Assam’s muga silk gets GI registration

Muga, the unique golden-yellow silk of Assam, has been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) registration. Muga is the first item from the state to obtain the GI tag

Muga, the unique golden-yellow silk of Assam, has been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) registration. Muga is the first item from the state to obtain the GI tag, with a variety of Assam tea and joha-a rice variety with a typical aroma also waiting in line for such recognition.

Officials at Assam State Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) said the GI registration came through on July 20, but a formal public announcement would be made only when Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi returns from New Delhi on Friday.

“That muga silk is unique to Assam had to be proved from several aspects, with various departments and organisations providing vital support in making the claim. This registration will confer legal protection to muga in India and around the world and prevent unauthorised use,” an ASTEC official said.

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Interestingly, though muga belongs to Assam, moves made by the Central Silk Board (CSB) to encourage farmers in West Bengal, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh to produce this unique variety of silk in the past few years had almost deprived the state of the GI tag. ASTEC even placed references from Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Edward A Gait’s A History of Assam to drive home the point that muga belonged only to Assam, the official said.

Muga is obtained from a semi-domesticated multi-voltine silkworm called Antheraea assamensis, which again is unique only to Assam. The peculiarity of muga is that it is durable and its natural tones of golden yellow and rare sheen become more lustrous with every wash.

Every year, Assam produces about 180 metric tonnes of muga yarn worth around Rs 100 crore. “A major chunk of muga is used in the state for making ceremonial dresses required during weddings and Bihu festival. Now, we are looking at reducing its domestic use and go for value-addition to exploit the international market,” said N N Rana Patgiri, managing director of Artfed, the apex marketing federation of weavers and handloom societies of Assam. Artfed pioneered the export of muga and other Assam silks to different parts of the globe in the past decade.

Japan has of late emerged as the latest market, importing stocks of Rs 2 crore last year, Patgiri said. Japan, he said, was finding muga very suitable for manufacturing kimonos, white quilts, stoles, bedcovers and other items.