An export potential ignored

Two Monipuri woman on their handlooms made with bamboo. The photo was taken from a village in Komolganj on Wednesday.. PHOTO: STAR

Monipuri clothing items are sold everywhere-- from footpath shops to posh shopping malls in cities and are acclaimed by fashion conscious urban people. Urban ladies like Monipuri sharees as those are not only fashionable but also cheaper.

Having a glorious tradition in handloom, Monipuri community is different from other tribesmen. They are the only tribal community in the country who live in plainlands.

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Though Monipuri women are traditionally specialised in producing handloom items, the picture was not like this even a few years back.

They are grateful to internationally known Bangladeshi fashion designer BB Russel. She went there in 2001 and encouraged them, displaying various designs.

There is at least one handloom in each family. These are simple in design and cheap.

The Daily Star Correspondent visited Adampur, Tilokpur and Madhabpur villages in Kamalgonj recently. Women were busy on handlooms and men were working in fields.

Rajeswari Devi of Madhabpur village recalled her past days when there was no demand for their knitting items. Their market was limited to local areas. Days were very hard then.

Arita Sinha said BB Rushel inspired and advised them on various designs.

"Russel's visit encouraged us and we started weaving special types of sarees and bedsheets with colourful design. Now these are in good demand in cities and towns", she said.

Being encouraged by the good demand, they formed an association to market the products.

But there are problems as well. Fund crisis is the major problem. There is no bank loan facility.

Some NGOs working in the area give them short term micro credit. But the interest is high.

All of them said if soft loan and adequate supply of yarn are provided, the attractive handloom products can be exported to earn foreign exchange.

Monipuris have been living in the district since the 18th century.

Most of the Monipuri population in Bangladesh is concentrated in Moulvibazar district. About 60 villages in five unions in Kamalgonj upazila of the district are predominantly Minipuri areas. There are three Monipuri villages in Srimongal upazila, 11 in Baralekha, two in Kulaura and one in the Sadar upazila.

There is no correct census on Monipuri population in the country.

A leader of the Monipuri Samaj Kalyan Samity (MSKS) at Kamalgonj said they enumerated about one lakh 40 thousand Monipuris across the county.

There are mainly three tribes in Monipuri community-- Vishnupuria, Meithei and Meithei Pangon. The Vishnupurias and the Meitheis believe in the Hindu religion. The Meithei Pangons follow Islam.

They have two separate languages-- Vishnupuri and Meithei--with their own alphabets. But Bangla alphabets are now being used in both the languages.

Their literacy rate is over 60 per cent now.

A High Court judge was appointed from the Monipuri community in 1999. Besides many Monipuris in civil service, there are doctors, engineers, teachers and lawyers from among them.

Monirpuris have a rich music and dance oriented culture.

Rabindranath Tagore's famous dance drama Chitrangada is base on the history of Monipuris.