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Ban no solution
CHOGM dilemma
Gender disparities |
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Threats to secularism
Grass greener on other side?
The cross-continental drape of Jamavar shawl
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Ban no solution IN response to the Election Commission’s question whether opinion polls should be banned, political parties have reacted almost on expected lines: “losers” oppose, and “winners” support, them. There is merit in the Congress argument that opinion polls are unscientific and non-transparent, but these are no grounds for a ban. Why did the party not ask for a ban on opinion polls when the results had been in its favour, as it had happened in the case of Delhi quite often? Obviously, the Congress objection has more to do with the party being projected by most surveys as a loser in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections than a genuine belief in the harm they do in influencing the voters' choice. Similarly, the BJP is favouring them because of a generally positive verdict of these surveys this time. As a liberal democracy, we must respect and protect the fundamental right of freedom to speech and expression enshrined in Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution. Even if not scientific, such surveys do indicate a general trend. Those politically motivated or conducted by novices soon lose credibility. India's economic data and estimates of poverty are gathered by similar surveys and not many challenge them as unreliable. The opposition to opinion polls stems from the underlying belief that voters are swayed by herd mentality and that they lack intelligence to see through political maneuvers or sift the grain from the chaff. In that case political parties' manifestos should also be banned since they often contain tall promises which tend to mislead voters. Media reports too can be motivated. A ban is no solution. What the Election Commission should do is to insist on transparency and standardisation, ensure that those conducting opinion or exit polls provide sufficient information such as their true identity; links with political parties, if any; the sample size; and the source of funding so that voters are able to form an informed opinion about their reliability. If there is a broader agreement, reasonable restrictions may be imposed shortly before the voting day as in the case of exit polls.
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CHOGM dilemma
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh has been under pressure from Tamil leaders, including members of his own Cabinet, to not attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka later this month. Those opposed to his attending the meeting want to convey a message of India's strong disapproval of the way in which Sri Lanka has treated the Tamil rebels, especially during the Sri Lankan army's all-out assault on the LTTE. Allegations about war crimes have been coming out since then, and in recent days, Britain's Channel 4 has shown a video that suggests a female LTTE TV anchor and singer was brutalised and killed in captivity by Sri Lankan soldiers. The channel has earlier shown other damning videos, even as the Sri Lankan government has called them fake. There is no denying the anger in Tamil Nadu at Sri Lanka's treatment of Tamils, especially LTTE supporters. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is naturally torn between the demands of his Tamil colleagues on the one hand and those of the Ministry of External Affairs on the other. The latter supports his attending the summit. Sri Lanka is of major strategic importance, and the diplomatic fallout of the Prime Minister not attending CHOGM would be significant, even though it would rob President Mahinda Rajapaksa of the legitimacy that he seeks by hosting CHOGM. It can well be argued that dialogue can accomplish much more than confrontation and thus the Prime Minister should use CHOGM to deliver a stern message to the Sri Lankan government and underline India's concern about the well-being and rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils in their homeland. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who also faced pressure to boycott CHOGM, has already said that he will speak for the due rights of Tamils while attending the meeting. Manmohan Singh had earlier shrugged off pressure and met Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in New York. On that occasion, he had delivered an uncharacteristically strong and blunt message to Lahore. It is time for him to do the same at Colombo.
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Gender disparities THE more things change the more these remain the same. This sums up the position of women in India which, despite the right kind of noises being made perfunctorily by those who matter, shows little signs of improving. Thus it hardly comes as a surprise that the country ranks among the world’s worst as far as gender gap is concerned. The World Economic Forum has placed India at the 101st position among 136 countries in its 2013 Global Gender Gap Index. One can only draw cold comfort from the fact that India has improved its position marginally by four points since last year. On the sub-index derived from the sex ratio at birth and life expectancy, India is among the bottom few with nations like Azerbaijan. The skewed sex ratio is one of the worst indicators of discrimination against the fair sex. But those who believe female foeticide alone is responsible for the dwindling number of girls need to look at some figures released recently. Among infants less than a year old, boys outnumber girls by about 9.55 lakh, but by six years, the difference increases to 69 lakh. The chilling statistics show that not only are many girls killed in the womb, they are also discriminated against long after they come into this world. In a patriarchal society prejudices against women undermine their status both within the four walls of home and outside it. The increasing visibility of women in public life has led many to believe that women are finally getting their due. However, women continue to face challenges at many levels. While campaigns like “Let Girls be Born” may have made a dent in centuries-old fixation with a male child, India has a long way to go in narrowing gender disparities. If India can figure at the ninth position on the count of political empowerment of women, there is no reason why it can’t usher in positive changes in areas such as education, healthcare and employment opportunities.
