The

handloom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...

industry in

Tangail Tangail ( bn, টাঙ্গাইল, ), is a major city within the Dhaka Division in central Bangladesh. It sits on the bank of the Louhajang River, north-west of Dhaka, the nation's capital. It is considered to be the main urban area of ...

is one of the oldest cottage industries of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. This traditional

saree A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various Languages of South Asia, regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી ...

is produced in

district and is named after the place.

Origin and evaluation

The handloom industry in Tangail was evolved during the last decades of nineteenth century. The weavers of this Tangail cloths are the successors of the famous

Muslin Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured. Muslin of uncommonly delicate handsp ...

weavers. They were originally from

Dhamrai Dhamrai ( bn, ধামরাই) is an upazila of Dhaka District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Geography Dhamrai Upazila is located about 40 kilometers northwest of the capital city of Dhaka. It is one of the six Upazilas of the Dhaka d ...

and Chowhatta of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

district and were invited to

by the Jamidars (landlords) of Delduar,

Santosh Santosh (), also spelled as Santhosh, is a Hindu masculine given name. The name means "Satisfaction" or "Gratification". Notable people with the given name Santosh * Santosh Bagrodia, former MP, politician representing INC * Santosh Bhattachary ...

and Gharinda. The weavers made settlement in twenty two adjacent villages of Tangail. At first they weaved only plain cloth. The

Swadeshi movement The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...

called by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

in 1906 aimed to boycott cotton textiles from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

inspired the use of local cotton cloths and the handloom industry in then

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

(present day

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

) flourished at that time. During 1923–24 motifs and designs were introduce on saree.

Jacquard loom The Jacquard machine () is a device fitted to a loom that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with such complex patterns as brocade, damask and matelassé. The resulting ensemble of the loom and Jacquard machine is then called a Ja ...

s were introduced during 1931–1932 for making saree.

Present condition of the industry

The handloom industry in Tangail is a

cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...

and the looms are mostly installed in households. 72% of the total installed looms has a unit size of five looms. Units with six to ten looms are 11% and units with eleven to twenty looms are 6% of the total. Units with twenty-one onward looms occupy 11% of the total and are considered as small factories. However, a study done by the Ministry of Industries in 1982, shows that small factories have 20% of handlooms. In the year 1992, there were over 100,000 handlooms and 1,50000 weavers in Tangail locating in Sadar, Kalihati, Nagarpur, and Basail upazilas. In the year 2008 there were 37222 handlooms in 10000 small and big handloom factories and there were more than 70000 weavers working under the Basic Centres in several

upazila An ''upazila'' ( bn, উপজেলা, upôzela, lit=sub-district pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative region in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a ...

s of Tangail. A survey conducted in 2013 said there are 60,000 looms in Tangail. Of them, 8,305 are pit looms, 51,141 are Chittranjan looms and 892 are

power looms A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...

. Tangail handloom is popular all over the world for its uniqueness. The workers need to have special skills to weave and design Tangail saree. The

Basak community Basak may refer to: * Basak, Iran, a village in Iran * Basak, Mandaue, a barangay of Mandaue, Province of Cebu, Philippines * Basak, Lapu-Lapu City, a barangay of Lapu-Lapu City, Province of Cebu, Philippines * Basak, Bais City, a barangay of Bais C ...

of Patrail union of Tangail is a community of weavers who are still continuing the original making process of Tangail Saree. The weavers sell the saree in temporary bazaars that sit only twice a week in Bazitpur and Korotia. Traders come to these bazaars to purchase saree.

Types of Tangail handloom saree

* Cotton Saree * Half Silk Saree * Soft Silk Saree * Cotton Jamdani Saree * Gas-mercerised Saree * Twisted Cotton Saree * Dangoo Saree * Balucherri Saree

Export of Tangail handloom

Tangail Saree is in demand in many countries, like

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and some

European countries The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the various common definitions of Europe, geographical or political. Fifty generally recognised sovereign states, Kosovo with limited, but substantial, international reco ...

. Each week

exports around 50,000 piece saree to India.

Existing problems

The handloom industry is in crisis because of the increase in price of thread, yarn, dye and other raw materials and insufficient transportation and supply chain facilities. As a result, many weavers are leaving their profession and migrating.

Origin and evaluation

Present condition of the industry

Types of Tangail handloom saree

Export of Tangail handloom

Existing problems

References

Further reading