IJCRR - 4(6), March, 2012
Pages: 166-173
MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD AMONG THE WEAVER COMMUNITY OF SHANTIPUR OF NADIA DISTRICT
Author: Pradipta Dubey, Subhrangsu Santra
Category: General Sciences
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Abstract:
The history of handloom of Santipur of Nadia district has long dating back from 15th Century; Where Santipur was placed as the centre of Vaishnavite culture and Bhakti movement. Even at present handloom is the closest contestant of the primary sector i.e. agriculture. People earn their more or less same income through preparing shrees than agriculture activities, even some time more from earlier then latter. Though the main share of profit goes to the middlemen, still they are acting as bread provider. The installation charge of a loom is so high which is not possible for any individual in backward class communities to own it and perform their own business. Even if possible the same, but not possible to get raw materials and to market the final product by the poor people. The present paper seeks to find out the Cost and Benefit of individual weaver as well as middlemen in the locality involved in the activity. Finding shows that land less poor families got an opportunity to maintain their livelihood through handloom. Middlemen also received the maximum portion of the profit. Still it is not possible to remove the middlemen without finding an alternative who can take the responsibility to supply raw materials and marketing the final product. Again study suggested that it can only be possible through Public-Private partnership.
Keywords: Shantipur, Handloom, Middlemen, Livelihood, Cost and benefit
Citation:
Pradipta Dubey, Subhrangsu Santra. MEANS OF LIVELIHOOD AMONG THE WEAVER COMMUNITY OF SHANTIPUR OF NADIA DISTRICT International Journal of Current Research and Review. 4(6), March, 166-173
References:
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Concept of Variables
i) Saree - A dress worn primarily by Hindu women; consists of several yards of light material that is draped around the body. ii) Mahajan - The word "Mahajan" is an amalgam of two Sanskrit words: Maha meaning great, and Jan meaning people or individuals. Over the years, the word Mahajan has come to be used a generic job title that refers to people involved in money lending. iii) Shantipur - It is a city and a municipality in Nadia District in the Indian state of West Bengal. This small town has been declared a city recently. The fort area of this city, also known as DaakGharh (calling or gathering room) is thought to have been built by Raja Krishnachandra of Nadia. is famous for handloom sarees from ancient times. After the partition of India, many weavers came from Dhaka of Bangladesh and started to reside here in Phulia region, which is a Panchayat area of Santipur. iv) Jamdani - It is a type of figured muslin that is one of the greatest accomplishment of the Indian weavers. The origin of figured muslin is not clear. It is mentioned in the Sanskrit literature of Gupta period (4th – 6 th century AD). It is known that in the Mughal period the finest Jamdani were produced in Dhaka (Bangladesh), the work being characterised by extremely elaborate designs. Nowadays there are two types of Jamdanis are available i.e., Dhakai Jamdani and Tangail Jamdani. v) Zari - Zari (or Jari as traditionally called) is basically a tinsel thread meant for weaving and embroidery. vi) Scarf - A scarf is a piece of fabric worn around the neck, or near the head or around the waist for warmth, cleanliness, fashion or for religious reasons. They can come in a variety of different colours.
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