Tag Archives: Tibetan Muslims

Tibetan Muslim community builds strong bonds in Kashmir

World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Srinagar, JAMMU & KASHMIR:

tibetan muslim community builds strong bonds in kashmir – The News Mill

Inside the picturesque city of Srinagar, nestled in Jammu and Kashmir, an extraordinary community of Tibetan Muslims has found a thriving home.


Welcomed as co-religionists in this predominantly Muslim area, approximately 1,500 Tibetan Muslims have not only preserved their unique culture and traditions but have also established deep connections with their Kashmiri neighbours. Through their vibrant restaurants and cultural endeavours, they have fostered a sense of unity and understanding, exemplifying the power of cultural integration.


Unlike most Tibetan refugees who sought shelter in Dharamshala after fleeing their homeland six decades ago, these Tibetan Muslims view their arrival in Kashmir as a return to their ancestral origins. Their ancestors migrated from Kashmir to Lhasa centuries ago, where they intermarried with Tibetans, embraced the Tibetan language, and formed a distinct community. Their lives in Lhasa were marked by religious freedom and unhindered business endeavours.


Since settling in Kashmir, the Tibetan Muslim community has primarily found a home in Srinagar, particularly near the historic Hari Parbat Fort. The neighbourhood now thrives with Tibetan restaurants and establishments that proudly showcase the cultural roots of its inhabitants.

Among them, the Lhasa Restaurant, managed by Ahmad Kamal Zarief, has become a local favourite. Tibetan dishes, such as the beloved Momos, have garnered immense popularity among younger Kashmiris, forging stronger bonds between the communities. For Zarief, the restaurant holds deep sentimental value as it allowed his father, Abdul Rehman Zarief, to reconnect with his Tibetan heritage. Through the flavours of Tibetan cuisine, Abdul found solace and cherished memories of his ancestral village. The Lhasa Restaurant not only serves as a testament to the preservation of Tibetan traditions but also as a bridge that connects Tibetan Muslims and Kashmiris through shared culinary experiences.


Intercommunity marriages, though not commonplace, have occurred between Tibetan Muslims and Kashmiris, bringing the communities even closer.


Nighat Qazi, who married a Tibetan man and has three children, initially faced resistance from her family. However, with time, her decision has been appreciated and embraced, as it exemplifies the potential for greater integration and understanding through inter-community unions.


The younger generation of Tibetan Muslims has gradually let go of the longing for their ancestral homeland, which remains under Chinese control. As a result, they have adopted Kashmiri customs, language, and preferences, blending seamlessly with their Kashmiri friends.


At the Tibetan Public School, where the revered Dalai Lama delivered a speech in 2012, most students are local Kashmiris. The influence of their Kashmiri peers is evident, as they share activities and aspirations, forming strong bonds that transcend cultural boundaries.


Despite assimilating into Kashmiri culture, Tibetan Muslims have managed to preserve their national language. Within their homes, they continue to communicate in their language, honouring it as one of the finest dialects of Tibetan.


Despite residing in Kashmir for over six decades, it was only in 2019, when the Indian government revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status, that Tibetan Muslims received official citizenship and the right to permanently reside in the area. Throughout their time in Kashmir, they have experienced warm hospitality and acceptance from the Kashmiri people, fostering a sense of belonging and community.


The thriving Tibetan Muslim community in Kashmir is a testament to the power of acceptance, cultural exchange, and integration. Through their unique journey, they have not only preserved their heritage but have also formed deep bonds with the local Kashmiri population.
Embracing their present reality, Tibetan Muslims have found solace and prosperity in Kashmir, intertwining their rich traditions with the vibrant tapestry of Kashmiri culture.

