.
Besides the government, the Indian Army has played a pivotal role in promoting, accessing, and reviving Kashmiri crafts by providing small-scale village-level skill centres. These centres have not only boosted the work culture but also given new hope to girls, making them self-reliant.
Syed Aaliya.
Located in the frontier region of the Himalayas is the state of Jammu and Kashmir; here every tradition of art and craft depicts its history, culture, and the natural environment that it comes along with. It is famous for fabrication of Pashmina shawls, papier-mâché items, wooden carving and hand-knotted carpets. However, as a result of more than half a century of war-like situations, most of these traditional art forms were affected negatively. Their revival could serve not only the purpose of restoring the cultural memory of the region but also open a new page on the relations of people and set up a new process of socio economic development.
One of the major but relatively hidden facts associated with this revival is about the crucial part that Indian Army and defence forces have played in protecting and propagating these arts that has been instrumental in being applied towards trying to bring stability in the region. These art and craft traditions of Jammu and Kashmir have been practised under the influence of various cultures like Mughal culture, Persian culture and central Asia culture, etc. The blending of these cultures has produced an infinite amazing inventions of arts and crafts that has made the world to be acquainted with beautiful, quality and complicated works of art. Some of the most famous crafts include Pashmina Shawls weaving, Papier-Mâché, Carpet Weaving, Walnut Wood Carving, Kashmiri Embroidery etc.
Even as these craft items are glamorous and much sought after in the market, they have been sharply affected by conflict, separation, and economic difficulties in the area. In other cases, many artisans have been rendered jobless because they lack access to markets, social and other instabilities added to the sufferings and decline and therefore migration to other lucrative secular occupations happened. In this journey of revival the Indian Army and defence forces have been playing two roles viz, defence against the militants and helping the people in their development by supporting many social initiatives especially in the revival of dying arts and crafts particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.worth mentioning is the Operation Sadbhavana (Goodwill) that is a landmark initiative and a huge example of social welfare and revival of stability, peace with revival of art and craft under which the Army has launched several programs that are oriented towards skill development to train youth and women in traditional vocational crafts such as Pashmina weaving, embroidery, and papier-mâché. It is in this context that the provisions are intended to help such communities become self-sufficient through giving them capabilities and tools to restore these crafts as a source of income. The Army with the help of the local NGOs and other governmental institutions has developed vocational training centres in the region that help in imparting tricky and time aged traditional arts to the young generation as they undergo through their training. Some of these centres have also addressed the issue of women through providing them with a way of earning an independent income through crafting. Apart from training, the Army has also offered its support in marketing local crafted products in the market. They have been organising exhibitions, fairs and other related events that display these crafts to tourists and potential consumers within and outside the county. In this way, they have not only ensured the artisans of UT of Jammu and Kashmir get a market for their products but also start their businesses again. Employment generation for the local people is among the many effects of these programs and is always associated with the notion of peace within the society. If individuals are occupied with gainful employment that would churn out adequate income for their needs and wants, then there is little or no time left for discontentment. The return of the traditional arts and crafts also has played an important role in the process of bringing back the pride and identity of Kashmiris which are mandatory for having sustainable peace. It is not an economic process alone that has brought the traditional arts and crafts back in Jammu and Kashmir but a socio-cultural process also which has far reaching impacts on the question of peace in the state.
Due to decades of conflict, the dimensions of ‘Kashmiriness’ have suffered greatly; When these arts are revived the communities regain their cultural value and would be proud to be associated with. Through these programs, internal social cleavages between peoples of the same ethnic origin are reduced because the most important thing that binds people together is culture. The women especially have been benefited in the vocational training programmes whereby they have sourced for jobs, empowered to become economically productive and added income to their households. This economic development can also increase the level of control over the influence of radical factions throughout the area due to the availability of incomes on the territory. Artistic products are an important aspect of civilizations and in a state like that of Jammu and Kashmir cultural customs and art forms provide a major wave of tourist attraction. If these arts are revived, then the popularity of tourism is likely to come back again as this sector has been greatly affected by the crisis in this region. With increasing tourism comes an increased market for handicrafts thus giving artisans more market for their products. The involvement of the Army with regard to local population in culture and economic development corporations has enhanced civil military relations in Jammu and Kashmir. Since they started engaging in development projects where the Army directly impacted on lives, the communities began to respect and appreciate the Army, meaning that sustainable peace has been achieved. Craft-making also entails collaboration within people’s groups and could unite people of different religions and ethnicities. In this regard, through direct collaboration in the revival processes the expressed national cultures naturally contribute to the elimination of differences and rise of harmony.
