India’s craft sector needs more than selfies and hashtags

Three days before Handloom Day, industry leaders, Bollywood stars, designers, media, and other influencers, were sent letters urging them to support a digital campaign by sharing pictures of themselves wearing handloom With the government scrapping the Handloom and Handicrafts Boards ahead of National Handloom Day can we expect a new and dynamic platform for craftspeople? Three days before Handloom Day, industry leaders, Bollywood stars, designers, media, and other influencers, were sent letters urging them to support a digital campaign by sharing pictures of themselves wearing handloom The craft world is reeling from the Development Commissioner for Handlooms’ notice, announcing the abolishment of the AIHB , the almost 70-year-old All India Handloom Board, established in 1952 by Pupul Jayakar and nurtured by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. Done without a whisper of warning, it was a total surprise even to those directly part of it. It was followed by a notice that the All India Handicrafts Board had been similarly dissolved. With unconscious irony, the news broke just before Handloom Day. The notification, going viral on social media and WhatsApp, evoked both emotion and questions. It was a sign of how much the Indian public, even jean-clad millennials, still care for handlooms and handicrafts and the people who craft them. For the cultural heritage that shapes us as Indians. Among handloom weavers themselves, there have been...