Individual, intricate textiles are visually stunning. But they also represent sophisticated, carefully calibrated technical achievements. By focusing on producers and production—the focus of this section—scholars have explored what makes possible the beauty of luxurious Kashmiri shawls or rich silk weaves. Such writings have helped place textiles at the heart of South Asia’s technology heritage, demonstrating the superior skills which have allowed textile artisans to compete on the world stage. This has been an important point of pride, particularly in the early years after independence, when India struggled to overcome perceptions of economic backwardness or under-development. Studies of production and producers also became a way to build markets in the present: Only when consumers were made aware of the skill and toil involved in creating textiles of quality could they prefer handmade over machine-made.