Weaving Histories: The Transformation of the Handloom Industry in South India, 1800-1960

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Karuna Dietrich Wielenga (Azim Premhi University)

Weaving Histories

The Transformation of the Handloom Industry in South India, 1800-1960

Karuna Dietrich Wielenga (Azim Premhi University)

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English

Oxford University Press
08 October 2020

Asian history; Industrialisation & industrial history; Sociology: work & labour; Economic history; Textile industries

Series: British Academy Monographs

Weaving Histories looks at the economic history of South Asia from a fresh perspective, through a detailed study of the handloom industry of South India between 1800 and 1960, drawing out its wider implications for the Indian economy. It employs an unusual array of sources, including paintings and textile samples as well as archival records, to excavate the links between cotton growing, cleaning, spinning and weaving before the nineteenth century. The rupture and re-configuration of these links produced a sea-change in the lives of ordinary weavers. Weaving Histories examines the configuration of forceslocal, regional, national and globalthat drove this transformation, and uncovers its effects on different groups of weavers.

The handloom industry is used as a case study to throw light on the historical emergence of the 'informal sector' in India, and to re-examine contemporary debates about industrialisation and economic development.

By: Karuna Dietrich Wielenga (Azim Premhi University)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 165mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780197266731
ISBN 10: 0197266738
Series: British Academy Monographs
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 08 October 2020
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 1: The Geography of Weaving: South India in the Early Nineteenth Century 2: Statistics, Looms and People: The Changing Contours of the Handloom Industry 3: From Cotton to Cloth: The Linking Threads 4: Weaving: Changing Structures 5: Caste and Work 6: Solidarity and Action 7: The State and the Weaver Conclusion Appendix: Note on the Loom Tax Bibliography Index

After obtaining her Ph.D from the University of Delhi, Karuna Dietrich Wielenga was a Newton International Fellow at Oxford University. She is a historian of south Asia and her research interests span economic, social and labour history. She has worked on the history of handlooms, labour legislation, and the emergence of the informal sector in India. Her papers have been published in Modern Asian Studies and the International Review of Social History among other journals. She currently teaches at Azim Premji University in Bangalore, India. She is a research associate of the Centre for South Asian Studies, Oxford School of Global and Area Studies.

Reviews for Weaving Histories: The Transformation of the Handloom Industry in South India, 1800-1960

In Weaving Histories, Karuna Dietrich Wielenga mobilizes an impressive range of sources to show that for at least south India many of the truisms often repeated are, if not incorrect, then surely imprecise. To understand the important revisionist work of this book, the author provides a careful analysis not just of weaving but also of raw cotton cultivation and spinning. * Giorgio Riello, European University Institute, Labour History Review * By providing the local, granular details of handloom production, Weaving Histories not only sets the stage for a nuanced understanding of a sophisticated industry within a complex socioeconomic environment but also offers greater targeted insights into its technical, social, and economic operations. * Alka Raman, Victoriaand Albert Museum, Technology and Culture, Volume 63, Number 1 * Weaving History is an exceptional scholarly work that not only engages lively with these debates but indeed also offers answers and insightful analysis. To begin with the book combines different traditions to produce an excellent outcome. It bridges economic, social, cultural, and labor history while it rarely compromises on any of these fronts. The length and breadth of the sources employed in the book is similarly truly impressive ... Weaving History is thus an outstanding contribution to existing debates and would hopefully bring new life to some of the classical questions concerning the economic/social nexus. * Nikolay Kamenov, H-Soz-Kult *