Business Standard

Court Closes Calico Mills

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Batuk Vora BSCAL

The establishment of textile mills in this industrial hub of Gujarat in the second half of the 19th century was once hailed as a harbinger of capitalism.

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But a chapter in the state's industrial history was brought to an end when the Gujarat High Court, after three years of legal wrangling, sealed the 18 gates and 250 departments of one of the gigantic pillars of that capitalism _ the Calico mills.

"This is the end of a glorious chapter in the history of Ahmedabad," commented well-known Gujarat historian M.C. Mehta. "Calico as such was already closed since four years but the court's order has finally issued a death certificate."

 

Standing on a sprawling 241,022 square metres of land on the bank of Sabarmati river, Calico once flourished under the ownership of Ambalal Sarabhai, who was the first industrialist to finance the Sabarmati Ashram set up by Mahatma Gandhi in the 1920s. One of the first textile mills founded in the city, Calico, set up in 1880, was one of the largest and most glamorous.

Named as Amdavad Manufacturing and Calico Printing Mills Ltd. and M/S ILAC Ltd., both the units have now been liquidated "in view of their obsolete technology and huge liabilities", according to the High Court verdict.

Calico's compound now stands as a relic to a glorious past. A vast water tank that was built to distribute water sucked from seven different tubewells now lies dry. Halls, where once the best of cotton fabric were made, are now hung with cobwebs.

Apart from their contribution to industry, Ambalal Sarabhai's family also gifted India with towering personalities. His sister Ansuyaben founded the Majur Mahajan textile labour union under Gandhiji's guidance and led the first workers' strike in the `20s that affected her brother's mill too. Ambalal's son Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai became one of the pillars of India's nuclear research. His wife Mrinalini and then daughter Mallika went on to become internationally famous dancers.

Calico's fortunes, later on managed by Ambalal's brothers and nephews, crumbled under the weight of time, financial greed, outdated and worn-out machinery, tax and debt dodging and changing fashions. The financial sickness began in 1982 when the lay-off of some 12,400 workers in the weaving department alone was ordered.

Calico was not the only one to be in the red: 55 out of 64 textile units were in a financial mess. More than 100,000 workers were thrown out on the streets.

The government's Board for Industrial and Financial Restructuring (BIFR), which was looking into the function of these units, recommended the winding up of Calico units in 1995. In between there was a chequered history of attempts to revive and rehabilitate the units. The Calico management filed an appeal against the opinion of the BIFR in 1995, which was dismissed in 1997.

The seven bungalows of the higher management and the 48 blocks of workers' apartments inside the compound now lie deserted, without water, road maintenance or electricity. Some workers are still trying to live there but the liquidators could make them vacate every piece of land.

Nobody either in the government or BIFR knows what is going to be done with this huge property. Workers have been fighting a losing battle for land plots, revival or replacement of machinery and past dues. It is likely to be a protracted struggle.

For now, Calico stands as a closed chapter of some gilded years of history.

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First Published: Aug 11 1998 | 12:00 AM IST

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