The Handloom Industry of Begampur in Transition: Technology, Disjuncture and Development provides an ethnographic description of the handloom industry of the Begampur region, which is situated in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. While explaining the process of transformation within the handloom industry of Bengampur region, Abhradip Banerjee explains the uneasy relationship between technology, disjuncture, and development that has been making an impact upon the lives of this particular group of artisans for over two decades. The novelty of this book lies in the particular approach adopted by the author which allowed him to perceive and analyze the process of transition within the handloom weaving tradition of Begampur region from a more inclusive perspective, miles away from the pitfall of gross "technological determinism". Viewing the handloom industry of Begampur as a form of "sociotechnical system" allowed him to gauge, analyze, and incorporate several important but neglected dimensions of this transformation, which otherwise mostly went missing in many historiographic or empirical accounts regarding the process of industrialization /deindustrialization and class formation in India.
Abhradip Banerjee is assistant professor of anthropology in the Higher Education Department, government of West Bengal.
List of Tables and Figures Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction: Why Handlooms? Excavating the Trope Handloom Industry and the Indian Economy Perspectives on Indian Handlooms and the De-Industrialization Debate Within a Maze: My Early Research and Involvement Anthropology of Craft and Craftsmen: Concepts, Dimensions and Theoretical Perspectives The Backdrop of the Present Research The Handloom Industry of Begampur in Transition: Technology, Disjuncture and Development Methodology Structure of the Book Chapter 1: The Setting: People, the Place, Economy, and Lives History and Geographical Location of this Region Geology and Climate Flora and Fauna Population and the Ethnic Composition Education Occupations Infrastructure and Healthcare Facilities Literary and Cultural Traditions Chapter 2: Tracing the Historical and Cultural Landscape of the Handloom Industry in Begampur: From Past to the Present Historical And Cultural Geography of Indian Handlooms Handloom Industry of Bengal Handloom Weaving Tradition in Begampur and its Evolution Chapter 3: The Social and the Religious Life Handloom Weavers in Begampur Region Ethnic Origin and Religious Cohabitation Marriage Family Kinship Life-Cycle Rituals Religious Ceremonies and Festivals Chapter 4: The Craft of Handloom Weaving: Technology, Processes, Work Coordination, Products and their Market Loom and Other Implements Knowledge and Skills in Different Stages of Cloth Production Work Coordination and Division of Labour Raw Materials, Products and their Market Chapter 5: The Disjuncture and Juxtapositions of Cloth Production, Organization and Marketing Individual Creative Identity vs. Community-Level Collective Production Traditional Artisanal Craft vs. Technology-Driven Commercialized Mass-Production The Informal vs. Formal Organizational Setup: The Issue of Dependence and Relative Independence Empowerment vs. Exploitation: Types of Contracts and the Relations in Production The Utility Products vs. Items with High Aesthetic Content The Issue of Local vs. Global: Local Identity vs. the Process of Homogenization Chapter 6: Handloom Weavers Cooperatives Societies in Begampur: A Failed Experiment? A Brief History of Handloom Weavers' Cooperative in India Handloom Weavers Cooperative Societies in Begampur Region Rise of Begampur Handloom Cluster Society Conclusion Notes Glossary References Index About the Author
