Bagh Print

Bagh Prints of Madhya Pradesh
Geographical indication
Bagh print silk stole
Type	Printed fabrics
Area	Village Bagh
Country	India
Registered	Product registered in 2008 and logo registered in 2015
Material	Cotton, silk, tussar

Bagh Print is a traditional hand block print with natural colours, an Indian Handicraft practised in Bagh, Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, India. Its name is derived from the village Bagh on the banks of the Bagh River. Bagh print fabric with replicated geometric and floral compositions with vegetable colours of red and black over a white background is a popular Textile printing product.

Bagh Prints is listed as a geographically tagged and is protected under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act (GI Act) 1999 of the Government of India. It was registered by the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks under the title "Bagh Prints of Madhya Pradesh" and recorded with (GI) tag under Application number 98 in 2008. Its logo with the titleBagh Prints of Madhya Pradesh (Logo) was approved under application number 505 dated 1 August 2015 under Class 24 Textiles and Textile goods not included under other classes.

The Bagh village where this handicraft is practiced lies within the geographical coordinates of 22°22′00″N 74°40′00″E / 22.36667°N 74.66667°E / 22.36667; 74.66667 at an elevation of 240 metres (790 ft). The Bagh river, which flows near the village, is major factor in the adoption of Bagh Print. The Narmada river, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Bagh, which is a perennial source, is an important source for this art work, particularly during the dry season when the Bagh river goes dry.

Bagh Print, as it is presently known in Madhya Pradesh, was started by the community of Muslim Khatris (they were converts to Islam under the influence of a sufi saint) in 1962 when they migrated from Manawar to Bagh. Their antecedents are traced to Larkana in Sindh (now in Pakistan) from where they shifted base to Marwad in Rajasthan and then to Manawar; the printing technique prevalent in Sind which they practiced is known as Ajrak prints. However, the reasons for their migration from Sindh across the Indus is not clear. They came with their traditional art form of the block printing process and continued at their new place of settlement but with innovations to meet the local trends and practices in the region; this came to be known as Bagh printing as they settled on the banks of the Bagh river in the village of the same name. In this printing technique the cloth used is cotton and silk cloth which are subject to treatment of a blend of corroded iron fillings, alum and Alizarin. The designs are patterned by skilled artisans. On completion of the printing process, the printed fabric is subject to repeated washing in the flowing waters of the river and then dried in the sun for a specific period to obtain the fine luster.