s oldest living city. It is the world’s most ancient cottage industry, dating back to over 2,500 years. Buddhist literature records that the Buddha’s body was wrapped in the cloth woven at Kashi, now called Varanasi.

It is also the world’s largest cottage industry, covering not only Varanasi but its neighbouring districts of the Purvanchal region, and employing over five lakh people. It is a perfect example of the so-called ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb’ (Ganga-Jamuna culture), with a rich mix of Hindus and Muslims amongst the weavers.

Despite such strengths, the industry is ailing. People engaged in it are leaving; weavers have become labourers and traders are shifting to other modern forms of businesses. The culture, craft and tradition of Banarasi silk is under threat of extinction.

Governments and their institutions have recognised this — but they are not responding to the issues of the industry. Mere piecemeal solutions have been attempted.

At best, these have tried to address specific symptoms and not the root causes of the problem. In the absence of any holistic solution, the industry struggles to survive.

The unorganised structure and the very nature of the business is a huge issue. The industry engages over 5,000 firms in different forms and functions. The size and structure of the industry restricts investments in automation, processing and dying of yarns, finishing, packaging and so on. Poor infrastructure, such as power and roads in the Purvanchal region, has further hit the entire chain, from production to sale.

Besides, there are issues relating to marketing. The industry still follows traditional marketing practices and has been reactive and slow-paced in adopting contemporary fashions and designs to cater to the changing needs of customers. It has shied away from introducing innovations in product forms, design, usage, packaging, selling, texture, colour and so on.

There has also been limited application of modern machines, technology and process in its supply chain. The business has failed to forge alliances with value chain partners.

The Government can play an important role in reviving the future of this industry. Instead of taking a fragmented view of the issues faced by the industry, pertaining to raw material, weavers, electricity, tariff and designs, a rounded perspective is required. This could be addressed by business solutions, and not by social measures.

The conventional governmental model of “solution through expenditure” needs to be replaced by “solution through participation”.

The Government should foster public-private partnership to address the absence of a support system. Ideally, the industry needs a few players in every segment of the entire supply chain.

Different segments such as weaving, dying, design creation, production, value addition, packaging, wholesale marketing, retail marketing, overseas marketing and institutional marketing need to be organised and looked after by specialised agencies in a specialised ‘Banarasi silk’ cluster.

This would not just bring fresh investments into the respective functions, but also infuse specialisation into operations.

This specialisation and investment would also help the industry get away from the duplication of work and bring in more uniformity in the final output in terms of process and quality, ensuring the brand and the goodwill of Banarasi silk products industry is sustained.

The Government needs to step in with the required investment wherever the private sector is unable to do so.

Customisation should be the new buzzword for Banarasi silk. The industry, first and foremost, needs to move away from being perceived solely as the ‘Banarasi silk saree’ industry. The dress materials and home furnishings segments are growing faster and offer huge opportunity for the industry. The industry needs to create a fusion with other forms of dressing and make the final product contemporary, thus meeting the requirements of modern youth.

Hiring a brand ambassador, forging strategic alliances, establishing modern and contemporary design centres, establishing packaging and logistics facilities, creating machine and technology support systems, leveraging information technology, providing marketing research, training and consultancy are some of the specific initiatives that would ensure superior and sustained sales.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also the MP from Varanasi. He has promised action to revive the industry.

But time is running short.

The writer is a professor at the Faculty of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University

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