North Lakhimpur: Bikram Das (30) from Chamta village in Tufanganj, Cooch Behar district, West Bengal, is busy weaving a Mekhela Sador made of Muga silk on his loom at the Mahanta Silk House and Hota Ghar shed in Machkhowa Chariali, Assam’s Dhemaji district.
Bikram, a migrant worker, earns Rs 2,000 for a set of Mekhela Sador, a traditional two-piece dress popular among Assamese women. For him, the more textiles he weaves, the more he earns. Bikram has been working at this handloom factory for the past three years. Like him, a dozen weavers from various villages in Cooch Behar are employed under the same shed.
In the greater Muga-producing zone, encompassing Dhakuakhana in Lakhimpur district and Machkhowa-Chouwkham in western Dhemaji district, migrant weavers from Cooch Behar and North Bengal have long contributed to the production of handloom garments.
Their work has witnessed a steady rise in market demand. Their engagement in Assam’s traditional handloom industry in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts is also creating a new trend in internal migration, including instances of reverse migration.
A number of migrant weavers from West Bengal are employed at Mahanta Silk House and Hota Ghar, the largest handloom center for traditional garments in Machkhowa, with a significant market presence in Assam, across India, and abroad.
The handloom weaving industry in West Bengal has been in decline over the past decade due to the proliferation of power looms, rising yarn prices, unstable demand, delayed payments, exploitation by Mahajans (middlemen), and design copying. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–21 worsened the situation. Handloom villages like Kenjakura in Bankura have experienced severe hardships following the closure of local handlooms. Many traditional artisans have either shifted to alternative livelihoods or migrated elsewhere in search of work.
The steady market demand, higher wages, safe working conditions, and better accommodations have attracted handloom weavers from West Bengal to Assam in significant numbers, helping them sustain their livelihoods and preserve their artistry. It is reported that the remaining Tants in Bankura earn meager wages, below the rural wage rates specified under the MGNREGA Act. They earn Rs 3,000 monthly from their looms, while Mahajans pay a maximum of Rs 100 daily for finished saris and Gamochas. Their prior experience weaving Mekhela Chadors in Cooch Behar has made it easier for them to adapt to work in Assam’s handloom industry.
“Weavers in West Bengal, in places like Baburhat and Chamta, already have experience weaving Assamese Mekhela Chadors, so it is not difficult for us to weave them here,” said a migrant worker.
Notably, the booming handloom industry in Lakhimpur and Dhemaji, producing organic silk garments with growing demand, has also influenced migration trends from Assam to other states. Many artisans who had previously migrated from Assam to West Bengal have returned to find opportunities in Machkhowa and Dhakuakhana.
“I made saris on a loom in Nadia district, West Bengal, but the looms there closed due to the rise of power looms. Wages for weaving also fell, so I returned home and got employment here,” said Bibek Das (33) from Bongaigaon district, now working at Bipuorna Handloom Establishments in Pathalial village, Machkhowa Development Block, Dhemaji district. Along with Bibek, eight other weavers from Bongaigaon and Chirang districts, who had previously migrated to West Bengal, have been working here for the past five years.
“Seven years ago, I worked in a loom in Nadia, which closed because of power looms. Then I learned about work in Dhemaji, which is closer to home, so I moved here about five years ago. Now I earn enough to support my family,” said Kartik Das (32) from Bongaigaon district, working in the same handloom industry as Bibek Das.
Besides power looms, rising yarn prices and imitation of handloom products with inorganic yarns have contributed to the closure of traditional handlooms in West Bengal. Many displaced workers who had migrated to West Bengal have now returned to Assam and are using their skills to produce organic handloom textiles with high market demand.
The trend of reverse migration of skilled workers to Assam is a positive development at a time when thousands of young men and women are leaving the state, mostly for industrial regions in southern India. Migrant workers from Assam in southern India are employed in various sectors but earn modest wages. There are also regular reports of deaths and disappearances among Assam migrant workers during work or train journeys. The development of rural entrepreneurship in sectors beyond handlooms could encourage similar reverse migration trends among Assam’s workforce.