CONFLICTING TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY: A STUDY OF SELECTED HANDLOOM AND POWERLOOM INDUSTRIES IN ODISHA A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY JNANA RANJAN PRUSTY Roll No. 08614107 DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GUWAHATI GUWAHATI, INDIA DECEMBER 2013 Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Guwahati 781039 Assam, India DECLARATION I hereby declare that the thesis entitled “Conflicting Technological Systems in Textile Industry: A Study of Selected Handloom and Powerloom Industries in Odisha” is the result of investigation carried out by me at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, under the supervision of Dr Sambit Mallick and Dr Liza Das. The work has not been submitted either in whole or in part to any other university / institution for a research degree. IIT Guwahati Jnana Ranjan Prusty December 2013 TH-1231_08614107 Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Guwahati 781039 Assam, India CERTIFICATE This is certify that Mr Jnana Ranjan Prusty has prepared the thesis entitled “Conflicting Technological Systems in Textile Industry: A Study of Selected Handloom and Powerloom Industries in Odisha” for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. The work was carried out under our supervision and in strict conformity with the rules laid down for the purpose. It is the result of his investigation and has not been submitted either in whole or in part to any other university / institution for a research degree. IIT Guwahati Sambit Mallick December 2013 Supervisor Liza Das Co-Supervisor TH-1231_08614107 CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments i-ii Abstract iii-iv Chapter I Introduction 1-46 Chapter II History of Handloom and Powerloom Industries with specific reference to Odisha 47-79 Chapter III Waning Handloom Industry: A Study of Selected Handloom Clusters in Odisha 80-127 Chapter IV Declining Powerloom Industry and Allied Technology Factors: A Sociological Study of Siminoi Powerloom Cluster in Odisha 128-152 Chapter V Handloom and Powerloom Industries: A Sociological Study of Itamati Powerloom Clusters in Odisha 153-189 Chapter VI Conclusion 190-201 Bibliography 202-211 TH-1231_08614107 Tables and Figures Tables Table Page 1.1 Types of Orientations to Work 7 1.2 Estimated Handloom Clusters in India by Different Studies 32 1.3 Important Handloom Clusters of Odisha 36 1.4 Powerlooms in Odisha (1989 Census) 39 1.5 Powerlooms in Cooperative Sector 39-40 1.6 Powerloom Units in the Private Sector in Different Zone 40 1.7 Concentration of Powerlooms in Odisha 40 1.8 Current Status of Powerlooms by Cooperative Societies in Odisha 41 1.9 Respondents in Handloom Industry in Odisha 44 1.10 Respondents in Powerloom Industry in Odisha 44 1.11 Respondents from different Government Offices relating to Textile Industry in Odisha 45 2.1 Important Handloom Centres with Products 74 2.2 Important Handloom Clusters 75 2.3 Production Cycle System (For 2 pcs- 11 mtrs) 76 3.1 Size of the Household 84 3.2 Educational Attainment of the Weavers 85 3.3 Type of Household 85 3.4 Possession of Land by the Weavers in Odisha 86 3.5 Income Level of the Weavers’ Household 86 3.6 Independent Weavers and Weavers dependent upon Master Weavers 87 3.7 Weavers’ opinion about the Participation of Women and Children in the Weaving Process 89 3.8 Access of Weavers’ Children to School 89 3.9 Awareness about the Importance of Higher Education among Weavers in Odisha 90 3.10 Weavers’ Engagement with other Occupational Activities along with Weaving 90-91 TH-1231_08614107 3.11 Different Opinions of the Weavers of Western Odisha Regarding the Handloom Sector 91-92 3.12 The Percentage of the Weavers Getting raw material as well as marketing Facilities from the Cooperative Society, Master Weavers and Market Respectively 98-99 3.13 Handloom Weavers’ Opinions about Wages, Socioeconomic Status and the Future in the Handloom Sector 107 3.14 Medical Facilities from the Government 109 3.15 Transmission of Knowledge across Generations 110 3.16 Weavers’ Opinion about the dominance of Powerloom over Handloom 110 3.17 Sustainability of the Handloom Industry in Odisha 111-112 3.18 Master Weavers, Opinion on the State of the Handloom Industry in Odisha 114 3.19 Level of the Income of the Master Weavers 117 3.20 Involvement of Women and Children of Master Weavers in the Weaving Process 118 3.21 Master Weavers’ Involvement in the Weaving Process 118 3.22 The Case of the Middle Man 122 3.23 Opinions of the Members of the Cooperative Society 122-123 3.24 Opinions of the Government Officials 123 4.1 Profile of the Powerloom in Odisha 134 4.2 Number of Powerloom Unit in the Private Sector in Different Zones 134 Figure Page 2.1 Handloom Map of Odisha 74 TH-1231_08614107 Acknowledgments At first I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors Dr. Sambit Mallick and Dr. Liza Das for their involvement and advice during the process of PhD work and writing the thesis. They