Kashmiri artisans and social security
In a way the bedrocks of our economy comprise the heritage occupations. The deepest economic strength of a place like Kashmir lies in the artisans whose hands produced brilliant art and craft over the centuries.
Though we shifted, under the influence of the modern education and a generous attitude of the governments, towards secured jobs in government sector, importance of art and craft remained; and remains. Unfortunately, we have been ungrateful to this great gift our ancestors bequeathed to us. Now that the government jobs are thinning out in this economic space of ours, it is time to get back to basics.
At a time when high end industries are taking a hit in the global industrial market, at a time when J&K is under severe economic strain, and at a time when our youth are staring into a void in terms of job prospects, it is time to retrieve the value in our traditional arts and crafts.
But before reviving these crafts and aligning them to modern market demands, we need to look into reasons of its decline. Why our youth lost interest in it and why we thought it lost its economic worth.
The Union Textile Secretary’s comments made during an interaction with chambers of commerce, exporters, artisans and weavers at the Arts Emporium, this week, can stimulate a sustained thinking in this regard. Apart from advocating for a strong testing and certificating system, she emphasised the welfare side of it. This is something that would lend a lease of life in the people associated with this segment. If these artisans are brought under the net of various social security schemes, and if the benefits really reach this section, there is no reason why we can’t think of a revival of this comprehensive economic activity at a grand scale.
It’s now for the concerned associations and trade groups to seriously follow up on this. It is also the moral and professional duty of the concerned officers to speed up matters in this regard. Once these social security measures are in place, we can expect our younger generation to infuse a new life into this sector by expanding the related business to global spaces through new ways of tech marketing.
