Changing tack
In a pre-poll move, the Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to oppose the ban on shahtoosh trade in the Supreme Court. It will do so by filing its objections against a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) petition, seeking a blanket ban on the trade. The decision followed a meeting of shawl manufacturers of Kashmir with chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on March 27.
Shahtoosh shawls are made of the wool of the Tibetan antelope. A ban has been imposed on shahtoosh trade since 2000 after a high court order, even as the WWF petition continues to be heard in the apex court. The state government itself had upgraded the protection of the animal. But shawl manufacturers are believed to have appealed to Sayeed to protect the interests of weavers and traders, who have been hit hard by the ban.
"We are for the lifting of the ban because it has rendered an army of artisans jobless. Misconceptions have been created at the national and global level, prompting the ban. We will present our case with full force in the apex court,' says Raman Matoo, the state's minister for industries and commerce. However, shawl weavers and traders fear the move is an election stunt.
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