A Generation Adrift
www. kashmirscan. net
Vol 05 Issue 05 March-April 2013
A Generation Adrift
Kausar Haider Irfan Bashir
Business Column
Riyaz Patloo
Abid Enterprises,
Zainakote, s Kashmiri youth drifting away from their moorings? One does get a distinct sense of this by seeing their life
Istyle. This generation certainly has a degree of disconnect with their cultural mores. And reinforcing this trend is their growing estrangement from the Kashmiri language. There are fewer Kashmiris who can read and write in their own language. The new Kashmiri generation prefers to talk in Urdu and English rather than in Kashmiri. Also, the new generation of parents prefers to teach their children Urdu and English rather than their mother tongue. If there is a place in Valley which exemplifies this situation more than any other, it is Srinagar. Here like in other places of the state, the conflict has taken a heavy toll on the psyche of people, particularly the new generation. According to a study by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, the new Kashmiri generation is living in“ disjointed cultural islands”. The youth lack sense of history and a sense of connection with their culture. In fact, as our growing alienation from our own language underscores, the new generation is not conscious of the need to be anchored in their cultural roots. And this should be a serious cause of concern for us as a community. The need is for the civil society to launch a sustained campaign to create cultural awareness in the state. The parents also have a onerous responsibility not to alienate their children from their mother tongue. And most important of all, schools have a due responsibility in the process which they should discharge.
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