Contents: Introduction. 1. Ikat textile : a historical analysis. 2. The Ikat communities of India. 3. The cousins of Ikat fabric. 4. The Patola of Gujarat. 5. Pogdubandhu or Pochampally of Andhra Pradesh. 6. Bandha - the unique Ikat of Orissa. 7. Ikat of Madhya Pradesh. 8. Jharna - the common Indian Ikat. 9. Ikat in pre-British era. 10. Ikat and handloom during British Raj. 11. Ikat and handloom in independent India. 12. Contributions of individual for growth and sustenance of Ikat. 13. SWOT of Ikat fabrics. 14. THIO of Ikat fabrics. 15. Action plan on Ikat. 16. Organisational inputs. 17. Training and transfer of technology. 18. Social security. 19. Gender dimension. 20. Product diversification and design interaction. 21. Economy of Ikat. 22. Policy support. 23. Political impact. 24. Society of Ikat clusters. 25. Rhythmic names of poetic textiles. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

"Ikat is otherwise known as tie and dye textile design known round the world. Some experts are of the opinion that the technology came from far eastern countries since the term Ikat is of Malayan origin. But study reveals it started and developed in India also at least in certain clusters like Orissa, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh and upto certain extent in north, east and north eastern India. The book made a detailed study on this craft, comparative studies of various technologies in various clusters, societies and economy besides drawing action plan. It is hoped that this book should be of help to researchers, planners, textile technologists and social scientists. The book also contains selected photographs." (jacket) No. 15554