The administration has finally woken up and taken note of a serious threat to Kashmir’s reputation and its handicrafts. On Monday Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir, warned showroom owners dealing with hand-made products to desist from selling machine-made items under the guise of genuine handmade products and conveyed to them that failure to comply will result in strict action under the Tourist Trade and Quality Control Acts. The warning was issued following several complaints suggesting that machine-made Turkish carpets were sold to tourists and other buyers as Kashmir hand-knotted carpets, thus bringing a bad name to the rich heritage of Kashmir. The department has started inspecting the showrooms and at some places have confiscated unlabelled machine-made products have been confiscated.
This is the right step in right direction. There has been a mushroom growth of handicrafts and handloom showrooms particularly in Srinagar and en route tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam besides other locations. No one is against opening of such showrooms contrary one would appreciate because it shows that Kashmir crafts are in demand. However, tourists, as well as locals, have been complaining that machine-made products are sold in the name of hand-made local products. There are complaints that some miscreants are selling machine-made shawls from Amritsar as Kashmiri handmade shawls.
This unhealthy trend has been telling upon the reputation of Kashmir and of Kashmiris. A few miscreants and cheats, besides bringing a bad name to Kashmir, are impacting the businesses of genuine and honest traders. To arrest this fraud in the name of Kashmir crafts, the Handicrafts and Handloom Department has advised stakeholders to approach the concerned authorities for Geographical Indication (GI) tagging, testing and certification of their products as the department has worked out a plan to significantly increase the capacity of testing and certification of hand-made products especially at Pashmina Testing and Quality Certification Centre at CDI.
The authorities need to intensify crackdown on traders engaged in the sale of counterfeit products, branded as hand-made Kashmir Art. This menace has already brought a bad name to Kashmir. The situation is such that tourists look at every trader and every item, branded as local, with suspicion. A few dirty fish have polluted the entire atmosphere. They need to be dealt with sternly. The concerned department should establish special teams which should be inspecting the showrooms in different areas regularly. Once a while attitude is not going to counter these frauds. It needs a long term action plan so that the rot is ended once for all. Naming and shaming such fraudsters would not only restore the reputation of Kashmir’s tradesmen but would also help genuine traders to do their businesses respectfully.