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Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong. — Winston Churchill
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Threats to secularism FUNDAMENTALISM is rearing its ugly head once again. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has openly said that it will take part in politics. On the other hand, even the liberal Jamiat Ulma-i-Hind has talked about the Muslim vote. In the impending parliamentary the polarisation the political parties are trying to effect is telling upon the co-existence of the Hindus and the Muslims, something which they have come to accept. Take the RSS first. Apparently, it is not happy with the working of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), its political wing. The RSS had its way in imposing the Hindutva poster boy, Guajrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, as the BJP's candidate for the office of Prime Minister. Maybe, the RSS is upset over leaders like L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, who are seen as the liberal elements in the BJP. By entering politics, the RSS is going back on the undertaking it gave Sardar Patel, Union Home Minister, after partition of the country. The RSS promised and wrote in its constitution not to participate in political activities. This was the price it paid to have the ban lifted following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Nathuram Godse, the assassin, was found having links with the RSS. True, Patel, known for his pro-Hindu views, did not think that the RSS had a hand in the Mahatma's murder. He said so in his letter dated January 27, 1948, to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Yet Patel believed that the Sangh's "violent" ways had contributed to the climate in which the Mahatma was killed. The then Sangh chalak, Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, pleaded not guilty. Nor did his telegrams to Nehru and Patel, expressing shock over the murder, make any difference. The Sangh had to specify in its constitution that it had "no politics" in mind and would remain "devoted purely to cultural work." Yet the ranting by Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief, that it would directly participate in politics is the violation of the promise given to Patel. However, this is one case which the Election Commission would have to ponder over. How can a cultural organisation jump into the political arena? Even if the RSS changes its constitution, how justified is it when it gave an undertaking to the Central government to have the ban lifted? Take the statement of Mahmood Madani, chief of Jamiat Ulma-i-Hind. He asked the so-called secular parties not to invoke the bogey of Narendra Modi to create fear among Muslim voters. He said that the parties should instead seek votes "on the basis of promises fulfilled during their tenure and the promises they would make through election manifestoes." I have no exception to the statement Madani made except his invoking the phrase of "Muslim vote." There is no Hindu or Muslim vote, but only the Indian vote. What holds good for one community holds good for the other community. To single out the Muslims is exactly what the RSS does for the Hindus. And I have not been able to comprehend Madani's love for Modi. He should have said in the same statement that his remark should not be misunderstood and that he was opposed to Modi's parochial politics. In fact, he let the Congress and the Samajwadi Party too off the hook. The Congress got the opening and said: "We do not make strategy keeping in mind any individual. Our strategies are with regard to the policies and programmes of the party." However, this self virtue does not convince anyone. It is a fact that the Congress has decided to attack Modi alone. And this can be seen in the manner in which the Union ministers are taking turns to criticise Modi. It is unfortunate that the Congress has not raised any substantial issue like development and has played into the hands of Modi, who has converted the 2014 polls into a presidential form of election. He, instead, is talking about development and covering up his Hindutva ideology. The Achilles' heel of the Congress is non-governance as well as the incumbency factor. I wish there had been early elections so that the new government would have planned something for the country for a long tenure. But the six months between now and the elections will be without any serious work. Ministers will be only crossing the Ts and dotting the Is. Consequently, the economy is going haywire. If ventures in the private sector can register a phenomenal growth, why don't then the public sector undertakings? Yet the worst is what the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the BJP are doing at Ayodhya. They were responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the killing of hundreds of Muslims. They are trying to create a similar atmosphere by wanting to stage a rally which the state government has rightly banned. I wish the two parties were to show the same verve in getting justice for the Dalits, who are Hindus but undergoing all indignities and humiliations. They are not getting their due even in law courts. The recent case is that of a Bihar village, Laxmanpur, where members of Bhoomihars (the landlords) killed 58 Dalits, including 27 women and 10 children. An upper caste judge has released all the 16 accused on the plea that there was no evidence. It is a travesty of justice. The lower court had sentenced the accused to life imprisonment. If the High Court judge did not find any evidence he could have constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to work under its supervision to hold a fresh probe. The result of his judgment is that the Dalits have migrated from the village where they and their forefathers had lived for years. What has happened at Laxmanpur is the fate of Dalits all over the country. The equality before law, enshrined in the Constitution, is a farce. Attention is now focused on the Supreme Court where an appeal has been filed against the High Court judgment. The Supreme Court would do well if it were also to look into the functioning of the Bihar High Court, which is dominated by the upper
caste.
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Grass greener on other side?
