Editing Muslin (section)

{{Short description|Cotton fabric of fine plain weave}}
{{Redirect|Muslin gauze|American English usage of "muslin"|Calico}}
{{Distinguish|Muslims}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Woman's muslin dress c. 1855.jpg|thumb|Woman's white muslin dress with tiered flounces, Europe, c. 1855]]
'''Muslin''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ʌ|z|l|ᵻ|n}}) is a cotton fabric of [[plain weave]].<ref>{{citation|title=muslin (noun)|publisher=Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition|date=March 2003|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/124185|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810090854/http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/124185|url-status=live}}</ref> It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting.<ref name="websters-muslin">{{citation|title=muslin (noun)|url=http://www.merriam-websterunabridged.com/unabridged/muslin|publisher=Webster's Unabridged Dictionary}}</ref> It is commonly believed that it gets its name from the city of [[Mosul, Iraq]].<ref name="britannica-muslin">{{citation|title=muslin|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/399430/muslin|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica|access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504222807/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/399430/muslin|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Fairchild-Dictionary-Textiles>{{citation|title=The Fairchild Books Dictionary of Textiles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTYfAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA404|year=2013|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-60901-535-0|pages=404–|access-date=13 May 2016|archive-date=7 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707092905/https://books.google.com/books?id=LTYfAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA404|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=muslin (noun), etymology|publisher=Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition|date=March 2003|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/124185|access-date=17 March 2014|archive-date=10 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810090854/http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/124185|url-status=live}}</ref>

Muslin was produced in different regions of the Indian subcontinent; [[Bengal]] Region was the main manufacturing area and the main centers were [[Sonargaon]] (near Dhaka), [[Shantipur]] and [[Murshidabad]]. Muslin was also produced in Malda and [[Hugli-Chuchura|Hooghly]]. The muslin produced at Sonargaon and its surrounding areas was of excellent quality, which is popularly known as ''Dhaka Muslin''. The muslin produced in Shantipur came to be known as ''Shantipuri Muslin'', which was recognized by the [[East India Company]]. Muslin was made in Dhaka (Sonargaon) from very fine yarn, which is made from cotton called ''[[Phuti karpas]]''; while in Malda, Radhanagar and Burdwan, muslin was made from fine yarn made from ''nurma'' or ''kaur'' cotton. A minimum of 300-count yarn was used for the muslin, making the muslin as transparent as glass.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} There were about 28 varieties of muslin, of which [[jamdani]] is still widely used. During the 17th and 18th centuries, [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Bengal Subah|Bengal]] emerged as the foremost muslin exporter in the world, with [[Dhaka]] as capital of the worldwide muslin trade.<ref name="Eaton1996">{{Cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard Maxwell |year=1996 |title=The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gKhChF3yAOUC&pg=PA202 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-20507-9 |page=202 |access-date=13 February 2016 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404212612/https://books.google.com/books?id=gKhChF3yAOUC&pg=PA202 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Karim |first=Abdul |year=2012 |chapter=Muslin |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Muslin |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=31 October 2015 |archive-date=5 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705005108/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Muslin |url-status=live }}</ref> In the latter half of the 18th century, muslin weaving ceased in Bengal due to cheap fabrics from England and oppression by the colonialists.

In India in the latter half of the 20th century and in Bangladesh in the second decade of the 21st century, initiatives were taken to revive muslin weaving, and the industry was able to be revived. ''Dhakai Muslin'' was recognized as a [[Geographical indication|Geographical Indication (GI)]] product of Bangladesh in 2020<ref>{{cite web |title=মঞ্জুরকৃত জিআই পণ্য |url=https://dpdt.portal.gov.bd/site/page/99b5a146-5fdd-4149-a474-7208cee54b63/- |website=dpdt.portal.gov.bd |access-date=21 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref> and ''Banglar Muslin'' (Bengal Muslin) was recognized as a Geographical Indication (GI) product of the [[States and union territories of India|Indian state]] of [[West Bengal]] in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Intellectual Property India – Journal 182 |url=https://search.ipindia.gov.in/GIRPublic/Application/ViewDocument |access-date=21 March 2024}}</ref> In 2013, [[Jamdani]] (a type of muslin) weaving art of Bangladesh included in the list of [[Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]] by [[UNESCO]] under the title ''Traditional art of [[Jamdani]] Weaving''.<ref>{{citation |title=Jamdani recognised as intangible cultural heritage by Unesco |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/jamdani-recognised-as-intangible-cultural-heritage-by-unesco/ |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=5 December 2013 |accessdate=2013-12-04 |archive-date=6 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206185959/http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/jamdani-recognised-as-intangible-cultural-heritage-by-unesco/ |url-status=live }}</ref>