have given their valuable time and best effort to make me successful in doing this PhD work. Without my supervisors’ support, PhD is a completely impossible task for me. I am very glad to work with an intelligent, resourceful and dynamic professor like Dr. Sambit Mallick who enabled me to complete my PhD work successfully. Dr. Sambit Mallick has extended all his support from all dimensions to me during my crisis period at the time of doing PhD. I am very thankful to my Co-Supervisor, Dr. Liza Das, for her encouragement and valuable advice during my PhD work. I extend my sincere thanks to the members of the doctoral committee, Professor Saundarjya Borbora, Dr. Mrinal Kanti Dutta and Dr. Sawmya Ray for their time and feedback during the process. I am also thankful to all members of faculty and staff of the department for their immense help during the period of my PhD work. I wish to express my sincere appreciation to all my friends in IITG in general and the Department of HSS in particular who have assisted me one way or another. To name a few Santosh, Himansu, Bigyan, Mamta, Pankaj, Madhuri, Ashima, Parag, Tejasha, Gopal, Pallavi, Jitu, Tanuja, Kawal, Rashmi, Rakesh, Sugandha, Ashim, Ruth, Mridusmita, Sangita, Madhulika , Avinash and Ebria. I feel very much indebted to you all. I wish to extend my sincere thanks to the officers and staff of central library, IIT Guwahati and the administration of IIT Guwahati for their help during the PhD work. I am thankful to Professor Sukdev Naik of Sambalpur University and Professor Rajkishore Meher of Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies, Bhubaneswar for sharing their knowledge about the handloom industry of Odisha. i TH-1231_08614107 I am thankful to Officers and Staff of Directorate of Textiles, Government of Odisha, Weavers Service Centre, Bhubaneswar, Powerloom Service Centre, Cuttack, Textile Committee, Bhubaneswar, SPINFED, Bhubaneswar. Sambalpuri Bastralaya, Bargarh. I am thankful to the faculty and staff members of Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, Bargarh for sharing their knowledge about textile industry. I am thankful to Mr. Pradip Dash, field officer at Textile Committee Office, Bhubaneswar for his sincere help during my field work time. I am very much thankful to Professor B. Behera Central Library of Sambalpur University, Parija Library of Utkal University, Library of Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies, Bhubaneswar, Harekrushna Mahtab State Library, Bhubaneswar, Odisha State Archives, Indira Gandhi Memorial Library of University of Hyderabad, and Central Library of Jawaharlal Nehru and University Delhi. I am thankful to Padmashree Chaturbhuja Meher for sharing his valuable time for the interview. I am thankful to the villagers of Barapali, Morekeli, Gutupada, Tuinbandhali, Tandul, Chitakhai, Haldipali, Beherapali, Saliavata, Sormuhan, Sagarpali, Meherpada, Rathpada, Kendupali, Butpali, Sinapali, Siminoi and Itamati of Odisha for their support during my field work. I am very grateful to my father Sri Sarat Chandra Prusty, mother Smt. Kumudinee Sahoo, younger brothers Sri Soumya Ranjan Prusty and Sri Manas Ranjan Prusty, wife Smt. Rashmirekha Sahoo for their continuous inspiration and cooperation. IIT Guwahati Jnana Ranjan Prusty December 2013 ii TH-1231_08614107 Abstract Indigenous knowledge systems have been produced by local people to get in touch with environment by living in a particular area across generations and helps people in decision-making about their fundamental activities. The Western knowledge systems, depicted as widespread and reliable, have marginalized and dominated indigenous knowledge systems and have an unfavorable impact on all forms of performances of indigenous knowledge system which has resulted in marginalization or in some cases loss of practices of indigenous knowledge systems. Legal, government and academic channels transmit such ethnocentric knowledge to promote capitalist and often ecologically destructive policies and practices. The current system of erosion of indigenous knowledge system is in progress because of rapid growth of population, global markets, learning system and growth process related to rapid transformation and cultural homogenization. The intercontinental market-oriented fabric production focused on only mounting the manufacture and undervaluing the nearby custom-made handloom technologies in this manner responsible for the attrition of indigenous expertise namely handloom. Even the government- sponsored strategies and proposals do not have any realistic practicability at the proletariat level. With increasing poverty powerlooms are selected over environmentally- sound local practices such as handlooms. With escalating paucity, the weavers for instance may also have very less time and very fewer resources to uphold the exciting character of indigenous knowledge through their local researches and innovations in that way contributing to the predicament of the handloom industry.