Metal, Market, and Mayhem: The Sikligars' Quest to Keep Their Craft Alive

This thesis explores the socio-economic and cultural evolution of the Sikligar community of Rajasthan, India-an artisan group historically renowned for their mastery in arms-making, metal polishing, and Koftgiri (gold and silver inlay work). Once central to the martial and aesthetic heritage of Rajput courts, the Sikligars now occupy a precarious position within India's informal craft economy, shaped by colonial disruption, caste marginalization, and contemporary market forces. Although their swords are displayed in museums and sold as ritual or tourist objects, the artisans behind them remain largely invisible in heritage discourses and institutional narratives. The central research question guiding this thesis is: How have the traditional metal-making and polishing practices of the Sikligar community evolved culturally and economically, and in what ways are these practices sustained, adapted, or represented today across local, institutional, and global contexts? To answer this, the study adopts an interdisciplinary approach grounded in postcolonial theory, subaltern studies, cultural economics, and intangible heritage frameworks. Methodologically, it draws on qualitative research through 13 semi-structured interviews with Sikligar artisans, museum curators, and international metalsmiths across three cities-Jaipur, Udaipur, and Pushkar. These interviews are complemented by field observations, visual documentation, and secondary media analysis, analyzed through thematic coding and triangulation. Findings reveal that the Sikligars are not passive bearers of a vanishing tradition but adaptive agents negotiating craft survival within uneven terrains of recognition and value. In Jaipur, institutional ties offer partial visibility but limited livelihood security. In Udaipur, intergenerational businesses maintain tradition through familial networks and Koftgiri expertise. Pushkar presents a tourist-driven economy where swords are reframed as ritual souvenirs, illustrating the shift from functionality to symbolic consumption. While economic sustainability remains a core challenge complicated by structural informality, caste stigma, and exploitative intermediaries. Yet, emerging digital platforms, museum collaborations, and international partnerships offer pathways of resilience and cultural continuity. The thesis highlights significant gaps in heritage governance, including the absence of attribution, inadequate state support, and exclusion from formal policy schemes. It argues for more inclusive, decolonial, and community-centered approaches to cultural policy and museum curation. Recognizing artisans not just as skill bearers but as knowledge-holders is essential to sustaining India's intangible heritage. Ultimately, this research contributes to global conversations on cultural sustainability, marginality in creative industries, and the politics of recognition in postcolonial heritage discourse. It calls for urgent structural reforms to ensure that crafts like those of the Sikligars are not only remembered but supported, not only admired but lived.