I
shifted to Canada four years ago. I went with my eyes open, no high expectations or hopes. That is because I had done my due diligence even before leaving India. And there lies the twist. For their own reasons, no one gives you the true picture -- neither the Canadian or Indian authorities, nor the immigration consultants. Canada needs immigrants; so their stance is understandable. Consultants have a business to run; so they are never going to tell you the negatives. What cannot be comprehended is why don't the Indian authorities make the immigrant applicants better informed? Education is subsidised towards what -- giving the developed countries an educated labour market? Food for thought: When we apply for immigration, we are assessed on age, educational qualifications and work experience. When you land in Canada, your education and experience are not recognised. You are expected to obtain Canadian certification and Canadian experience. Thus commences the struggle. In the last four years, I have had the opportunity to interact with a large number of people of Indian origin, now settled in Canada. I have tried to categorise them in two segments -- those who made the shift 30 to 40 years ago and those who have shifted in less than 10 years. Those in the first category have moved past their period of struggle, are relatively well settled; and their children are used to the life there. However, those who have shifted in the last 10 years, 80 per cent of them are not happy, keep complaining about hardships. I see young couples working two eight-hour shifts everyday to sustain their existence in that country. And believe me, when you do a shift there, you are working for eight out of eight hours. You do not get paid for breaks; no visitors are permitted; no cell phone is to be used. Compare this to the work culture prevalent in India. Even then, they are not willing to come back to India for different reasons. I have seen doctors/engineers driving cabs. When I try to question them, no plausible reasons are forthcoming. I am currently on a visit to India. The topmost question put to me is: What is the difference between living here and there? Before going into comparisons, I ask them to consider these facts: Canada is six times the geographical area of India; the population of the entire Canada is almost equal to the population of the NCR, Delhi. Then they are asked to imagine two scenarios: let the geographical area remain the same, shift the entire population of India to Canada; rest assured, the authorities there would not know what to do. Now, again keeping the area unchanged, let India has a population of 3-4 crore. I am sure that these people would be better taken care of here than is the case in Canada today. Yes, Canada is a great country. The climate is good; medical facilities are excellent; the man on the street faces no problems in his dealings with the government offices. But India is great too. Given the numbers, I feel that the Indian government is doing a good job. Is the grass greener on the other
side?
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The cross-continental drape of Jamavar shawl
AS you begin to feel the proverbial nip in the air, Jamavar shawls come out of the closet. They never cease to be a status symbol with the elite, anywhere in the world. And may it be small time traders or stylish fashion stores, the commercial potential of these classic drapes is explored and exploited by both. The idea of owning a woven Kani shawl is linked with luxury of the privileged classes, where this piece of fabric is treated no less than an heirloom. It is still possible to buy one, provided one is willing to spend a handsome amount. Some of these shawls are big, with sizes up to 5 feet by 11 feet which traders cut and make into three or four shawls. What has ensured the continuing popularity of these shawls and its trade in many parts of the world is the unmatched and sustained quality. To a commoner, a Kashmir shawl can be anything from an antique long shawl with a typical paisley design woven or, an embroidered one. Irrespective of where it is made - Srinagar, Punjab or Europe, what is common to all these shawls is the feel and look of a Kashmir shawl with traditional designs. Early historic references to shawls are found during Akbar's reign (1556-1605A.D). Ain-i-Akbari mentions the emperor as being a keen admirer of shawls. He used shawls as official gifts and even introduced the fashion of wearing them in pairs stitched back to back which are now known as
doshala.
Process of elaboration Kashmir shawls were exported to Iran and West Asia to Constantinople, Cairo, Russia,Yemen and Oman. The shawls were also used as turbans which were worn in places as far apart as Bokhara and Armenia. The shawl cloth was used for making gowns or Jamawar (jama - tailored coat). Clearly this is what is meant by references to garments made of shawl such as those worn by the Sardar of Erevan when he greeted an emissary from the Czar to the Shah of Persia in 1817. He had worn a shawl-dress and his turban was also made of a shawl. Kani, or woven shawls were made with more expensive pasham wool. Spinning was done mostly by women who worked from home. Fleece was graded according to fineness and spun into lengths of about 2,500 yards which was doubled and twisted. The yarn then went to the dyer, who bought and sold the yarn independently. It is said that in the Mughal period, there were 300 tints in which yarn was dyed, but by the beginning of the 19th century only 64 tints remained in common use. Most of these were vegetable dyes. The yarn was then twisted to the required thickness. Usually 2000 to 3000 double threaded warps were required for a shawl. The pattern drawer or naqqash who made the pattern of the weave, was an important person and received the highest payment. Written instructions or ta'lim were prepared for weaving, which were done on horizontal loom with two men working side by side. The design was formed by weft thread only, which was inserted with light smooth wooden spools or tojli, the ends of which were charred to prevent them from becoming rough in use. The number of tojli could vary from 400 to 1,500 depending on the pattern. Weaving was done with cloth facing downwards. After each weft line was completed, a comb was brought down with vigour. The quality of a shawl was determined by counting the number of comb-strokes or weft to a girah (one 16th of a yard). All weaving was done by men and the process was slow and laborious, demanding a high degree of
specialisation.
