Khem Raj Sundriyal
A Panipat master weaver who joined the Weavers' Service Centre in 1967 and has trained over 10,000 weavers and students, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
Khem Raj Sundriyal has worked at the loom for more than fifty years and taught thousands of others to weave. In 2026 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from Haryana [1].
From the fields to the loom
Sundriyal was born on 5 February 1943 into a modest family in Sumari village, Uttarakhand [2]. He earned a diploma in handloom technology from the Government ITI in Srinagar, Uttarakhand [2]. In 1967 he joined the Weavers’ Service Centre in Delhi as a weaver [2].
Inventions on the loom
Over the years he improved the punja durrie loom with a technique called hattah, making weavers’ work faster [2]. In 1980 he introduced polyester yarn in handloom, in 1986 he wove animal figures on a jacquard loom, and in 2001 he adapted jamdani weaving to woollen yarn [2].
Teacher
After retiring he founded the Vishnu Handloom cooperative society in 2001, where he trained local people as skilled weavers [2]. In all he has trained more than 10,000 weavers and students, including students of leading design institutes, and has lectured at IICD Jaipur [2].
He received the Sant Kabir Award from the Government of India in 2009 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2026: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2026 investiture ceremony brochure: citation for Khem Raj Sundriyal — Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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