Rajshahi silk is the name given to the

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

products produced in

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. It is famous because it is a high quality fabric used for clothing, especially for

sari A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-sti ...

s. In 2021, it was given

Geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town or region). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, is inten ...

status as a product of Bangladesh.

History

Records date the beginning of silk production in the region to the 13th century. It was then known as Bengal silk or Ganges silk. The government of Pakistan started silk production in Rajshahi in 1952. The Rajshahi Silk Factory was a state owned factory which was founded in 1961. In 1978 it was handed over to the Bangladesh Sericulture Development Board. Since then it has been making a loss. It was closed down on 30 November 2002. Before 2002 300 tonnes of strings were produced by this factory. In 2011 it was only 50 tonnes. In 2011 the finance minister of Bangladesh,

Abul Maal Abdul Muhith Abul Maal Abdul Muhith (25 January 1934 – 30 April 2022) was a Bangladeshi economist, writer, civil servant, secretary, diplomat and politician. He served as the finance minister of the government of Bangladesh from January 2009 until January ...

, expressed interest in reopening the Rajshahi silk factory but the Privatisation Commission refused on the grounds that it was a loss making concern.

Types

Rajshahi silk is like all other kinds of silk made from the cocoons of

silkworm ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

s. The very thin fibers resulting from this process are covered with sericin, a special

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

. There are mainly three varieties of silks: *

Mulberry ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinat ...

silk * Eri silk (Endi silk) and *

Tassar silk Tussar silk (alternatively spelled as tussah, tushar, tassar, tussore, tasar, tussur, or tusser, and also known as (Sanskrit) ''kosa'' silk) is produced from larvae of several species of silkworms belonging to the moth genus ''Antheraea'', inclu ...

. Among these varieties, Mulberry silk is the finest and is therefore the most valuable. Clothes like Saris made out of Rajshahi silk are highly popular all over Bangladesh. Rajshahi silk is also sold as

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

designers A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

and is available in different colours and designs.

Significance

In 2011 there were seven silk factories and the Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute in Rajshahi. Most of the silk of Bangladesh is produced by the region's

sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...

. Approximately 100,000 people are directly or indirectly employed in this sector. Rajshahi Silk Industry and Factory Labourers' Union represent the workers in the silk industry.

Gallery

File:Silk cocoon, Sopura Silk Mills Ltd (03).jpg, Silk cocoon File:Silk cocoon, Sopura Silk Mills Ltd (01).jpg, Silk cocoon File:Silk cocoon, Sopura Silk Mills Ltd (02).jpg, Silk cocoon File:Silk cocoon, Sopura Silk Mills Ltd (04).jpg, Silk cocoon File:Silk weaving, Sopura Silk Mills Limited (01).jpg, Silk weaving File:Waxing on Rajshahi silk, Sopura Silk Mills Ltd (02).jpg, Waxing on Rajshahi silk File:Rajshahi silk fabric, Sopura Silk Mills Ltd (01).jpg

References

External links

Geographical indications in Bangladesh Bangladeshi clothing Rajshahi Silk Textile industry of Bangladesh {{Bangladesh-stub