Article Written By EIH Researcher And Writer
Aaloy Gangopadhyay
Jute is one of the cheapest and eco-friendly materials which is fighting its existence. The jute products are decreasing solely due to few reasons like globalization, modernization, poor investment, trade unionism and likewise hassles. There is a separate community devoid of religion, caste, creed, sex, gender in which jute workers belong. Instability and uncertainty is hampering the employment network of making jute products and jute collection from farms. It is withering away due to the lackadaisical attitude of investors, governments and civil society. Thus it is not only affecting the workers, but also the economy of India.
Raw Jute Farm
Jute has been used for the production of textiles since the 3rd millennium BCE, in the Indus Sarasvati Civilization. The detailed 16th-century document, Ain-i-Akbari, along with various other ancient documents, lets us peer into jute’s long history. It describes the poor Indian villagers who wore clothing made of jute, and the Bengalis who used ancient ‘white jute’ to make their ropes, twines and other household commodities.
But in 1855, Mr. George Acland brought jute spinning machinery from Dundee and the first jute mill was set up in Rishra, on the banks of river Hoogly. Four years later, the first power driven weaving factory was set up. By 1869, five mills were operating with 950 looms. Growth was rapid and, by 1910, 38 companies operating 30,685 looms exported more than a billion yards of cloth and over 450 million bags. Until the middle 1880’s, the jute industry was confined almost entirely to Dundee and Calcutta. The first major blow to jute industry came with the Partition of India in 1947. The East Pakistan (Bangladesh) was the producer of raw jute which was transported to Hoogly region for jute industries. Post partition, jute supply stopped abruptly. Moreover, socio-cultural, socio-political tensions among Hindus and Muslims added to woes.
Jute Bundles
Jute is now mostly grown in West Bengal, which is close to UP, Bihar and Orissa. These are the Indian states, where one can easily get cheap labor for manufacturing jute products. However, there are many brilliant craftsmen elsewhere too who are designing and developing jute artifacts for generations. The migrants remained villagers at heart and retained a close relationship with their village homes. Workers have settled down in greater Calcutta and have emerged as a distinct class of industrial proletariat without rural moorings.
The jute workers were the hardest hit. Trade unionism before Independence of India truly tried to uplift the poor condition of the workers, but power struggle and anti-capitalist mindset steadily paved the way for dissolution of jute mills. Independent India faced not only the challenge of unemployment, but also the crisis of capital investment to save the indigenous industries. The trouble fuelled when Commies took over West Bengal. Protests, hartals, gheraos by trade unions just created a massive flight of capital. Many jute mills were forced to close down due to anti-industrial mindset and political hooliganism. Even the current government of West Bengal has just increased the pace of closing jute mills in the name of “Promoter Raj” and extortions while the hardships of jute workers losing their jobs often comes in the news.
India is facing new challenges regarding the jute industry. Bangladesh has become the largest exporter of raw jute, and India is the largest producer as well as largest consumer of jute products in the world. The modern Chinese machinery of jute production which is producing cheapest jute products is giving stiff competition to India and Bangladesh. This is not only affecting trade, but also the workers.
The Map of Jute Empire
Currently India has 92 jute mills of which 67 are located in West Bengal, as per information available with the office of the Jute Commissioner. The main products are hessian, sacks, carpet backing cloth (CBC) and other items.
High weightage of labour cost makes labour a critical input and an area for possible cost cutting by the millers which lead to strained and complex relationship between the owners and the workers of the jute mills. There have been complaints of exploitation of the workers and deprivation from statutory dues against the owner of the mills. The millers were well organized from the initial days and there is a history of confrontation between the mill owners and the labourers, which affects functioning of the mills.
The workers faced various kinds of problems which are still continuing in the 21st century. The working and living conditions of the labourers were generally poor, which had a very adverse impact on the quality of life of the workers as well as their family members. The mill authorities ignored the plight of the workers and turned a blind eye to the poor conditions and squalor that prevailed in and around the jute mills. Indian Jute Mills Association in its data collection have found that even the increase of base price salary with dearness allowance have failed to alleviate the economic crisis of the workers. Regarding dearness allowance, this right has been denied systematically through politicization. It is proving a major setback to cope up with inflation and daily expenditure for workers.
One major reason behind the poor living condition of the workers was poor housing. Indebtedness was a common problem among the workers of jute mills and many of them were always in debt. Often they took out loans for day-to-day expenses as many households had deficits in meeting monthly expenses. They often borrowed in cash and in kind from various sources. Marriage and sickness seemed to be important reasons behind. They have a high mortality rate due to insanitation and overcrowded houses. Job insecurity and poor working conditions had been a matter of continuous dissatisfaction among the workers and the jute sector became one of the hotbeds of trade union activities.
A woman working at a jute mill
Women workers’ employment fluctuated during British India due to technological advancements and wage differences, but after decades, Bengal’s jute mills are witnessing a steady influx of women workers. Among the 2,50,000 jute factory workers in Bengal, about 25,000 are women. Generally, they are found to be better workers, more pliant, less prone to unionization, protests, absenteeism, and to alcoholism.
The jute products include rugs, carpets, footwear, wine bottle bags, carry bags, handbags, wall hangings, jewelry, baskets, coasters, lamp shades, decorative articles and showpieces. The decreasing use of these products seemingly happened due to trendy fashion, westernization, globalization and glossy materialism. Slowly jute is rapidly losing its market despite the fact that it is reusable, eco-friendly and biodegradable. The true reason lies in the cost effectiveness in products of mass production from synthetic fibers.
Jute Table Mats
There can be many ways for the revival of the jute industry in India. The jute mills and factories must be devoid of hostile and politically motivated trade unions and should make policies of jute production in India. Treaties or MOUs must be signed with our fellow neighbor country Bangladesh for import of raw jute. Adequate campaigning for jute products must be promoted and entrepreneurs must be given enthusiasm to invest in jute industry. Subsidies and capital intensive trade must take place at the same time to further create employment opportunities for the youths of India.
Bibliography
“Jute Mill Workers of West Bengal: A Situational Analysis towards Enhancing their Wellbeing” by National Jute Board
Vidyasagar University Journal of History, Volume VI, 2017-2018, Pages: 73-86 ISSN 2321-0834
Web references
www.worldjute.com/about_jute/juthist.html
www.ijma.org/monthly-min-wages.html
https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/the-jute-press-after-decades-bengals-jute-mills-are-witnessing-a-steady-influx-of-women-workers/cid/1881404
https://cultureandheritage.org/2023/01/beautiful-jute-handicrafts-of-india.html
