Abbreviation | AIHB |
---|---|
Formation | 1952 |
Founder | Pupul Jayakar |
Dissolved | 2020 |
The All India Handicrafts Board (AIHB), was an organisation in India established in 1952, which aimed to advise the Ministry of Textiles on development programmes for handicrafts. Its early key figures included Pupul Jayakar, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Lakshmi Chand Jain and Fori Nehru. It was abolished by the Government of India in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 1950 Pupul Jayakar was invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to study the handloom sector of the economy. [1] The AIHB was established in 1952. [2] [3] [4] Its first chair was Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay. [5] Other early key figures included Lakshmi Chand Jain, Kitty Shiva Rao and Fori Nehru. [2] [6]
The AIHB aimed to advise the Ministry of Textiles on development programmes for handicrafts, and was an umbrella organisation, covering marketing venues across India, including Central Cottage Industries Emporium. [7]
The AIHB was abolished by the Government of India in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]
Kamala Nehru was an Indian independence activist and the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. Her daughter Indira Gandhi was the first female prime minister of India.
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was an Indian social reformer and freedom activist. She was most remembered for her contribution to the Indian independence movement; for being the driving force behind the renaissance of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in independent India; and for upliftment of the socio-economic standard of Indian women by pioneering the co-operation. She is the first lady in India to stand in elections from Madras Constituency. While she lost in the election, she pioneered the path for women in India.
Padmaja Naidu was an Indian freedom fighter and politician who was the 4th Governor of West Bengal from 3 November 1956 to 1 June 1967. She was daughter of Sarojini Naidu.
Pupul Jayakar was an Indian cultural activist and writer, best known for her work on the revival of traditional and village arts, handlooms, and handicrafts in post-independence India. According to The New York Times, she was known as "India's 'czarina of culture'", and founded arts festivals that promoted Indian arts in France, Japan, and the United States. She was a friend and biographer to both the Nehru-Gandhi family and J Krishnamurti. Jayakar had a close relationship with three prime ministers: Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi, and she was a close friend of Indira Gandhi. She served as cultural adviser to the latter two, confirming her preeminence in cultural matters.
Lakshmi Chand Jain (1925–2010) was a political activist and writer. Later, he served at various times as a member of the Planning Commission, as Indian High commissioner to South Africa, as a member of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) and as secretary of the Indian Cooperative Union and the All India Handicrafts Board (AIHB). His position as the ambassador was terminated as the Vajpayee Government felt that he had not defended India's position on Nuclear tests effectively in South Africa. He eventually joined the Indian National Congress. He was posthumously awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, by the UPA government. However his family declined to accept the award, saying that Jain was against accepting State Honours.
Haku Vajubhai Shah was an Indian painter, Gandhian, cultural anthropologist and author on folk and tribal art and culture. His art belonged to the Baroda Group and his works are considered in the line of artists who brought themes of folk or tribal art to Indian art.
The National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum (NHHM) commonly known as National Crafts Museum in New Delhi is one of the largest crafts museums in India. It is run by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. The museum is situated on the corner of the Pragati Maidan, facing the Purana Quila complex. In 2015, the Government of India announced that a Hastkala (handicrafts) Academy would be established in the museum premises, converting some galleries into classrooms. Initial renovations destroyed one of the museum's most well-known artifacts, a room of murals painted by Madhubani artist Ganga Devi, leading to widespread criticism. As of 2019, renovations are still ongoing.
Abhaneri, also spelled Abaneri, is a village in the Dausa district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Abhaneri yields ruins of an ancient city, Abhangari, now popular for the Chand Baori step well and Harshat Mata Temple. It is situated at the Jaipur-Agra Highway. The site was first reported by B L Dhama in 1903 when he prepared List of Objects of Antiquarian Interest in the States of Rajputana Beside the step well and the temple, it has many fine sculptures of early Pratihara art of the region. Many of its loose sculptures are housed in display or reserve collections at many museums such as Govt. Museum, Amber. Albert Hall Museum, Jaipur, Hawamahal City Palace, and Archaeological Survey of India. Indian Government issued a postal stamp depicting the Chand Baori in 2017.
