ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how Indian handicrafts and artisans have been historically constructed as the repositories of tradition from the colonial period until today. It explores the forms taken by the anxieties of present-day Indians who express their association with the country and its values through consuming crafts. The association of handicrafts with Indian-ness continues in India, as does their pecuniary nature. Not only are crafts merchandise in the neoliberal market produced to increase India’s exports and value-laden visual representations of an individual’s aspirational class, they are also a symbol of Indian-ness, which could be a different thing for every person in contemporary India. The Indian nationalist movement that was gaining momentum was able to appropriate the arguments as they stood in opposition to the British who promoted Western-influenced art education, while supporting Indian art and craft only to exploit the labor of local artisans and fill the coffers of the regime.
