After years of being eroded by machine-made imports, political uncertainty and the slow exit of skilled artisans, Kashmir’s carpet industry is repositioning itself at the very top of the global luxury market, betting on scale, rarity and exquisite craftsmanship.
In the ongoing bone-chilling cold, inside workshops tucked into the Valley’s hamlets, master carpet makers move the loom forward inch by inch, knot by knot.
In one such modest workshop in Vailoo-Kunzar hamlet of Baramulla district, 30 kilometres from Srinagar, young and old artisans sit cross-legged on a packed-earth floor beneath a loom bolted together to carry an impossible weight. Silk threads fall in disciplined rows, catching the winter light, as their fingers move in quiet unison, knot by knot, shaping a carpet so vast it cannot be seen all at once.
These artisans are nearing completion of what is expected to become the world’s second-largest handmade silk carpet, measuring 30 by 72 feet. After more than eight years at the loom, the carpet—destined for the Gulf—will carry more than 25 crore knots, a staggering figure that reveals the painstaking labour behind its creation.
“These carpets are not just products but business statements, proof that Kashmir can still command the world’s most demanding buyers,” said Habibullah Sheikh, a master weaver involved in producing some of the world’s largest handmade carpets. “They show that Kashmir can still compete globally, and that patience has a place in a world driven by speed.”
Sheikh is not new to record-breaking projects. In 2024, he and his team completed what officials recognise as the world’s largest handmade silk carpet, shipped to the Middle East. Measuring 72 feet by 40 feet, the eight-year project involved more than 36 crore hand-tied knots and was valued at about Rs. 37.5 crore.
After its final washing and clipping in Srinagar, the carpet—locally known as “qaleen”—was shipped to Qatar, where it was displayed in a ceremonial hall far from the remote Valley villages where it was woven.
Sheikh, 60, led a team of five dozen experienced artisans who worked on the world’s largest handmade carpet across seven specially designed looms. “For a project of this scale, we needed more hands, but not just any hands. Every artisan had to be highly skilled,” he told Mint.
According to Sheikh’s younger brother, Abdul Gaffar, another veteran craftsman, work on the world’s largest handmade silk carpet began in 2016 and was completed in 2024, involving an estimated 43,200 labour-days.
“It was something we had never attempted before but we also knew this was our chance to show the world what Kashmiri hands can do,” said 55-year-old Gaffar.
“The scale alone was daunting. Nothing of this size had ever been made in Jammu and Kashmir. But we decided to take on the challenge, and through patience and persistence we made it possible. Now we know we can go even larger.”
Looms of legacy
At the loom, Sheikh recites the Talim, a coded language of colour, pattern and count passed down through generations. The instructions are spoken aloud, steady and unhurried, and the weavers follow without pause, their hands moving almost instinctively. The work advances at a pace set by tradition.
From the adjoining room, women move among the artisans, serving hot cups of Nun Chai, the traditional pink salty tea of Kashmir, as the first snow of the season drifts outside after a long, dry winter.
“In winter, the shorter days limit us to about nine hours of work, but in summer we often work more than ten hours a day,” explained Sheikh, noting Fridays are reserved as the weekly break.
For the Sheikh brothers and the artisans they work with, these record-breaking carpets are about more than scale or spectacle; they have become symbols of hope for an industry fighting to survive.
In about two years, the carpet is expected to be washed at Srinagar’s Hazratbal shrine, drawing crowds much like the washing of the world’s largest carpet did in 2024. The shrine offers one of the few spaces large and secure enough for the delicate process, helping preserve a cultural work destined for a palace in the Middle East.
Both brothers say they learned the craft early, Sheikh began at seven, Gaffar at eleven.
“Trying to compete with machines cost us our place in the market. Today, we are clear about our strength. Machines can produce speed but we produce craftsmanship, quality and precision,” Gaffar told Mint.
Srinagar-based businessman and veteran carpet dealer Fayaz Ahmad Shah, who brought both record-breaking carpet orders to Kashmir, says securing such commissions is never easy.
“You have to convince the buyer, design a loom that can handle the size, and then inspect the project for years,” he explained.
Scale as strategy
Most large commissions now come from the Gulf, where he travels frequently. “These buyers are not looking for speed. They are looking for carpets that are both visually appealing and uncompromising in quality.”
Zubair Ahmad Mir, director of the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT), Srinagar, called the back-to-back creation of the world’s largest handmade carpets a shot in the arm for the industry.
“When the order came, we said yes because we knew Kashmir has master artisans capable of executing work of this class,” Mir told Mint. “But skill alone is not enough. You need the right loom for a project of this scale. Without such looms, it simply cannot be done.”
He added that IICT guided the weavers throughout the process. “This was a high-density, silk-on-silk piece, something that had not been attempted at this scale before. Orders like these are what take the industry forward.”
Mir said IICT has set up a state-of-the-art Common Facility Centre for azo-free yarn dyeing—the first of its kind in J&K—aligned with international standards. The facility is expected to be commissioned soon, with operations likely to be outsourced for efficiency.
