In the beautiful valleys of Kashmir where the mountains stand tall and rivers sing through the fields, our language has always lived like a heartbeat. The Kashmiri language is not just a way of speaking. It is our identity, our emotion, and our connection to our roots. It carries the warmth of our mothers, the love of our grandparents, and the wisdom of our saints. But today, this beautiful part of our culture is slowly being pushed aside.
Recently, there has been sad news spreading on social media that the Kashmiri language book will no longer be given to students from class nine onwards. For many people, it might look like a small decision. But for those who love their mother tongue, it feels like losing a part of themselves. It is not just a book that is being taken away. It is the story of our people, the voice of our past, and the bridge that connects us to our culture.
When a child learns their mother tongue, they are not only learning words. They are learning to feel the beauty of their own land. They are learning the way their elders spoke and the way their hearts expressed love and wisdom. The Kashmiri language is full of poetry and emotions. It has carried the words of great poets like Lal Ded and Habba Khatoon whose verses still touch our hearts. If we stop teaching this language, we will slowly lose that connection that makes us who we are.
Education is not only about science or mathematics. It is also about knowing our culture and respecting our roots. A child who studies their own language learns to respect themselves and their community. When a student cannot read or write in their mother tongue, they start to feel lost. They begin to forget where they come from. They grow up without the voice of their own land. This is what will happen if we stop teaching Kashmiri in schools.
Our language is already struggling to survive. Many children in towns and cities do not speak Kashmiri anymore. Parents believe that speaking English will make their children modern and successful. But in trying to look modern, we are forgetting our own language. A day may come when our children will not understand the songs that their grandmothers sang. They will not understand the meaning of our old proverbs or the depth of our folk stories. That will be a big loss for our culture.
The Kashmiri language is full of sweetness and emotion. It has its own rhythm and soul that cannot be replaced by any other language. The way we express love, pain, and beauty in Kashmiri cannot be translated. Every word of it carries a story. When we remove it from the hearts of our students, we are removing their right to know their own history. We are removing the pride that comes from belonging to a beautiful culture.
Education should never take away our identity. It should make us more confident about who we are. If students are not given the chance to study their mother tongue, they may grow up thinking that their own language is not important. This will create a generation that feels disconnected from its roots. We must not let this happen. Our schools should teach the Kashmiri language with love and pride.
It is time for all of us to come together. Parents, teachers, writers, and social leaders must speak for this cause. The Kashmiri language should continue to be part of our school education. It is not just about learning words. It is about saving our culture. We must create more books, poems, and stories in Kashmiri so that our children can feel proud to read them.
Let us not forget that our language is our strength. It is the voice of our ancestors. It is the sound of our soil. It is the language of our prayers and our love. If we lose it, we will lose our identity. We must speak it at home. We must write it and teach it to our children. We must keep it alive in our hearts and in our schools.
The Kashmiri language is not weak. It only needs our care. It needs our voices. It needs our unity. Let us protect it before it fades away. Because when a language dies, it takes away not only words but the whole world that lived within them.
Email:---------------------khandanishashraf506@gmail.com
