Think of Banaras, one thing that immediately comes to mind is the Banarasi sari. However, not many will know that the root of a Banarasi sari lies in Mubarakpur, 13 km away from district headquarter of Azamgarh.

Once you reach Mubarakpur, you will notice a signboard saying ‘ Resham Nagri Mubarakpur main aapka swagat hai ’ (welcome to the silk town of Mubarakpur). You will be disappointed if you expect this place to be as “happening” as Varanasi. The small semi-urban place with a population of over one lakh appears sleepy. It is a mix of Hindus and Muslims and most of them are engaged in weaving saris. Locals said this was not the situation nearly 19 years ago.

During the 1980s and till late 1990s, traders used to source Banarasi saris from here, which were subsequently sold in Varanasi and in other big cities. Daily business volume was in the range of ₹10-11 crore. Weavers were happy as they were getting the price they quoted.

There were a lot of indirect jobs. “Even a shop assistant used to earn up to ₹200 a day,” said M Takiuddin, a doctor by profession and belonging to a family of weavers. Ali Akbar, who wove saris for almost five decades, smiled when asked about how much he used to earn. His grandchild Tamim said, “Labour will always be labour but he will feel happy if he gets munasib majdoori (appropriate wage).”

‘Losing an identity’

However, things changed in 1999-2000, when the place was under curfew for 30 days following a riot. Traders stopped coming here, and the place lost its marketing identity. Many of the weavers have just one or two looms. They spend almost a week to weave a sari and get weekly wage of just ₹ 1,200-1,300. Some entrepreneurs supply raw materials to these weavers and buy saris at a cheap rate.

With the arrival of power loom, hand woven saris have become too costly and only few are ready to pay that much. The previous Samajwadi Party government did set up a marketing centre here, but it is empty now. There are over 200 co-operatives, but weavers alleged only few get government assistance.

Ali was in great difficulty to pay ₹1,200 for treatment of diarrhoea and he is not alone. With the introduction of Ayushman Bharat, a health scheme launched by the Centre, a health insurance scheme operated by previous government was discontinued. But the problem is the absence of ‘empanelled’ hospitals, where people can avail treatment.

Moreover, the government hospitals are not in a good shape. “You name the disease and we have a patient here, but without resources to get the treatment,” a young man, who did not want to be identified said.

Even the youth in Azamgarh’s 136-year-old Shibli National College, with a capacity of over 10,000 students, appeared to be disappointed not just on health infrastructure but also on employment and business opportunities.

“There are no government jobs here and it is zero industry area,” a student said. Another student said: “Nearly seven out of 10 youngsters are migrating from here.” Some weren’t happy with an yearly promise of ₹ 72,000 or even ₹6,000 under PM Kisan scheme.

“This will encourage unemployment,” one of them said. All of them agreed that the next government should give preference to employment, health, education and population control.

Azamgarh is one of the prominent constituencies of eastern Uttar Pradesh, where a large population comprising Muslim, Yadav and Dalits. Grand Alliance’s candidate and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav will face Bhojpuri film star Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’ of the BJP. It will go for poll on May 12.

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