The Centre's shahtoosh diplomacy seems to have reached a dead end. Despite pressure from J&K trade, the Centre is finding it difficult to paint shahtoosh 'green' and make it legit.
A committee based in the textiles ministry, examining the issue for nearly a year, is ready with a draft report, which says that eco-shahtoosh is just not possible
But it doesn't want to push it and is quite willing to wait patiently for final responses from J&K, the only place where these prized shawls, so fine they can pass through a ring, are woven.
The rare Tibetan antelope or chiru is believed to be hunted for this wool, which is then smuggled into Kashmir for weaving. Abroad, each shawl can fetch $15,000 or more in the clandestine market
With chiru numbers dipping dangerously and the trade stamped illegal, international and Indian laws have extended the highest protective cover to the chiru, which lives the Tibetan plateau and migrates to Ladakh in summer.
But it was caught in a political snare late 2004 when the PM visited Kashmir and heard how the ban on a Rs 120-crore annual trade was strangling the livelihood of nearly 30,000 poor Kashmiri families. In Delhi, this concern took the shape of an expert group, examining if "environment-friendly shahtoosh trade" was possible.
The clinching argument against the trade is that the chiru is found in very small numbers in India. China has the chiru and it has banned trade. "Theoretically, even if the government of India lifts the ban, no shahtoosh is legally available. The producer country has banned it," says a source.
marketing@alchempro.com
