I wasn't aware of this piece of history!!
From the chapter "Under the Curse of Gold - Kerala's Gold Boom and the Exit of Vishwakarma Goldsmiths" in this book "In search of Vishwakarma - Mapping Indian Craft Histories - Edited by Vijaya Ramaswamy"
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From the chapter "Under the Curse of Gold - Kerala's Gold Boom and the Exit of Vishwakarma Goldsmiths" in this book "In search of Vishwakarma - Mapping Indian Craft Histories - Edited by Vijaya Ramaswamy"
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"State as an 'Apparatus of Capture' also played a dubious role in denigrating the well-to-do position goldsmiths enjoyed till mid twentieth century.
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The Gold Control Act declared by the Indian state in 1963, and repealed only in 1990, was the most crucial state intervention that changed their status fundamentally.
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The Gold Control Act was implemented by the state mainly because it felt the need to control foreign exchange outflows after the 1962 Indo-China War.
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Among several other provisions, it banned the public use of 22-carat gold and allowed only the transaction 14-carat gold and below. But the Act failed due to the exceptionally high demand for 22-carat gold among Indians and their refusal to surrender gold to the government.
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It failed in the case of the artisans also, since the government did not come out with alternate provisions to rehabilitate the goldsmiths who were thrown out of their traditional profession.
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The situation worsened eventually and around 260 people from the goldsmith community committed suicide in the period from 1963 to 1966. Massive protests from the artisan community ensued, and finally the government was forced to make an important amendment to this Act in 1966"
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Folks from Kerala may know this in detail. I will try to read up more. Stunned. So sharing.
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