Kashmir: Young influencers chronicle their lives and culture online

In the summer of 2020, Muneer Ahmad Dar spotted a Kashmiri poem on a mosque calendar in Indian-administered Kashmir but could not read it, realizing his generation was drifting from their mother tongue. He launched a social media page, "Muneer Speaks", to preserve and promote Kashmiri language, folklore and daily life.

Over five years, Dar's profiles on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have garnered more than 500 million impressions, featuring stories of local history, proverbs, architecture and recipes.

Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan and marked by decades of conflict and migration, has seen many young people leave in search of safety and opportunity. Now, creators are offering a fresh narrative that highlights art, tradition and resilience beyond unrest.

The Instagram page "Museum of Kashmir", led by journalist Muhammad Faysal and his team of curators and oral historians, archives overlooked artefacts and customs. Videos of ornate mosque ceilings and poetry recitals are paired with concise, insightful captions, reminding followers that heritage lives in personal items as much as in monuments.

Creators stress the importance of accuracy by collaborating with researchers to fact-check oral histories and maintain original context.

Filmmaker Sheikh Adnan’s "Shawlwala" page celebrates the craft of Pashmina shawls, documenting elderly artisans who spin, dye and weave each thread. He positions the shawls as symbols of Kashmir’s history and resilience, rather than mere fashion.

Others, like 22-year-old Seerat Hafiz (known as Yikvot), use satire to engage audiences. Her videos blend wordplay, cultural commentary and translations of English classics into Kashmiri, reflecting how young Kashmiris navigate language and identity.

Despite these efforts, Kashmiri is not listed as a regional language on major platforms, limiting visibility. Dar must select "other language" on Facebook and Instagram, treating Kashmiri as forgotten. Literary group Adbi Markaz Kamraz has petitioned Google to add Kashmiri to Translate and awaits a response.

Still, this new wave of creators is determined to ensure Kashmiri stories endure. "Maybe one day people will forget my name, but if they remember a single Kashmiri story I helped keep alive, my work will have meaning," Dar says.

A new generation of Kashmiri creators is using digital platforms to preserve language, heritage and identity, providing a vital counter-narrative to decades of conflict and displacement.

This topic was reported by BBC.

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