Uses Social Media to Promote, Preserve Mother Tongue
Suhail Khan
Baramulla, Jan 21 : If languages could speak, I am sure we would hear the dreadful screeches of ‘Kaeshur,’ our mother tongue, every day and every second. And why wouldn’t we? Just like us Kashmiris, who are dying every day, our mother tongue is slowly experiencing a cultural death. Unfortunately, we are all responsible for this; we are all murderers of our language. We are the culprits, and we are the victims.
Amid the decline of our Kashmiri mother tongue, a Baramulla man and vlogger is on a mission to promote the Kashmiri language on social media to keep it alive.
Meet vlogger Shahid Bala, a resident of Azad Gunj Baramulla and Asif Iqbal Bhat, a resident of Dardpora Khaitangan, who are on a mission to protect and promote the Kashmiri language on social media.
Shahid Balla, a first vlogger to speak in Kashmiri in his vlogs In a chat with Kashmir Despatch said, ‘I had been watching content creators, especially outsiders, for a long time. I initially tried my skills behind the camera as a voiceover artist, but that didn’t involve Kashmir.
After facing initial failures, I took a break to think about how to present my work so that people could see me. I wanted to create content that people would enjoy. Once I started again, I decided to promote my mother tongue by presenting my work in Kashmiri.
Shahid said, ‘My aim was to protect and showcase my heritage while ensuring that people appreciated the content.
I am so happy at the amount of love I am receiving from people and how they appreciated my efforts in promoting the Kashmiri language.’
He also noted, ‘I am happy to see other vloggers following the trend of using the Kashmiri language. I feel this is the beginning of a movement, and I am delighted that my efforts contribute to preserving our mother tongue.’
Shahid emphasized the significant responsibility parents have in educating their children and protecting their language. He said, ‘Many parents focus more on teaching their children English or other languages, which has led to a considerable loss of their Kashmiri heritage.
Meanwhile, In an interview with Kashmir Despatch Asif said that the Kashmiri language was once widely spoken across Jammu and Kashmir, connecting generations through stories, songs, and poetry. However, today, the language is in decline. He noted that many young people prefer to speak Urdu, English, or Hindi, believing that these languages offer better career opportunities.
“I feel that the dying of our mother tongue is a serious problem,” he said. “To keep it alive and save it from further decline, I, as a Kashmiri, thought it was important to put in my efforts. Considering the social media craze, I am trying to encourage the youth to speak Kashmiri more and more.”
Asif is known on social media as Keashur Parun.
“I want to make Kashmiri fun and accessible,” he says. “If we can speak English fluently, why not Kashmiri? It is our own language.”
To keep the language alive, Asif suggests simple steps:
1. Speak Kashmiri at home: Parents should communicate with their children in Kashmiri.
2. Use Kashmiri on social media: Instead of writing only in English or Urdu, people should also post in Kashmiri.
3. Read Kashmiri literature:More books should be written and published in Kashmiri to keep the language relevant.
4. Teach Kashmiri in schools: Schools should include Kashmiri in their curriculum as an important subject.
“As long as we use Kashmiri in our daily lives, it will survive,” he further said.
Suhail Khan is a filmmaker, content writer, and freelance journalist.
