India is the Second-largest Manufacturer of Firecracker in the World

A business worth more than Rs. 5000 crore per year, India is the second-largest manufacturer of firecrackers. The most fascinating fact is that 90% of the contribution to this Industry comes from a small town in Tamil Nadu, Sivakasi

See for yourself, every second packet of firecrackers you buy will have the production plant address of Sivakasi printed on it. Around 8000+ firecracker factories function in this city employing nearly 8 lakh people directly and indirectly.

Iconic Mythological Story

Hindu legend relates that Pandya king Harikesari Parakkirama Pandian in the early 15th century CE wanted to construct a temple for the Hindu god Shiva at Tenkasi and went to Kasi to bring a lingam (an iconic representation of Shiva). While returning to his palace with the prized lingam, he rested under the grove of a Vilva tree, the favourite tree of Shiva. When a cow carrying the lingam refused to move from the spot, the king realized that the wishes of Shiva were different from his own, and he placed the lingam in the place where the cow halted. The place where the "Shiva lingam brought from Kasi" was installed came to be known as Sivakasi, a city in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Sivakasi Story

In the early 1900’s, Sivakasi the town was considered a boon rather than a blessing due to its hot and dry climate. Even locals used to avoid marrying their daughters to grooms in this town due to its climate which created famine and fewer job opportunities. It was the dream of Shanmugam Nadar and P. Ayya Nadar, the brothers of Sivakasi, who decided to exploit this climate in their favour.

In the year of 1922, they learned the art of making matches from Kolkata working as labourers in the factories for eight months. After learning the craft, they established a match factory in their hometown. They scaled the business over the years by implementing international machinery into production thus marking the name of Sivakasi in the map of the industrial world. Their international / industrial exposure made them start thinking about the firecracker industry.

Although the first fireworks factory in India was set up in Kolkata in the 19th century, after World War II, the Indian explosive rules changed which added licensing criteria to the firecracker industry. This benefited Sivakasi for its location and experience in the industry. Three factories at the start became 189 factories in 1980 which grew up to 400 + factories by 2001. This in turn became the firecracker hub of India in today's world with more than 8000+ registered firecracker factories in this small town.

The crackers manufactured at Sivakasi are also exported to other countries like the United States, Bhutan and Australia, etc.

An interesting fact is that the firecrackers industry needed flashy designs and attractive packaging which gave birth to the growth of the printing industry in this town. Along with a century's worth of experience in the matchstick making industry, this small town boasts 30% of the production of the printing industry of India, along with 70% of match matchstick industry and 90% of firecrackers. But despite being the firecracker hub of India, Sivakasi has hit the headlines in the past for all the wrong reasons including thousands of Illegal firecracker units, child labour, inhuman working conditions and tragic accidents which have taken many lives over the years.

But the reality remains - lakhs of uneducated daily workers are still fully dependent on this firecracker industry to survive.

Firecracker Post Pandemic

After the pandemic, firecracker was banned by the Supreme Court. It faced restrictions in export due to quality issues, which pushed lakhs of daily wage labourers in this small town back to the days of famine. Everyone is afraid about survival, their future and their existence. The Supreme Court asked firecracker manufacturers to produce only ‘green’ or ‘low-emission’ crackers to reduce air and noise pollution. The responsibility of developing eco-friendly cracker formulations is entrusted to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) along with the Fireworks Research and Development Center in Tamil Nadu. But usage of these alternate materials costs double.

Without financial backing or government subsidies, how is this industry going to survive? Will you be willing to pay double for a few minutes of happiness in future? Will the government take steps to improve the quality of production which eventually should improve exports and may make India the top in the firecracker industry?

Or “Will Sivakasi become the new Ghost Town?” being the reminiscence of all its past and glory.