INDUSTRIES

section ii-COTTAGE INDUSTRIES

Self-sufficient villages have been the dominant feature, for centuries, of the economic life of this country. The lack of transport and communications facilities coupled with limited needs, made the villagers produce all their requirements in the village itself or exchange goods with those available in the nearby villages on barter system. Though the villages lost their autonomous and semi-independent status with the advent of the British rule in the country, the small industrial bias of the villages remained to create full or partial employment potentialities and to provide the tillers of the soil with a subsidiary occupation at least during the off season. These small cottage industries are the small traditional crafts conducted on a household basis. The main village industries in the district are weaving on handlooms, leather tanning, making of palm-gur and neera, handmade paper, etc. These village industries alongwith agriculture form the core of economic activity in the district especially in the rural areas.

Handlooms.

In a district like Wardha where cotton constitutes the major non-food crop, cotton spinning and weaving is naturally an important cottage industry in existence for a long period of time.

The following is the account regarding weaving as it appeared in the old Wardha District Gazetteer published in 1906.

"The hand industries of the District are comparatively unimportant. Previous to the opening of the mills, most large villages contained a number of cotton hand-weavers, but their trade is now declining. The number of persons employed in the cotton industry, other than those working in mills and factories, fell from 17,000 in 1891 to 7,000 in 1901, this latter figure being nearly 2 per cent of the population. Cotton spinning as an industry is practically extinct. The coarse newar cloth for bedding is woven from home-spun thread by Garpagaris who have been compelled by lack of custom to abandon their ancestral calling of protecting the crops from hail, and gonas or coarse cotton carpets are made by Dhangars. Wearing cloth is now always woven from mill thread. The weavers are usually Koshtis of the Salewar sub-caste and many of them are Telugus. Mehras or Mahars also weave coarse cloth. They reside in most of the large villages and produce the ordinary articles of clothing. For coloured cloth the thread is dyed before weaving. The finer counts of cloth are not usually woven in Wardha. There are also a few dyers in several large villages who are generally Rangaris by caste. The principal centre is Hinganghat where there is a Rangari quarter. They usually dye thread, and print quilts and carpets. There is nothing of distinction in their designs or colours. There are a very few silk weavers. The ordinary country blankets are woven from the wool of sheep in several villages by the Dhangars or shepherds, but the local supply is not sufficient and they are imported in large quantities from Berar. Hemp matting and net bags for holding cotton are woven at Pardi and other places by the Bhamta caste." [Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Wardha District, Vol. A, 1906, p. 141.]

The 1921 census report for Central Provinces of which Wardha district was a part states: " Weaving is almost universal, and is reported to have received some impetus from the non-co-operation movement in favour of Khadi or country cloth, but this is purely a temporary phenomenon. The industry has also been assisted by the high price of machine-made cloth during the war. Ordinary saris and dhoties are usually made by Mahars, but their products are not as good as the machine made articles, and in course of time the industry will die out. The makers generally deal direct with their customers at the weekly bazars. Other classes of weavers make articles which are not turned out by machinery. The weavers generally use old-fashioned looms and although a superior fly-shuttle is available under the auspices of Government, reports indicate that it is still not intensively used." The report also states that the castes that keep sheep, such as the Dhangars in Berar, are engaged in making woollen blankets and carpets.

The census report for 1931 also states that weaving continued to be the main cottage industry. The following remarks of the Director of Industries, Central Provinces are also revealing. " The textile section of the Department of Industries which started work in 1916 went on introducing improved sleys amongst the handloom weavers. By the end of the decade, the improved sley and a few other accessory appliances became fairly popular at all the important weaving centres. About 30,000 of these sleys were introduced by the end of the decade. These sleys increased the output of the handlooms by at least 75 per cent. The result was over-production which created fresh problems for the industry. For want of proper marketing facilities the increased products are not easily sold nor have the weavers been able to make any other use of the increased leisure which the new sleys bring to them. The classes using hand-woven fabrics are taking more and more to mill-made fabrics. The weavers cannot readily produce goods of more modern pattern to keep pace with changing fashions. Only those weavers who turn out finer and more artistic fabrics which cannot be manufactured in factories could hold their own in the industry. The competition of factory-made piece-goods continued to hit the rest hard during the decade. The condition of the vast mass of handloom weavers engaged in the manufacture of ordinary sarees and dhoties is thus deteriorating still further. It is doubtful whether anything can be done to keep up this portion of the handloom weaving industry. It is only in tracts where conservative fashions in sarees still survive, e.g., in Chhattisgarh, that the handloom weaver is not yet too badly off. "......... [Quoted from the 1931 Census Report for Central Provinces.]

The following statement gives the number of textile establishments and handlooms in the district as per the census of 1951.

As per the census of 1961, there were 1,708 workers in handlooms and by the end of May 1961, there were 1,473 cotton handlooms. The handloom weaving was concentrated at following places in the district, viz., Hinganghat, Seloo, Arvi, Sindi, Virul, Karanja and Shegaon.

