Women Artisans Power ₹1,000‑Crore Silver Trade in Hupari Despite Low Pay

UPDATE - follow-up to The silver hands of Hupari: Women artisans in Hupari, Maharashtra, now drive a ₹1,000‑crore silver ornament industry, yet remain underpaid and barred from formal leadership roles. Their craft, famed for delicate detailing, is passed down generation after generation, forming the town’s economic backbone. They work in cramped, dimly lit rooms that line the narrow lanes, each space resembling a wagon on a track. On an afternoon a month before Deepavali, 76‑year‑old artisan Kanchan Katkar uses iron tongs to attach silver ghungroos to chain loops, saying she will work as long as she can. Katkar, one of the few girls in Hupari to finish school in 1970, chose to remain unmarried to look after parents who took part in the Indian freedom struggle. Despite lacking official decision‑making power, women like Katkar have built economic autonomy within a deeply traditional setting. Their collective output now totals a ₹1,000‑crore turnover, even as daily wages often barely cover basic needs.

Context

The silver craft of Hupari has been a family trade for over a century, with workshops organized as small, home‑based units that rely on women’s skill and labor.