Shilp Samagam Mela 2026 Opens in Guwahati With 75 Artisans

The Shilp Samagam Mela 2026 opened on 21 October 2026 in Guwahati, the capital of Assam, and will stay open for eight days until 28 October. The fair is run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which uses it to put the work of artisans from weaker sections directly before buyers.

Where and when

Visitors can reach the fair at Farm Gate, Khanapara, Guwahati, where the stalls stay open from 11 in the morning until 9 at night. A total of 75 artisans are taking part, 31 of them women, and together they are displaying roughly 40 varieties of handloom and handicraft goods. Craftspeople have come from the North-Eastern states and from other parts of the country alike.

Who the fair is meant for

The ministry runs the event for artisans belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Other Backward Classes, Safai Mitras and Denotified Tribes. Selling without a middleman is the point: an artisan meets the buyer, takes the payment and picks up contacts that may bring orders later, which is how a craft turns into a steady livelihood rather than a seasonal one.

BHARAT-TULIP and the three corporations

A central theme of the Guwahati edition is BHARAT-TULIP, short for the Traditional Artisans' Upliftment Livelihood Programme, which helps market artisans' goods through physical outlets and through e-commerce platforms. The mela itself gives marketing support to people linked with the ministry's three national corporations: the National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation and the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation. Visitors are also told about the welfare and financial assistance schemes these bodies run.

The first edition of the year

The opening edition of the series for the year finished at Mysuru in Karnataka on 19 October, where a nine-day fair at the Dasara Exhibition Ground drew thousands of visitors. The Guwahati leg follows it, and the ministry describes the whole exercise as an extension of the idea of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas into the market place, pairing financial help with a chance to sell.