The Karigar Crisis: Why India's Master Craftsmen Are Disappearing — and What Comes Next

The story of the karigar should be a story of pride. But behind it sits a quieter, more uncomfortable story. The karigar tradition is disappearing. Unless the industry confronts it directly, in twenty years much of what makes Indian jewellery extraordinary will no longer be possible to make.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

• 35 million: estimated total workforce across the Indian jewellery value chain
• 4–5 million: estimated practising karigars in traditional craft
• 60%+: share of master karigars aged over 50
• Under 10%: share of karigar children currently in apprenticeship roles, versus an estimated 80% a generation ago

Why the Tradition Is Breaking

1. Economic Reality. The karigar who spends three months on a bridal necklace earns a fraction of its retail price. The piece is sold for fifteen to thirty times what they were paid to make it.

2. Education Aspiration. The eight-year-old apprentice of the past is now in school. By the time a young person finishes school, they have alternative career paths that did not exist for their grandfather.

3. Urban Migration. Many karigar families have moved from craft centres to larger metros for better opportunities, weakening the workshop ecosystems traditional apprenticeship depends on.

4. Status Hierarchy. In an India increasingly defined by professional careers, manual craftsmanship sits low in the social hierarchy. Karigar parents often discourage their children from continuing.

5. Industry Structure. The shift toward organised retail and machine-assisted production has reduced demand for certain karigar specialisations.

What Is at Stake

• Craft traditions disappear: specific techniques exist as living knowledge in the hands of a handful of master karigars. When they go, the technique often goes with them.
• Economic value migrates: if India loses its karigar base, premium luxury production migrates to other countries.
• Cultural identity erodes: Indian jewellery is one of the country's most recognisable cultural exports.

What Is Being Done

• Government schemes: Hunar Haat, GI recognition, skill-preservation programmes.
• Brand-led initiatives: profit-sharing models, named attribution, apprenticeship subsidies.
• Designer collaborations: contemporary designers building practices around named karigar partnerships.
• Documentation and heritage: photography, video, and oral history projects preserving techniques.
• Industry awards: formal recognition through the Master Karigar Award and similar honours.

What Still Needs to Happen

• Income floor: fair compensation reflecting the value of the work.
• Formal training pathways: structured schools where young people can learn the craft alongside formal education.
• Named attribution as standard: crediting karigars on certifications, advertising, and editorial.
• Generational succession support: scholarships, housing, and professional support.

The IIJA Position

The Master Karigar Award sits among the most important honours on the IIJA list — designed to place the karigar on the same stage as the CEOs, the brand founders, and the retail giants of the industry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are Indian master karigars disappearing? Five forces: low economic compensation, formal education replacing childhood apprenticeship, urban migration weakening workshop ecosystems, social status hierarchies favouring professional careers, and structural shifts toward machine-assisted production.

How many karigars are there in India? Approximately 4–5 million practising karigars across traditional jewellery craft, out of a total Indian gems and jewellery workforce of approximately 35 million.

What is being done to preserve the karigar tradition? Government schemes, brand-led profit-sharing and attribution initiatives, designer collaborations, heritage documentation, and industry recognition platforms like the IIJA Master Karigar Award.

Will Indian karigar traditions survive? The most distinctive traditions will survive only with concerted effort. Several specific techniques are at genuine risk of being lost within one to two generations.