Kashmir Inc urges for combating counterfeit carpets

Prominent businessman and former chairperson of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Ashiq has called upon government and industry stakeholders to take immediate action to combat the surge of counterfeit and machine-made carpets falsely marketed as genuine Kashmiri handicrafts.

Members of Kashmir Industry have sought measures to combat the surge of counterfeit and machine-made carpets after a craft dealer was blacklisted by the handicraft authorities for selling a machine-made carpet as handmade for ₹2.5 lakh in North Kashmir’s Tangmarg

Members of Kashmir Industry have sought measures to combat the surge of counterfeit and machine-made carpets after a craft dealer was blacklisted by the handicraft authorities for selling a machine-made carpet as handmade for ₹2.5 lakh in North Kashmir’s Tangmarg (Representational image)

Prominent businessman and former chairperson of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Ashiq has called upon government and industry stakeholders to take immediate action to combat the surge of counterfeit and machine-made carpets falsely marketed as genuine Kashmiri handicrafts.

Sheikh Ashiq,who serves on the boards of both the Carpet Export Promotion Council and The Indian Silk Export Promotion Council, accused certain traders and retailers of blending machine-made carpets—including imports from countries like Iran and Turkey—with traditional Kashmiri handwoven carpets in local showrooms. He stressed that this practice not only erodes the unique identity and standing of Kashmiri products globally but also jeopardizes the livelihoods of thousands of local artisans. “A single handmade carpet represents the year-long dedication of an artisan, while a machine-made carpet can be produced en masse within a day. This imbalance is driving skilled weavers towards joblessness and severely threatening a craft that is an integral part of our heritage,ˮ he remarked.

On Tuesday, directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir blacklisted and deregistered craft showroom - The Kashmir Art Bazaar, Tangmarg - after it was found guilty of selling a machine-made carpet for ₹2.55 lakh to a tourist by fraudulently passing it off as a hand-knotted Kashmiri GI-certified product, officials said.

The seller used a fake QR label resembling the official label issued by the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) to mislead the buyer into believing the carpet was a genuine GI-certified craft.

Ghulam Nabi Dar, president of Meeras and a respected manufacturer, also voiced the escalating concerns among Kashmiri craftsmen. He highlighted not only the lack of support for senior artisans but also the urgent need to ensure machine-made and handmade carpets are sold separately to prevent misrepresentation of Kashmiri handicrafts.