Farmers in the Indus Valley were the first to spin and weave cotton. In 1929, archaeologists recovered fragments of cotton tepees at Mohenjo-Daro, in what is now Pakistan, dating to between 3250 and 2750 BCE. Cottonseed finds at nearby Mehrgarh have been dated to 5000 BCE. A terracotta fragment with fabric impressions was discovered from that era and provides clues on the types of weaving carried out by the ancient Harappans. Literary references further point to the ancient nature of the subcontinent’s cotton industry. The Vedic scriptures, composed between 1500 and 1200 BCE, allude to cotton spinning and weaving.

In ancient times, Paithan was a prosperous trade centre called ‘Pratisthan’ (the city of progress) that exported rich fabrics and precious stones to faraway lands as it fell on the Silk Road. It was a good medium for the exchange of goods like the richly woven textiles. Historians have noted fine paithani sarees with delicate gold and silver thread work being sold in Greece in exchange for gold between 200 and 400 BC.

During the 15th century in Kashmir, Zain-ul-Abedin encouraged the exchange of weavers with Iran, Turkey, and other lands. The weavers who came to India immigrated to Delhi, Agra, Benares, and other parts of the country. During the 17th and 18th centuries, brocades continued to be in extensive use for regal costumes as well as for making temple canopies, as evidenced by the contemporary Mughal paintings.