‘The Textile Manufactures of India’ is an 18-volume set of fabric sample books put together in 1866 by John Forbes Watson and published by the India Office of the British Government. It is an in-depth research into Indian costumes and the socio-cultural ecosystem, combined with a brutal, goosebumps-inducing economic strategy that led to the proverbial ‘beginning of the end’ of the Indian handcrafted textiles sector. The decline that was triggered by this compendium has not stopped ever since, although the efforts to reverse it have been made sporadically through policies and schemes. At our Online Talk #MightierThanTheSword, textile heritage expert Savitha Suri examines the intent, impact and importance of John Forbes Watson’s work.

About the speaker

Savitha Suri is an author, chronicler, market revivalist and curator. She works in the area of documenting textile and craft history and  traditions, in imparting digital literacy to independent weavers enabling them access the online marketplace and in organising workshops, webinars & textiles trails to increase awareness and access of authentic information. She has led two market revival initiatives of endangered weaves and co-authored two books on textiles and business management in weaving clusters.