Glass industry of Firozabad Uttar Pradesh: traditional craft to industrial heritage of India/

Abstract

Firozabad is a district situated near Agra. It is known as the Glass City of India for its large manufacturing of glass-related products. For more than 200 years the Firozabad industry is indulging in making glass bangles and now has become the world’s largest producer of glass bangles. Bangle making skills had been transferred from generation to generation passing on the traditional technique. Now the business of glass industry is grown in various fields like glassware like beakers, flasks, containers for laboratories, other products like the light bulb, battery bulb and other lighting and spotting equipment, glass art items are also made like toys, candle stands, fruits, birds and animal figurines and images of gods and goddesses and domestic glass goods like drinking glasses. It has now become a culture of small households in the city to indulge in making items related to glass. Most of the population is connected to the business. To produces all these products, one requires skill, craft and knowledge which cannot be gained without proper practice and knowledge. There are two towns Shikohabad and Tundla which come under the Firozabad district. Tundla is located in the west and east of Shikohabad city. The main trade in the district is bangles. Due to over pollution coal is replaced with gas thus coal business in the city is reduced. Women of the city are employed in their houses to prepare and give the final touch to the bangles. The industry is a place where raw material is processed to make a product which is later used as an economic asset. In the case of Firozabad, the industries and craft are interdependent to create a final product for the market. Firozabad glass industry had been looked upon the aspects like pollution, child labour and poor condition of labour in the industry. This thesis wants to highlight the background of skill and how it impacts the industrial status of the city and the interdependency of community, craftsmen and industry.