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  • A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. Indian Kashmir, once famous for silk industry employing thousands of people, is now facing challenges due to competition with other countries. Chinon, Chiffon and Charmous were some silk varieties made in Kashmir. EPA
    A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. Indian Kashmir, once famous for silk industry employing thousands of people, is now facing challenges due to competition with other countries. Chinon, Chiffon and Charmous were some silk varieties made in Kashmir. EPA
  • A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
    A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
  • A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
    A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
  • An Indian worker feeds mulberry leaves to silkworms at a silk thread factory at Udhampur town about 85km from the northern Indian city of Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir. EPA
    An Indian worker feeds mulberry leaves to silkworms at a silk thread factory at Udhampur town about 85km from the northern Indian city of Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir. EPA
  • A Kashmiri craftsman works on a carpet loom in Magam, near Srinagar. The fine wool and silks used by the weavers make the Kashmir carpets quite expensive. Reuters
    A Kashmiri craftsman works on a carpet loom in Magam, near Srinagar. The fine wool and silks used by the weavers make the Kashmir carpets quite expensive. Reuters
  • An Indian woman holds silkworm cocoons to reel silk thread from the cocoon at a silk thread factory at Udhampur town. EPA
    An Indian woman holds silkworm cocoons to reel silk thread from the cocoon at a silk thread factory at Udhampur town. EPA
  • Satpal & Co, a shop with silk, embroidered saries and Kashmiri shawls at Janpath market, New Delhi. Kalyan Chakravorty / The India Today Group / Getty Images
    Satpal & Co, a shop with silk, embroidered saries and Kashmiri shawls at Janpath market, New Delhi. Kalyan Chakravorty / The India Today Group / Getty Images
  • A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
    A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
  • Kashmiri artisans work at a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. AFP
    Kashmiri artisans work at a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. AFP
  • An Indian worker boils silkworm cocoons to reel silk thread from the cocoon at a silk thread factory at Udhampur town. EPA
    An Indian worker boils silkworm cocoons to reel silk thread from the cocoon at a silk thread factory at Udhampur town. EPA
  • A Kashmir artisan works at a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. AFP
    A Kashmir artisan works at a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. AFP
  • Kashmir labourers carry raw material for making silk toward a machine inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
    Kashmir labourers carry raw material for making silk toward a machine inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
  • A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
    A Kashmir labourer works inside a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. EPA
  • An Indian artisan works at a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. AFP
    An Indian artisan works at a silk factory on the outskirts of Srinagar. AFP

Smoother times ahead for India’s Kashmir silk – in pictures

Liz Claus

December 02, 2015

The Silk industry was one of the best revenue earning industries in Kashmir but failures to keep up with trends in post partition years and competition from China has resulted in a decline in sericulture or silkworm farming in the Kashmir Valley. Authorities have recently initiated a number of steps towards reviving the industry.

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