John L. Bissell, an American businessman who ran a handloomed-textile export business in India for more than 30 years, died yesterday in New Delhi. He was 66 and lived in New Delhi. The cause was a cerebral hemorrhage, according to his cousin, Hector Prud'homme.

Mr. Bissell was born in Hartford and educated at the Brooks School in North Andover, Mass., and at Yale. His love for India began as a child, listening to tales his father told of his time in India during World War II.

After college, Mr. Bissell worked at Macy's, and began to like the look and feel of hand-woven fabrics.

Those two interests merged in 1958, when he was given a two-year grant from the Ford Foundation to instruct Indian villagers in making goods for export. Once his grant expired, Mr. Bissell decided to remain.