Small town Nagina in district Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh has a legacy. For over five centuries, craftsmen in this town have been renowned for the amazing array of woodcrafts that they create.

The advent of Britishers to India added a new chapter in the history of Nagina's woodcraft. Artisians started making smaller items of utility and adornment like pen-stands, tie-cases, jewellery boxes and walking sticks. Over a period of time, the wooden handicrafts of Nagina gained popularity in the local markets and even international buyers started evincing interest. But the craft industry had its own share of problems related to stagnation in design development, lack of infrastructure, slimming of profit margins and a host of problems related to stagnation in design development, lack of infrastructure, slimming of profit margins and a host of other problems. The craft started to degenerate and strong remedial measures were required. Restorative intervention came in the shape of the concrete efforts from the office of Development Commissioner, Handicrafts, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Various schemes were launched to boost the sagging morale of talented craftsmen and these efforts started bearing fruits in a short period of time. The schemes of office of the D.C. Handicrafts saw the craft come alive again.... a rebirth which received worldwide acknowledgement. One of the turning points of the resurgence of Nagina's craft was in 1968 when Sh.Abdul Rashid received the National Award for his master craftsmanship. Recognition to one man encouraged other craftsmen and many artisans soon received awards and recognition. Abdul Salam, Basheer Ahmed and Shabheer Hussain are some of the famous names.

In 1990, the craftsmen of Nagina, armed witha newly acquired confidence and recognition got together to form the Nagina Crafts Development Society which has since been actively involved in elevating the woodcraft of Nagina. The organisation has successfully organised a number of exhibitions in various parts of the country and has achieved success in spreading awareness about the region's craft. It is the society again which takes keen interest in the production as well as in the sale of the product besides opening up a lucrative international market for the artisans through exports to various countries. Recently, the organisation has also started promoting the brassware of the region. Traditional items from the metal craft pocket like decanters, vases, candle stands, ash trays, pin trays, coasters, belts etc. are also being marketed by the society.