Indian cotton was once infamously plundered by the British to benefit their finished goods economy back home. The world-famous Dhaka muslin was woven with desi cotton. While the foreign regime kept Indian cotton alive for their own gains, independent India presided over its complete decimation.
Desi cotton (gossypium arboreum) varieties occupied 98 percent area around 1947 and the American cotton (gossypium hirsutum) was on just two. Today the situation is exactly reverse.
Desi cotton growers associations are formed and conservation of about 24 varieties of Indian Cotton in 3 states (Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu ) where about 60 ha are dedicated to it, involving about 150 number of farmers.