REFLECTIONS ON CRAFTS IN INDIA
Craft producers in India stand in the shadow of deep divisions–rich/poor, urban/rural, modern/traditional, Brahmin/Dalit, educated scientist/illiterate labour, and so on. These divisions become further entrenched when knowledge owned by dominant social groups is privileged over others’ knowledge, thus reinforcing existing hierarchies. Yet through the claiming, contesting and attributing of knowledge, craft ensembles of production and consumption are able to change what is valued as knowledge.
Based on practices of contemporary Indigo dyers in South India, in this talk I would like to explore the making and maintaining of knowledge claims as opportunities for political action: as a unifying device for cultural cohesion, and as a tool for democracy and justice.