The design element By the early 19th century when designs became more complicated, shawls were woven on two or more looms. Thus a shawl which occupied a loom for 18 months could now be made in much less time. The pieces thus made were put together by rafugar or darner with almost invisible stitches. These shawls were called patchwork shawl. The beginning of the 19th century saw the introduction of Amli or embroidered shawls. Before this, little embroidery was done by the rafugar when he did the final joining of the shawl pieces. According to John Irwin, the embroidered shawls were introduced by an Armenian named Khwaja Yusuf who was sent to Kashmir in 1803 as an agent of a Constantinopole trading firm. He introduced embroidered shawls which were easier to make and took lesser time. He not only saved production costs but also Government duty, which was levied on woven shawls and procured them at one third of the price. Kashmir shawls were first worn in the West in the third quarter of the 18th century and by 1800 the shawl trade between Kashmir and the West was well established. The shawls that became most popular initially in Europe were rectangular in shape with plain field and large floral cones. These were called Kasaba.
The Punjab connection The presence of a large number of Europeans working in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army was a major factor behind the success of the European trade, especially with France. Two key figures were Napoleonic Generals Jean-Francois Allard and Jean-Batiste Ventura, who were employed by Ranjit Singh since 1822. By1835 they were exporting shawls to Paris. Ranjit Singh's court was luxurious and had huge stores of textiles which were used in the court, and as gifts. Even when he travelled his camp was luxuriously furnished with tents and beds of shawl-cloth. Many European writers have described the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Among them Emily Eden, sister of Governor general Lord Auckland wrote of the court - "It reduces European magnificence to a very low pitch." Kashmir came under Sikh rule when Ranjit Singh invaded it in 1819. Kashmir paid yearly tribute to the court at Lahore, part of which was paid in shawls. Lahore became a major centre of the shawl trade. In the first quarter of the 19th century Kashmiri weavers and dyers also settled in the plains and hills of Punjab and Amritsar developed into a centre for making shawls. Punjab shawl had its peak by the first half of the 19th century. Mid 19th century was a period of great prosperity for dealers and merchants. Between 1850 and 1860 exports to Europe more than doubled. The French market created a demand for certain type of designs which were sent to Kashmir by introducing new colours like magenta.
Europe learns to drape a shawl Both Britain and France were keen to develop their own shawl industries rather than dealing with the local agents. It was a reflection of the growing popularity of the shawl that Victorian England and Napoleonic France sent missions for getting raw material, weavers and craftsmen to Kashmir. William Moorecraft, who came to Kashmir on one such mission was not successful but has left behind detailed accounts and design samples of the shawl industry from that period. Although most of these missions proved unsuccessful, what did change the nature of trade was the successful replication of these shawls by the West. In 1803 pioneering efforts were made in Norwich and Edinburgh and weavers began imitating Kashmiri shawls. Soon Paisley weavers made headway by using five shuttles simultaneously which allowed them to use multi coloured patterns. They were then able to make close copies of Kashmir shawls. The Paisleys were priced at 12 Pounds in comparison to the originals at 70 or 100 Pounds. Although British manufacturers pioneered the imitation of Kashmir shawls in Europe, they were soon overtaken by France which developed the revolutionary Jaquard loom in the second quarter of 19thcentury. Many centres like Lyon, Vienna, Switzerland and Paris mushroomed in Europe to imitate the Kashmir shawl. The genuine Kashmir shawl still retained its superiority over the imitation. This explains why some Jacquard weavers in the West went as far as to simulate Persian lettering on their shawls, to give them added authenticity.
Loss of a growing trade Decline of the shawl trade in the third quarter of 19th century came due to several reasons. The French defeat in the Franco Prussian war of 1870-71 led to the collapse of the French market and the final blow to the Kashmiri weavers came by the terrible famine in 1877. While the manufacture and export of woven shawls came to an end by early twentieth century, the production of embroidered pashmina shawls was and continues to be fuelled by the growing demand from India's increasing affluent middle class. Impossible though it seemed only a few years ago, but there is a limited revival of the Kani weaver producing shawls. The weavers and entrepreneurs seem to have joined hands to work for their revival. Carpet industry adopted many Kani designs and talim system. The influence of Kashmiri shawl went beyond dress, as the classic shawl design is still known as paisely to the English speaking world, and the soft woollen fabric is still called
Cashmere.
The writer is a textile researcher who has worked at the National Museum, New Delhi, and Musee d'art et d'histoire, Geneva.
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