Kalamkari is a type of hand-painted cotton textile produced in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Only natural dyes are used in Kalamkari, which involves twenty-three steps.
Jharkhand Silk Textile and Handicraft Development Corporation (Jharcraft) is an agency of Government of Jharkhand established in 2006 with the objective to develop and support Sericulture farmers, weavers and artisans of Jharkhand. The organization implements the government-funded schemes to promote tussar silk, handloom and handicraft of the state. The company is incorporated under Companies Act, 1956 to act as an implementing agency. Its area of concern is the handloom, handicraft, and sericulture sectors. The activities are based in the interior areas of the state and the organization works basically on the SHG, NGO and Project modules. Work-sheds are built within the villages with all necessary facilities for the artisans and weavers to work at the nearest place from their houses. Other facilities including training, raw materials, etc. are also provided to them in these work-sheds for uninterrupted work. These artisans are supervised by the master trainers and qualified cluster managers & project managers throughout. This is to check the quality standards of the commodities produced.
Jasleen Dhamija (1933-2023) was an Indian textile art historian, crafts expert and former UN worker. Based in Delhi, she was best known for her pioneering research on the handloom and handicraft industry, especially history of textiles and costumes. She was professor of living cultural traditions at the University of Minnesota. Over the years, during her career as a textile revivalist and scholar, she authored several books on textiles, including Sacred Textiles of India (2014).
Laila Tyabji is an Indian social worker, designer, writer, and craft activist. She is one of the founders of Dastkar, a Delhi-based non governmental organization, working for the revival of traditional crafts in India. She was honored by the Government of India in 2012 with the Indian civilian award of Padma Shri. She is the daughter of late Badruddin Tyabji, ICS, who was a senior Indian civil servant and diplomat.
Manu Parekh is an Indian painter, known for his several paintings on the city of Varanasi. Reported to be influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and Ram Kinker Baij, Parekh is a recipient of the 1982 Lalit Kala Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri, in 1991.
Abdul Kadar Khatri (1961–2019) was an Indian master craftsman of traditional hand block printing known as Bagh Print. He was the son of Ismail Sulemanji Khatri, founder of Bagh print. He along with his father saved the tradition of Textile printing of Bagh from extinction and taken it to new heights. His artifacts have brought laurels to India and particular to Madhya Pradesh state from across the globe by showcasing his exceptional talent in Bagh Print in many countries. His family has been working in the trade of Traditional Bagh Hand Block print since the 7th century.
Martand "Mapu" Singh was an Indian textile conservator, curator, and cultural historian who championed the revival of traditional Indian textiles, weaving and dyeing traditions. He served as the director of Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad and was one of the founder members, and former head, of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). He was a trustee of the Mehrangarh Museum in Jodhpur.
Iti Tyagi is an Indian designer and social entrepreneur. In 2015, she set up Craft Village which aims to connect artisans making handicrafts directly with buyers and patrons. She received the 2018 Nari Shakti Puraskar in recognition for her work empowering women.
Suraiya Hasan Bose was an Indian textile conservator, textile designer, and manufacturer, who worked to preserve traditional Indian textile art and techniques. She worked with the Indian Cottage Industries Emporium, as well as the Indian Handloom and Handicrafts Export Corporation, later establishing her own textile manufacturing unit to create traditional Indian textiles. Her designs have been exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Shobha Nehru, commonly known as Fori Nehru and Auntie Fori, was a Hungarian-born Indian social worker and the wife of the Indian civil servant Braj Kumar Nehru of the Nehru family.
Kitty Shiva Rao, was a Montessori teacher and theosophist from Austria who, by India's independence, had led a committee of women to draft an Indian Women's Charter of Rights and Duties for the new constitution of India. She studied child education and served on several women's movement and education boards including the All India Women's Conference (AIWC), All India Handicrafts Board, Indian Council for Child Welfare and Delhi University Board.
The Bapaiya, or Bapaiyya was a legendary dacoit of Gujarat who killed the Bahucharaji mata at Shankhalpur during her return to Kathiawar.
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