With global demand rising again for handmade carpets, exporters see a narrow window to reclaim lost markets.
“This is the right time to prioritize international exposure for exporters, especially in sustainability-driven markets,” says Sheikh Ashiq of Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC.)
“International trade fairs are crucial. In the past, foreign buyers placed large bulk orders for Kashmiri handmade carpets through such platforms. Done right, this can secure a long-term revival and reposition Kashmiri carpets prominently on the global stage.”
Ashiq recently participated in the Indian Pavilion at Heimtextil 2026 in Frankfurt, the world’s largest trade fair for home and contract textiles. Germany, he says, once served as the gateway for Kashmiri carpets into Europe. “Our carpets are high-value products. To take the craft again in the European market, serious marketing and international exposure are essential.”
Despite multi-crore valuations, many artisans earn ₹500–600 a day—often less than unskilled labour. The physical toll is also severe.
“If artisans who have given their lives to this craft still earn so little, how can the next generation be persuaded to stay?” Sheikh asked.
Heritage roots
Kashmir’s carpets, also known as “Kal Baffi”, trace back over 600 years to Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, who brought Persian and Central Asian weavers to the Valley. Their techniques blended with local traditions, drawing on the aesthetics of Iranian cities such as Kashan and Isfahan, and shaping a craft that survived empires. By the Mughal era, carpet weaving had become deeply embedded in Kashmir’s social and cultural life.
Beyond the race to create the world’s largest handmade carpets, Kashmir’s revival is also being shaped by a new generation of designer-artisans repositioning the craft for global luxury markets. Instead of competing on volume, they are producing limited-edition wall pieces and bespoke designs that treat carpets as art objects. Digital design tools now sit alongside centuries-old looms, allowing artisans to reinterpret Kashmiri motifs in a contemporary visual language.
In downtown Srinagar, designated a UNESCO Craft City in 2021, Shahnawaz Ahmad Sofi, a Fine Arts graduate, has been at the forefront of this shift. He creates wall-hanging carpets featuring calligraphy, birds and floral motifs rather than traditional floor coverings. “Not just the world’s largest carpets, but doing out-of-the-box work with design is also helping the industry return to the global spotlight,” Sofi, who also revived Pashmina carpets in Kashmir, Sofi told Mint.
At 44, he straddles tradition and technology, using computers to design carpets rooted in Kashmiri motifs that have reached the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the home of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man.
Alongside artisan-led innovation, the government has also stepped in to stabilize the 600-year-old industry, which counts 56,699 registered artisans but remains under pressure from cheaper, machine-made imports. In 2022, authorities introduced Geographical Indication (GI) tagging for Kashmiri hand-knotted carpets. The QR-code-based label allows buyers to verify a carpet’s origin, material, knot density and artisan details with a smartphone scan.
Atul Sharma, managing director of the J&K Handloom and Handicraft Corporation, said the move has been decisive. “Without GI tagging, this trade might not have survived,” he told Mint. “Buyers spending lakhs or crores were hesitant earlier. The GI tag has restored confidence.”
Authorities have also tightened enforcement. “We recently sealed a showroom for selling fake carpets,” Sharma said. “Protecting authenticity is essential.”
Ahmad agreed. “This is about restoring trust like when a buyer scans the code, they know exactly where the carpet came from and who made it.”
According to Sharma, exports had dipped briefly following the Pahalgam incident in April last year but have since stabilized, with demand picking up across key international markets.
“There was a slight decline, but the recovery is visible,” he said. “We expect strong carpet sales through 2026, with exports projected to cross ₹1,000 crore. Our carpets are regaining ground in markets such as the United States, the Middle East and Australia, aided by international exposure programmes. Iran has fallen behind and we are now competing closely with Turkey. With sustained effort and marketing, Kashmir can soon reclaim its position at the top of the global handmade carpet trade.”
According to official figures, carpet exports in Kashmir surged to ₹357 crore in 2022-23, up from ₹251 crore in 2021-2022 and ₹299 crore in 2020-2021. However, this remains below ₹452 crore recorded in 2017-18.
Last year’s 50 percent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump jolted Kashmir’s carpet exporters, with duties on hand-knotted rugs jumping to 52.9 percent from 2.9 percent, threatening a trade heavily dependent on American buyers, who account for nearly 60 percent of India’s handmade carpet imports.
Yet even as exporters brace for the impact, the industry is looking beyond the US. The government is banking on rising demand from the Gulf and a renewed push into the domestic market.
“Our domestic market is huge,” said Ashiq. “From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, even if just one per cent of India’s population buys handmade carpets, it can sustain the entire industry. With 147 crore people, that one percent can do wonders.”
Recent years have also brought high-profile recognition. Twelve specially commissioned Kashmiri carpets adorned the G20 Summit Room at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi in September 2023. In 2022, traditional silk carpets woven by artisans from Budgam district were installed in the country’s new Parliament building. Last year in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also presented a handmade Kashmiri silk carpet to Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides.