Word: surat
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...There are more than 4,000 workers in this factory, which is the largest one in Surat and claims to be the largest diamond-polishing facility in the world. The owner, Chandrakant Sanghavi, told me he moves more than 10 million diamonds out of his plant every year. Diamonds were the revolution India needed, he said. They were bringing jobs and housing to people who had nothing before. In less than a decade of wild growth, the stones had affected the household economies of 10 million people in the state of Gujarat-meaning that person, or somebody...
...demanded an international inquiry. The government answered with slander charges that could mean up to five years in prison. Said Muzaffarmirzo Iskhakov, the Andijan chair of the Ezgulik (Goodness) human-rights group: "They did not let his family see him, or even send him some food." Surat Ikramov, chair of Uzbekistan's Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders in Tashkent, told Time that police have subjected more than 40 protesters in the Uzbek capital to repressive measures, including detention in unknown locations and house arrests. And he says other activists have been harassed or arrested in the country...
...Cheap labor allowed India to find a niche for itself in the diamond-polishing business, but that wasn't the country's only edge. The Surat diamond trade was built by a dynamic and enterprising religious community?the Palanpuri Jains, followers of an ancient religion that emphasizes nonviolence and vegetarianism. Jains account for 0.4% of India's population. The Palanpuris, who hail from the town of Palanpur in the Indian state of Gujarat, form a close-knit community that thrives in the atmosphere of secrecy and informality that envelops the diamond trade?there are often no written contracts, many transactions...
...Palanpuris are starting to eye even bigger game. Long known for churning out lower-quality diamonds, Surat's workshops are now moving into larger, pricier stones. It's an irresistibly lucrative market, with the costliest 10% of stones accounting for half of the value of all the world's diamonds. These top-quality stones are still mostly cut in Antwerp, New York and Tel Aviv, where many of Surat's companies have set up branches in which Indian diamond cutters are absorbing skills from local experts. Arjav Mehta, whose family owns Blue Star, says his company has hired 15 master...
...Although relations between the Palanpuris and the Hasidim are cordial, Surat's diamond traders admit that India's sudden rise to prominence has caused some resentment in Israel and Belgium. One Israeli analyst frets that Surat's bustling workshops are flooding retail stores with diamonds, which could depress prices for years to come. ABN AMRO's Patnaik points out, however, that the market for diamonds could expand quickly as the burgeoning middle classes of China and India develop more of a taste for diamond jewelry. To make sure they secure a foothold in the Chinese market, some Surat businessmen have...