Young influential chronicles of their lives and culture on the Internet

On a quiet summer day in 2020, a mosque calendar in Indian Kashmir attracted the attention of Muner Ahmada. It presents a poem written in Kashmir, the language spoken in the region.

To his surprise, he struggled to read it.

It made him think how his generation slowly retreated from his mother tongue, because other languages ​​such as English, Urdu and Hindi became more common.

With this implementation, he launched a social media page – called Muneer Speaks – to preserve and promote Cashmir Culture.

Five years of his profile gained over 500 million impressions on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

“I want to tell stories about our places and stories, sayings, folklore and poetry,” he says. “It is a hobby for the way we lived, laughed, prepared and remembered.”

Mr. Dar is one of the new groups of young content creators using digital platforms to preserve Kashmir’s heritage.

The region, divided between India and Pakistan and declared both, was lost decades of conflict and lost thousands of lives against the rebels.

In recent years, many young people have left Kashmir – some avoid violence, others in search of better opportunities.

But now the new generation changes the story – the highlight of art, traditions and everyday life, by excitement and violence.

When Mr. The gift began his social media page, the main attention was paid in the language of Kashmir. But over the past five years, his work has expanded into the mixture, showing photos of old architecture, cultural magnitude and stories behind local delicacies.

In one of its popular videos, Mr. Dar shares strange facts about the architecture of the area – for example, how people used to use eggs to help keep buildings together.

Meanwhile, the Instagram page, Kashmir Museum, uses a broader approach to archiving.

The page is managed by 33-year-old journalist Muhammad Fisal, who, together with the team of curators and oral historians, documen what artifacts and traditions of Kashmir.

Video about bright ceilings in the mosque and poetic creative parties, as well as signatures that offer a quick, insightful context.

Followers say the page helps them see the Kashmir history in the new light.

“Heritage is not only about big monuments,” one follower commented: “But about the things that people were transporting when they left their homes, books, scales and family recipes.”

Experts say content creators should remain accurate, especially with oral history that can lose details over time.

According to the author and researcher Khalid Bashir Ahmad, the growth of documentation can blur the nuances of Kashmir, but the fastened documentation can blur the nuances.

To ensure authenticity, the creators say they count on researchers who cross their content with the published sources while maintaining the original context.

On Instagram, 31-year-old director Sheikh ONE manages “Shawlwala”, a page dedicated to the iconic scarf of Pashmery Kashmi (called shalam)-hand fabric with small wool of Himalayan goats and was celebrated both heritage and luxury.

“Our scales are not just a fabric,” he says, emphasizing that most of his subjects are elderly artisans that rotate, paint and weave every thread.

Its purpose is to change the story, “making scarves for fashion and tourism” and presenting them as “examples of the history and sustainability of Kashmir.”

“These are the maps of touch, skill and generations. Each topic has a story.”

One widely common video shows that the woman revolves the thirst on the traditional spindle hand when the folk song of Kashmir plays in the background. “I want people to see the story of the insincere woman, who was spinning with love,” says Mr. Outno.

Not all preservation work is serious. Some young artists create the content of sarcasm.

For a 22-year-old Serat Hafiz, known on the Internet as Yikvot or Nun Chai with Jiya, Satire and Humor-Hyuts. Her video is a combination of words and cultural comments and covers a number of topics: from local literature to translations of English classics of Kashmir.

In one post, she uses viral memes to show “why reading native literature helps to preserve the language.” In the other, the illustration of men and women appears with the translation to Kashmir from the height of Wuterning Heights Emily Bronte.

“In a sense, I documented the thoughts and emotions of young Kashmir,” says Ms Hafiz.

“We constantly switch languages, identities, platforms, but we still carry the grief of our history, even in our humor.”

But the preservation of the language on the Internet is only part of the battle -Mr. Gift says that the platforms still do not recognize Kashmir as a regional language that affects visibility and achievement.

“I am forced to choose a” other language “option because Kashmir is not included on meta -platforms such as Facebook and Instagram,” says Mr. “It refers to this as the language they have forgotten.” BBC turned to Meta for comments.

Since 2023, the ADBI Markaz Kamraz Literary Group has been campaigning to add cashmers to Google Translate.

They sent official requests and thousands of letters, says President Mohammed Amin Bhat, who remains hope.

BBC has contacted Google for comments and will update the story when they respond.

Despite the problems, this young group is determined to continue their work.

From Dar to Ms Hafiz, they insist that their work proves that Kashmiri’s culture does not fade, but struggles to be remembered on their own terms.

“Perhaps one day people will forget my name,” says Mr. Dar, “but if they remember the only story of Kashmir, I helped keep the living, then my work will make sense.”

Keep up the BBC News India Instagram. YouTube, Youter and Facebook is Facebook at Facebook..