Penury-hit Kashmir artists seek official handholding

Advisor to Jammu and Kashmir CM Nasir Aslam Wani speaks during the one-day Artist Convention Aawaaz and Collective Voice of Artists 2026 in Srinagar on November 14, 2026.

Seeking official handholding, Kashmir artists, including Valley’s prominent singers, musicians and writers, on Sunday (November 15, 2026) bared the deep penury and indignity faced by the tribe “due to official apathy and the declining role of government-run Doordarshan and All India Radio”.

“Time has come for Kashmir artists to speak up. I do not hesitate to mention that there are artists in Kashmir who are not able to pay school fees of their children or arrange ₹1 lakh to offer a decent burial to their deceased loved ones. The past decade has been the most difficult period for Kashmiri artists. The government has a compensation policy when hail hits apples but artists, who kept Kashmir’s art and culture, have none,” said Ustaad Waheed Jeelani, Kashmir’s celebrated vocalist and music composer.

Mr. Jeelani held a daylong convention of local artists in Srinagar Aawaaz on Saturday (November 14, 2026) in a rare attempt to bring the attention of the elected government and political class to the grave issues faced by the tribe. The artists alleged that the shrinking funds and official apathy towards local artists by Doordarshan and All India Radio “took a toll on local artists”.

“The priorities of Doordarshan and All India Radio have changed now. The Kashmiri language is not getting the same attention,” said Rukhsana Jabeen, a poet, who served as Director at the All India Radio, Srinagar.

The daylong convention was also attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s adviser Nasir Aslam Wani, National Conference (NC) legislator Farooq Shah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislator Waheed ur Rehmaan Parra.

In a joint resolution, the artists called for a policy on artists’ welfare, institutional accountability, development of the creative industry, cultural preservation and equitable opportunities for local talent.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Parra said the only connection between displaced Pandits and Muslims in Kashmir “is culture and language”. “Kashmir artists protected everything we fight for, and you did that with non-violence and action. Including art and entertainment in industrial policy will offer you more than small initiatives can. I realised that knocking on the doors of offices has taken away your creativity,” said Mr. Parra.

Mr. Parra said whatever political parties and leaders claim to defend “was actually what our artists, actors, singers, writers and cultural activists have defended for centuries, without institutions and without agency”.

“They inherited this heritage and identity of ours and passed it on to generations. The most important thing missing with these skilled people is that we have dehumanised our artists,” said Mr. Parra.

NC legislator Mr. Shah acknowledged that the government was not doing enough to safeguard culture, especially the Kashmiri language. “Mr. Abdullah is framing a policy on culture. The government is trying to do its bit. I am deeply pained by the status of artists,” said Mr. Shah, who offered to fund the convention of artists to discuss their problems.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jeelani said, “Preserving art, language and culture is a shared responsibility of the government, institutions and society. A significant outcome was the unanimous proposal to constitute a representative core group of the artistic fraternity to pursue the issues raised at the convention and engage with the government and institutions concerned for meaningful policy interventions and their implementation.”