The Rise in Kashmiri Storytelling

On a quiet summer afternoon in 2020, a calendar at a mosque in Indian-administered Kashmir caught Muneer Ahmad Dar's attention. It featured a poem written in Kashmiri, the language spoken in the region.

To his surprise, he struggled to read it.

It made him wonder how his generation had slowly drifted away from their mother tongue, as other languages like English, Urdu and Hindi became more widespread.

With that realisation, he launched a social media page - called Muneer Speaks - to preserve and promote Kashmiri culture.

Five years on, his profile has garnered over 500 million impressions across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

"I want to tell stories about our places and histories, our proverbs, folklore and poetry," he says. "It's about capturing the way we have lived, laughed, cooked and remembered."

Mr Dar is among an emerging group of young content creators using digital platforms to preserve fragments of Kashmir's heritage.

The region, divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both, has been scarred by decades of conflict, and has lost thousands of lives to insurgency.

In recent years, many young people have left Kashmir - some to escape violence, others in search of better opportunities.

But now, a new generation is changing the narrative - highlighting art, tradition, and daily life, beyond the unrest and violence.

Muneer Ahmad Dar makes videos on the history and culture of Indian-administered Kashmir

When Mr Dar started his social media page, the focus was on Kashmiri language. But over the past five years, his work has expanded into a mix of content, featuring photographs of old architecture, cultural lore and stories behind local delicacies.

In one of his popular videos, Mr Dar shares surprising facts about the area's architecture - like how people once used eggs to help hold buildings together.

Meanwhile, the Instagram page, Museum of Kashmir, is taking a broader approach to archiving.

The page is run by 33-year-old journalist Muhammad Faysal, who, with a team of curators and oral historians, documents Kashmir's overlooked artefacts and traditions.

Videos of vibrant mosque ceilings and poetry recitals feature alongside captions that offer quick, insightful context.

Followers say the page helps them see Kashmir's history in a new light.

"Heritage isn't just about grand monuments", one follower commented, "but about the things people carried when they left their homes, books, shawls and family recipes".

Experts say content creators must stay accurate, especially with oral histories that can lose detail over time.

The rise in Kashmiri storytelling offers a "vital counter-narrative", but rushed documentation can blur nuances, according to author and researcher Khalid Bashir Ahmad.

- Authors: Bisma Farooq Bhat and Adil Amin Akhoon [BBC News, Srinagar]

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