What Use are Token Policies for the Potters of Delhi’s Kumhar Gram?

Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Scheme, a central government scheme meant to to provide end-to-end support to artisans and craftspeople, was launched on September 17, 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The scheme covers artisans and craftspeople engaged in 18 trades, including potters (kumhars). 

Over the past decade, India has seen a large number of such government schemes with the ‘intention’ to bolster the arts and crafts sector across India. Those engaged in the craft of pottery have also been connected to these schemes but have found find little support in their livelihood, or in terms of protecting the craft. 

These initiatives include a broad spectrum of objectives, from skill upgradation to facilitating the market for their final products. Falling under the purview of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), pottery continues to be a cherished and prioritised craft among all. Or so they say. While the expansion of these initiatives seems promising in theory, the on-ground reality offers a contrasting perspective. 

Over the past few months, field researchers as part of an ethnographic project undertaken by the Centre for New Economics Studies’ Visual Storyboard team made an attempt to interact with the masters, craftspeople, and entrepreneurs of Uttam Nagar's potter colony. 

In the long search of ‘actual’ government support

When our researchers asked the respondents whether they had received any assistance from the government, we received a unanimous "no". Notably, the schemes available to these potters were limited to the ones designated for individuals below the poverty line. 

Nonetheless, it is incredibly vital to emphasise the stark absence of knowledge regarding the schemes made for them specifically. "I personally feel that the government doesn't offer us any assistance, not even a rupee. Here in our community, all of us are self-reliant and dedicated to sustaining our businesses, regardless of whether we gain a profit or incur losses. We rarely seek external help or support," said Narendra Kumar, a resident of Kumhar Gram. 

"There are absolutely no government schemes that offer us any form of assistance. Whether it's covering our electricity bills or medical expenses at hospitals, we're on our own. In case of medical emergencies, we resort to private hospitals which can be quite costly. Government hospitals, unfortunately, are overcrowded and busy, making it nearly impossible for us to access their services." 

Also read: Baked In The Sun, Consumed By The Smoke: The Potters Of Delhi's Kumhar Gram

Why is there such a significant disparity between the schemes that come from the government and those that reach the supposed beneficiaries? This is a classic ‘hope vs reality’ conundrum that many potters fail to fathom. 

As our team inquired further, we realised that a significant part of the issue was unawareness, while the rest stemmed from issues related to accessibility. 

Ineffective enforcement of a scheme and unsupportive officials exacerbate the anxieties within the community. Difficulty in acquiring loans is one of the ways in which this problem manifests.

Narendra Kumar, dubbed as the 'terracotta guru' within the community, said, "Till now, there has been little to no help from the government's end to help us acquire loans. It almost seems like we, the entire community of Uttam Nagar, have been blacklisted by the banks. Banks frequently decline our loan applications without providing any valid justification. Private banks still might give us a loan after looking at our business, but we have no such hopes from public banks." 

When asked to elaborate on the alleged blacklisting, he said, "The exact cause of our blacklisting remains unclear. It could be due to a past instance where someone from our community may have defaulted on a loan. Another contributing factor may be that all of us who reside here have purchased and settled on the land independently, as it is not a government-designated colony."

Environmental concerns

On one hand, national award winning potter Girraj Prasad has garnered recognition by exhibiting terracotta craft at the G20 Crafts Bazaar, and on the other, the community of potters residing in Uttam Nagar are on the edge of losing their livelihood over pollution concerns. The potters' colony with its visible smoke is an obvious target because Delhi is at the centre of the country's pollution problem. 

Frequently under the national green tribunal’s (NGT’s) scanner for contributing to air pollution in New Delhi, the community has something different to say about the 'harms' caused by the fumes. Ramesh Kumar (50) shares, “My father and even grandfather, worked in the same industry for several decades and they have never faced any health issues due to the work. Since we do not use any chemical, the smoke isn't harmful.” 

Potter's colony in Uttam Nagar. Photo: Special arrangement

Since they employ clay ovens or kilns that are fueled by burning wood husk and cow dung, the potters assert that their production method may be regarded as entirely organic. On each side of the lane are dwellings made of clay, and the streets are covered in heaps of it. A certain family is responsible for each mound. The majority of the homes have two stories, and virtually all of them have kilns, either within or protruding from a higher story. 

On further inquiry, Pradeep Kumar explains, "The smoke that comes out of wood doesn't harm a human, it's the rubber and chemicals that do. We only burn wood and buradda (wood flakes), so it's not a "bad" smoke that comes as a by-product. Oil-based fire is harmful as well. There's more dangerous smoke that gets released during stubble burning and forest fires, but no one talks about that. These bhattis (kilns) are our livelihood, and I don't believe that an hour of us baking our products causes any damage.”

It is evident by the precarious conditions of the potters it is not really their voices and concerns that are shaping these 'reformatory policies.' They are the voices of the 1990s liberalisation policies which had the goal of making Delhi a metropolis of the world. 

Although the potters' village's future is unknown, there is no indication of unfavourable unrest on the streets. Every year, the months leading up to Diwali are their busiest and business is brisk because in addition to serving the Indian market, they also export diyas to nations with sizable Indian diasporas, like Australia, the UK, Canada, and Singapore.

Despite there being a tremendous demand for their craft during the festive season, uncertainty continues to surround their livelihood. With the time commitment that the craft requires, it is unavoidably challenging for the artisans to chase behind every new policy and law reform. In the small alleys with mounds of mud and half-baked pots, there is also a general sense of unawareness and disunity attributable to their socio-economic backgrounds, historical and systematic marginalisation, and a pressure to make ends meet.   

Under such circumstances, the site of research for collecting data and policy-making, as Edward Said would argue, should refrain from the shadows of an institution that ‘makes statements about it [the orient], authorising views of it, describing it, by teaching about it, settling it, ruling over it.' Instead, a complexly situated community of vulnerable artisans desires a body of knowledge that acknowledges the significance of their perspectives and attempts to account for how, and why, such perspectives may have developed; that would eventually affect the ability of the community to avail a positive flow of rights. 

When it comes to the artisans of India, we are far away from the realisation of rights that lead to the enhancement of their capabilities, and more importantly, provide meaning and purpose in their efforts to practice and conserve the craft. 

This is the second article of a two-part series from CNES’ Visual Storyboard team from a field project focusing on the lives-livelihoods of West Delhi’s pottery makers and their endangered craft. You can read the first part here. 

Tavleen Kaur is a Senior Research Assistant and Team Lead of Swabhimaan and Visual Storyboard initiatives with CNES.

Deepanshu Mohan is Professor of Economics and Director, CNES. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow with Birkbeck College, University of London and a Visiting Professor of Economics at School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada. 

Anousha Singh is a Research Intern with CNES and a student of Delhi University’s Ramanujan College.

Namesh Kilemsetty is an Assistant Professor at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy at O.P. Jindal Global University. He researches on transdisciplinary areas of urban governance and poverty studies.

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