by: Asif Shakeela Bhat
Every society comprises of people belonging to different sections and standards. Some people are rich, some poor, and some are sandwiched between the two. For the smooth functioning of a society, every section has a role to play. Society maintains the balance when these sections perform their duties properly and incongruence. An individual from a well-off family has more responsibility toward society than a person belonging to the middle or lower class.
When we look at the society of Kashmir, which is undoubtedly known for its hospitality, people spend money lavishly on different events. And unfortunately, some other person, weak and poor, commits suicide for not having enough resources to buy costly medicines. A couple of months back, in South Kashmir, a girl from a poor family who was facing depression committed suicide for not having money to buy medicine. Her body was recovered after almost three months from River Jhelum
The elite or rich sections of society are like the guardians, who mold the direction of society in whatever direction they prefer, and if not, they still have a great say in molding its direction. It is the elite who shape the destiny of a society. So, the Elite has more responsibilities. For example, Kashmiris are no doubt praised for Wazwan, but the new additions that Kashmiris have made in this traditional food has a story of their own.
Earlier it used to be seven dishes, now the trend has changed not only there is an increase in the number of dishes but also few fruits are also added which was not the case earlier. It is obvious that these new trends are mostly introduced by those who are economically sound. But with time, these trends make their way in society which ultimately have an effect on those who cannot afford it. But to maintain their of so-called dignity and value in society, they are bound to follow these trends, which are useless and a source of economic drain.
We are living in a society where if a person in a marriage ceremony makes an addition to the number of dishes, the society will blame him for these unnecessary additions, and if a person reduces or prepares few dishes in a function, that person will also be blamed for not maintaining the prevailing tradition or for his cunningness. Had our wealthy class remained within the boundaries of tradition and understood the hazardous impact of these additions on overall society, they might have refrained from such unnecessary additions.
One may argue that there is no force on lower or middle-class sections of society to comply/adopt these new trends. But the matter of the fact is that a person cannot resist for long. As there is a saying in Kashmiri “All the fingers are not same”. If one person resists, the rest will adopt and accept these trends with a welcoming gesture even if it costs them economic loss.
A decade ago, Kashmiri society had that balance that a welfare society needed at almost every level. But now the tides have changed. Now in whatever direction one may look, a person will find imbalance, uneasiness, uncertainty, and whatnot. A while ago, while shopping at Maharaj Bazar Srinagar, I saw an old Kashmiri lady begging an outsider. One may take this for granted, but the matter of the fact is that those who came from different parts in search of work are giving money to Kashmiri, who were once known for their self-sufficiency.
Also, there is a good number of young generation in our society who have passed their age of marriage but are still unmarried. A man fails to get married because of the long list of demands that he needs to fulfill before getting married. The girls too fail to get married due to dowry and other demands from the groom’s side. Though there are numerous reasons for these delays the major among them are these trends that have been introduced in our society. These late marriages have also given rise to certain social evils which are quite obvious and rife.
Kashmiris are also famous for copying or imitating various things. When anything is introduced in the valley, The innocent women of Kashmir adopted it so quickly that nowadays it looks like that it was not introduced in valley but is ot its own. I am not against these trends that are being introduced in the valley from time to time, but a Kashmiri, whether from a rich class or from a middle class, should think about the repercussions that it would have on the overall society and also on our traditions that kashmiri’s have maintained for long.
Conclusion
- It is the responsibility of society, with greater participation of the Elite class, to take these things into consideration.
- The elite class must understand that such additions or trends which they introduce in society with pride are actually like a sharp sword on the lower classes of society.
- Instead of wasting money on such useless trends, that money could be used to help the needy and prevent many social evils from spreading in society.
- lastly, the young among the elites must come forward for such brave steps. Instead of getting influenced by these useless and unnecessary trends. They themselves can be influencers and bring positive change in society.
Author is Pursuing Master’s in history from University of Kashmir. He can be mailed at ahmadaasif619@gmail.com
