French anthropologist Marc Auge had differentiated between a place and a non-place. A non-place can be a hotel, a mall, or a highway, to which an individual cannot not relate. It does not have a functional history, and it is not concerned with identity. A place therefore, is beyond being a physical location. It owes to its history that people continue carrying, their identity they associate with a place, and the culture that blooms there, endowing it with relevance. The relationship goes both ways, identity transitions into responsibility of the people inhabiting a place. Protecting its culture becomes a fundamental way of ensuring the existence of oneself, their history, and the future. The Assamese population of India took a technological route to fulfil this responsibility.
Very recently, scientists in Assam developed an AI-enabled software to differentiate handmade cultural clothing from power-loomed ones. Gamosa and Mekhela Chador are two essential items in any Assamese household, that enjoy great utility and a special place in in the community. They are rooted in Assam’s age-old craft of handloom using the Taat-Xaal, still a common sight in any rural house. The practice is valued, emotionally as well as economically, which is why the usage of electronic machines to create Gamosas and Mekhela Chadors has been treated with a strong dislike, as they have been a curse to those families dependent on handlooms for their sustenance. The possible disappearance of the craft is also a threat recognised by the government.
From March 1 to April 14, the selling of clothes produced in power looms purchased from outside the region has been banned in Assam. To aid the government with raids to seize these, the software was developed. It can be downloaded into mobile phones and the procedure is basic. It uses the phone camera to make out the difference between authentic handloom items and power loom products.
The government may also ponder over a complete ban on power loom clothing, as various intelligentsia and politicians come forward with their concern about the preservation of cultural heritage of the state.
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