Sanganeri Hand Block Printed Textiles Get GI Protection

श्री बृज बल्लभ उदयवल के शब्दों में :-

Brief Note: 500 year old Sanganeri hand block printed textiles, renowned
for delicate floral motifs, will now be protected as a geographical indication
under Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act,
1999. This means that no printed textiles made outside the identified
geographical area of Sanganer town in Rajasthan can be legally sold under
the name of Sanganeri Hand Block Prints. Geographical Indication Registry,
Chennai based competent authority, has recently issued the GI certificate
for Sanganeri Hand Block Prints. The GI certificate would help counter
threats from hand block and screen printed textiles produced in other regions
and countries, but sold in India under the tag of Sanganeri print. With
suitable marketing initiatives, GIs can also be commercially leveraged
for enhancing incomes of about fifteen hundred artisan families, while
providing assurance of product quality to consumers.

The GI certificate has not only recognised uniqueness and distinct identity
of Sanganeri hand block prints in dress material, but also of related products
such as home furnishing manufactured in the traditional manner by the community
of Chhipas. The application seeking GI registration of these products
was filed in December 2008. Subsequently the GI Registry undertook a rigorous
process of scrutiny to ascertain the unique properties and reputation of
Sanganeri hand block printed textiles and their link with the area of production
in Rajasthan.

The art of hand-block printing and design was developed to a high level
of sophistication in Sanganer, and this small sixteenth-century village
blossomed into one of India’s busiest artisan centers. Traditionally,
the genius of the artisans and their print designs lay in their understanding
of patterns, fabric surfaces and the use of space. The traditional Jaipur
buti, usually a floral or animal motif, was carved on to a small square
wooden block. The carved block was pressed on to a piece of padded fabric
dipped into a vegetable dye and the motif was then printed on to the cloth
at carefully measured intervals. The same process was repeated with different
blocks and colours, resulting in beautiful geometric patterns of astonishing
regularity. well-proportioned lyrical motifs. The traditional process of
Sanganeri hand block printing has changed only marginally over the centuries.

DFID-supported UNCTAD’s India project through its partners – Indian
Merchants’ Chamber Mumbai, Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (RCCI)
and Rural Non-Farm Development Agency (RUDA) of Government of Rajasthan
- worked closely with the artisan community in Sanganer for seeking the
GI certificate. This was done through awareness building campaigns, community
mobilization and technical assistance for preparing the GI application.
This is the seventh product which has received GI certificate as a result
of UNCTAD project’s interventions. Similar initiatives under the project
have helped weavers and artisans to receive GI certificates for Pipli Applique
work of Orissa; Lucknow Chikan Craft; Uppada Jamdani Sarees of Andhra Pradesh;
Cannanore Home furnishing; Banarasi Sarees and Brocades; and Balaramapuram
Sarees and Fabrics.

Geographical indication (GI) is an Intellectual Property Right (IPR) which
identifies a good as originating in a certain region where a given quality,
reputation or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable
to its geographical origin. Geographical indications are different from
other intellectual property like copyrights and trademarks. While copyrights
and trademarks are monopoly private intellectual property rights, GIs are
publicly owned by the artisans/ producers of the concerned product. Producers
of similar products in other geographical regions are excluded from using
the GI tag. The protection accorded through GIs seeks to prevent illegitimate
entities from free riding on the reputation of the protected product.

Most producers and artisans of traditional and unique products in India
lack the resources for seeking GI registration. Left to themselves, the
artisans and farmers would not be able to take advantage of legal protection
under. UNCTAD’s India project is implementing a comprehensive initiative
aimed at assisting resource poor artisans, weavers and farmers to seek
GI registration of their unique products.

Mr. Kunj Bihari Udaiwal, President- Calico Printers Co- Operative Society
said that the GI Protection to Sanganeri hand block print will benefit
almost 1500 artisan families of Sanganer.


Brij ballabh udaiwal ( SHILPI )
( National Award 91 )