The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has launched a list documenting exclusive and iconic heritage textile crafts of India.
UNESCO is a specialised agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.
The list named Handmade for the 21st Century: Safeguarding Traditional Indian Textile.
Some of the textiles that made the cut include Toda embroidery and Sungadi from Tamil Nadu, Himroo weaves from Hyderabad and Bandha tie and dye weaving from Sambalpur in Odisha.
It lists the histories and legends behind the textiles, describes the complicated and secret processes behind their making, mentions the causes for their dwindling popularity and provides strategies for their preservation.
Some of the iconic handcrafted textiles documented from north India are Khes from Panipat, Chamba rumals from Himachal Pradesh, Thigma or wool tie and dye from Ladakh and Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi.
From the south, Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka and Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Thanjavur have been included.
In announcing the publication, UNESCO New Delhi Director, Eric Falt, added “Textile crafts represent a very significant share of the Indian cultural heritage and have dazzled the world for centuries. Despite the pressures of industrial mass production and competition from new countries, it is essential that these iconic heritage crafts are taken stock of and promoted as contemporary treasures.”