Is the shahtoosh shawl industry dying ?
By Ehsan Fazili

EVER since Egyptian ruler Khedive presented a Kashmiri shawl to Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, these shawls became fashionable. The shawls continue to enjoy a distinct place in Kashmiri handicrafts with shahtoosh shawls as one of the specialities of the state. Thousands of men and women associated with spinning, weaving and trade of shahtoosh shawls are facing an uncertain future on account of a world-wide ban on its trade. The ban, however, is not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the valley, where the weavers and traders are dependent on this age-old handicraft for their living. According to environmentalists, antelopes (the Tibetan species is known as Chiru — Pantholope Hodgsoni) are killed to procure shahtoosh wool for these shawls. But manufacturers, traders and the Jammu and Kashmir government refute these claims, saying that the antelopes are not killed. They say that the delicate wool is procured from bushes and shrubs in Tibet as these wild animals rub and brush against them in search of food at an altitude of over 24,000 ft. from the sea level.

A number of shahtoosh shawl traders from Kashmir were arrested from various cities of the country last year, following the imposition of an international ban on shahtoosh shawls. A large number of these shawls were seized by the police. At least 45 shahtoosh shawls were also confiscated in Hong Kong following a court order under which some of the traders were fined.

Five lakh Kashmiris are associated with the manufacture and sale of shawls in Kashmir, and most of them only deal with shahtoosh shawls. Though the raw material comes from outside the state, there are no other craftsmen better than Kashmiris, who are known world-wide for their expertise in weaving.

Several weavers in Srinagar earn their livelihood from this cottage industry. "We weave these shawls for the wholesale dealers, who supply it to the outside world", said Fayaz Ahmad Mir, a weaver who has a loom in his house in Narwana locality, Srinagar. He clarifies that antelopes are not killed to procure the wool. "It is a false propaganda against those dependent on this trade", he adds. An official at the Directorate of Handicrafts Department of Jammu and Kashmir Government corroborated the statement by asserting that the "antelopes are not killed to procure the special wool. The wool is collected from bushes in the higher reacches in summer".

Kalimullah, a senior member of the Shahtoosh Manufacturers and Traders Association mainted that so far there was no evidence that antelopes were being killed. He added that if any evidence was provided in support of this belief, they would quit the trade. "If the antelope gets killed to procure the wool, there will come a time when the species will vanish and we will have no wool. The trade has been going on for several hundred years now. If antelopes were being killed, the shahtoosh shawl industry would not have existed today", Fayaz Ahmad Mir said.

Even the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, has been against the imposition of the ban on shahtoosh trade. "I do not want people to die for want of shahtoosh .... I want them to survive ....Shahtoosh will continue to be sold in Kashmir", he stated recently. He has approached the Union Ministry for taking adequate measures for safeguarding the interests of those connected with the trade.

The 60-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Mir, another artisan from Narwara locality, has been associated with the craft for more than four decades. He along with his two sons and a couple of other weavers weave shahtoosh shawls in his house. A number of looms have been installed in one portion of his tin-roofed kutcha house. "I want this trade to flourish for this is my only source of livelihood", Ghulam Mohammad Mir said, while reacting to the reported ban on shahtoosh trade. He is happy over the modification of various tools used for weaving shawls. His son, Fayaz Ahmad, said the loom that weaves four shahtoosh shawls (two metre each) takes them at least three months for completion of the work. They get Rs 4,000 for the weaving. "We have been demanding more money from the dealers, but there is no response as the government department concerned does not come to our aid", he adds.

Each shawl costs at least Rs 20,000. With embroidery work the cost can go up to Rs 80,000. The shahtoosh shawls weigh about 100 to 160 gms and are so delicate that they easily pass through a finger ring worn by women.

Shoaukat Ahmad, 30-year-old son of Ghulam Mohammad Mir, has been in this trade since his early teens. But he does not want his five-year-old son Umar, to adopt this craftsmanship. He has got him admitted to a private school, and wants him to be better educated and seek a white-collar job as this trade has neither offered him security nor economic status. "The plight of shawl weavers in Kashmir has been equally bad ever since the industry in Kashmir was given a boost. Their condition is bad and apparently hopeless", wrote a British author on Kashmir weavers about a hundred years ago. The plight continues to be the same, but one hopes that the unique shawl industry of Kashmir continues to survive, and flourish.