As per the census of 1961, more than 1,000 handlooms were covered by the co-operative fold in the district. There were 8 handloom weavers societies in the district with a combined membership of 1,009; a combined share capital of Rs. 46,000 and working capital of Rs. 2.14 lakhs. They are located at Arvi, Sindi, Ashti, Seloo, Hinganghat, Girad and Mand-gaon. These weavers societies supply yarn to member-weavers and get the finished products woven by the members. The value of production and sales by the societies during the year amounted to Rs. 3.64 lakhs and Rs. 4.51 lakhs, respectively. During 1964-65 the industry seemed to be better off at Hinganghat and Seloo as indicated by the value of production in these two centres which was 50.2 and 29.4 per cent, respectively of the total value of handloom production in the district. The industry faced difficulties due to increase in the rates of yarn and non-availability of yarn as and when needed and hence the value of cloth produced decreased by 41.3 per cent during 1964 over that of 1963-64.

Other Cottage Industries.

Besides cotton weaving on handlooms there are various small occupa- tions in the district. The following extract taken from the old Wardha District Gazetteer, published in 1906 gives some interesting information of such small industries as they existed then.

" A few carpenters in towns make beds and furniture, and do rude carving and turning. Baskets, chicks or screens and many other articles are made from bamboos by the Basors or Buruds, and brushes and mats of date-palm leaves by Mangs. Cordage for beds is usually made of hemp and also from munj grass (Saccharum ciliare). The earthen vessels made locally are not of any particular quality, the material used being red clay mixed with horsedung. Large vessels are made in Hingni, and there are also considerable numbers of Kumbars at Mandgaon and Wagholi. The Chitaris make clay and wooden dolls and toys besides painting designs on the walls of houses. Lac bangles are made in Hinganghat and Wardha and are worn by Marwari women and others. Glass bangles as well as necklaces of black glass beads, which all married women must wear in the Maratha country, are usually imported from other Districts. Large mots or buckets for drawing water from wells and sandals or slippers are almost the only articles made of leather; thongs for agricultural purposes are made of hemp and shoes are usually imported. "[Central Provinces District Gazetteers, Wardha District. Vol. A, 1906, pp. 142-43.]

It may be pointed that the position has not changed considerably since then. However, after the attainment of Independence efforts are being made to revive these industries especially in the co-operative sector.

As per the District Census Handbook for 1961, the other types of industrial societies existing in the district besides the industrial societies, are 6 oil ghanis, 3 cane and bamboo workers societies, 2 tanning societies, 1 leather working society,.3 carpenters' societies, 7 pottery and brick making societies, two neera and palm gur societies and six miscellaneous societies. They had a membership of 598, share capital of Rs. 30,000 and working capital of Rs. 86,000. The value of production of these societies was Rs. 56,000 with a sales value of Rs. 95,000.

During 1965-66, there were 121 other industrial societies inclusive of one motor transport society, 65 labour societies, 12 forest labourers' societies and 43 other industrial societies in the district. The following statement gives information about membership, share capital, etc., of these societies during 1961-62, 1964-65 and 1965-66.

(Rs. in '000)

During 1961, the Industries department also organised two peripatetic demonstration parties, each consisting of six instructors and semi-skilled workers, with a view to imparting training to the craftsmen in the use of improved processes and equipment. Besides, the training facilities in oil ghani working, carpentry and blacksmithy, tanning and leather works, bamboo and cane working, brick manufacture and cotton weaving were provided under the supervision of the Block Development Officers in the district. The school conducted by the department at Morangna in Arvi tahsil imparts training in the preparation of leather goods like shoes, other footwear, etc., for the local workers.

By the end of 1961, the handloom weavers societies were established at Arvi, Sindi, Ashti, Seloo, Hinganghat, Mandgaon and Girad; the oil-mens' societies were established at Bapapur and Ashti; the carpenters society, the bamboo workers society and the bidi manufacturing society were established at Wardha, the patravali manufacturing society was established at Virul; the bricks and tiles manufacturing society was established at Aloda and the neera production centre was established at Pulgaon.

The co-operative societies, other registered institutions and village panchayats are provided financial assistance by the Khadi Commission, the Akhil Bharatiya Hatmag Mandal and the District Central Co-operative Bank. Of this assistance, the lion's share is borne by the Khadi Commission.

In respect of oilmen's societies, the Khadi Commission had provided financial assistance in the form of grants and loans to the Bharat Sevak Samaj, Arvi, the Adarsha Teli Sahakari Mandal, Wopapur; the Halva Shivaji Sahakari Telghani, Inzala; the Bharat Telghani Sahakari Mandal, Arvi; the Maharashtra Telghani Mandal, Hivra; the village panchayats at Ahmedpur and Vaygaon, etc., during the period 1957 to 1960. Of the leather workers societies, the society each at Wardha and Hinganghat; the Bharat Sevak Samaj, Arvi; the New Multipurpose Education Society, Talegaon and the village panchayats of Rohana and Vaygaon were given by way of grant and loans an amount of Rs. 38,920 during the same period. An amount of Rs. 7,500 was given to the Khadi Gramodyog Sangh Vidyalaya at Wardha for the purchase of the necessary tools and equipment for the manufacture of palm gur on subsidy-cum-loan basis.

The Adarsha Sutar Audyogic Sanstha and the Wardha Gramodyog Sangha at Wardha have received an amount of Rs. 17,500 by way of grants and loans.

The children are taught the manufacture of handmade paper at the Balak Mandir, Wardha and at the Bal Mandir, Hinganghat. The Balak Mandir has received an amount of Rs. 500 as loan and grant as against an amount of Rs. 1,800 received by the Bal Mandir, Hinganghat. The instructions in Khadi and village industries are given at the Khadi Gramodyog Vidyalaya at Wardha. During 1958-59, this institution received an amount of Rs. 45,120 by way of grant and loan.

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