Kashidakari: Crafting Cultural Identity of Meghwal Community Women Migrants

Transnational migrations have fostered a coherent narrative of the cultural evolution and identity creation of various communities across borders. Since the 1947 partition, many migrants from Pakistan to India, including non-Muslim groups like Charan, Meghwal, Rajput, and Sindhi, have faced trauma and insecurity. Under this stressful paradigm, one of the major concerns of these migrant communities was the preservation of their material culture and identity. The paper aims to address the diaspora of material culture and tangible heritage, forming a new identity for the Meghwal community’s women migrants through embroidery practices. Utilizing an inductive ethnographic approach, observations, and in-depth interviews with 41 artisans identified through purposive snowball sampling in the Pugal region of Bikaner, Rajasthan. The study explores the evolution of embroidery amidst migration, highlighting changes in techniques, motifs, colors, and the cultural significance of products and costumes, proposing a framework for preserving cultural identity through this craft. Despite many challenges, this embroidery craft has recently received GI (Geographic Indication) and remains pivotal in shaping cultural identity and social cohesion, while contributing to the vibrant tapestry of human heritage in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by UNESCO.