This report is filed by ANI news service.

source: http://www.thenewsmill.com / The News Mill / Home / by ANI / June 20th, 2023

The Tibetan Muslims who have made Kashmir their home

Community Involvement / Social Issues, World Opinion, , , ,

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

A small community of Tibetan Muslims have returned to Srinagarv/ Photo: Andrew Whitehead
A small community of Tibetan Muslims have returned to Srinagarv/ Photo: Andrew Whitehead

On his latest visit to Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir, Andrew Whitehead came across a little-known community which has returned home after centuries away.

Sometimes when you think you know a place, you come across a fresh aspect of it, which reminds you how little you know.

I’ve been visiting Kashmir fairly regularly for more than twenty years. I have been to Hari Parbat fort, the magnificent Mughal-era monument which dominates the Srinagar skyline. But I had never before come across the small, quiet, community that nestles in its shadow.

Two thousand or more Tibetans have made their home in Srinagar. These are Tibetan Muslims. A few Muslim families remain in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa; some live in border hill towns; but most of them have now settled in Indian Kashmir.

Because they are, or were, Kashmiris.

Yet, their story says so much about the old trading links which once gave Kashmir its wealth – about the way those links have been thrown out of joint by the rise of rival nation states – and about the complex issues of identity which ricochet across the Himalayas.

By chance, I heard mention of what locals call the “Tibet-ian colony”, close to the almond gardens and just within Srinagar’s old city walls. I knew I was on the right track when I found a food stall selling Tibetan-style dumplings. In a back street I came across groups of women gossiping – old men ambling along to the mosque – all distinctively Tibetan in appearance.

Around the corner stood the centrepiece of the community – the modern, imposing, Tibetan Public School.

In Tibet, they were called "Khache," which means Kashmiris / Photo: Andrew Whitehead
In Tibet, they were called “Khache,” which means Kashmiris / Photo: Andrew Whitehead

Nasir Qazi, a successful young businessman, showed me around. He’s the head of the Tibetan Muslim Youth Federation, which oversees what is clearly a well-run school that reaches well beyond the community it was established to serve. “I feel proud,” Mr Qazi told me, “that this school is something we have offered to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters.”

In the corridors, photos of the Dalai Lama’s visit are on prominent display. Tibetan Muslims don’t regard the Dalai Lama as their religious leader. “But we do honour and respect him,” Mr Qazi said, “and he loves us a lot.”

The community traces its origin to merchants who travelled along the old silk routes. They were Muslim traders from Kashmir and the adjoining area of Ladakh. Four hundred or so years ago, the then Dalai Lama granted them land in the Tibetan capital.

Over time, they married Tibetan women, mastered the Tibetan language and took up Tibetan cuisine. They became a distinct community in Lhasa, with their own mosque: prosperous, well-regarded and noted practitioners of Tibetan music.

‘Khache’

But they were never seen in Tibet as Tibetans. They were called “Khache” – meaning Kashmiris. It is a term that came to be a catch-all for Tibet’s Muslims, wherever they hailed from.

After a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule, the Dalai Lama and thousands of his Buddhist devotees fled across the Himalayas in 1959. Then, Tibet’s Muslim community also felt restive.

They were seen by some Tibetans as collaborators with the new Chinese rulers. After a lot of diplomatic push-and-pull, in which the Indian government took an interest, Muslims were allowed to leave Tibet. Most exercised that option.

Once on Indian soil, these Muslims were regarded not as stateless refugees, but as returning Indians. For once being a “Khache” gave the community status. They were from Kashmir, they told the Indian authorities, and they were adamant about going back to their homeland.

Today, most of them work in Srinagar, but not as traders – the old routes are now sealed by impermeable modern borders. Instead, they work in much less remunerative jobs, embroidering burqas and adding the finishing touches to T-shirts sold to tourists.

Mr Qazi told me that a few decades back, when tensions between India and China eased briefly, his mother had at last been able to make a return visit to Lhasa. Mr Qazi has cousins there, but he’s never been able to meet them, or even set foot in the place that gives him his identity.

The community traces its roots back to merchants who travelled along the old silk routes / Photo: Andrew Whitehead
The community traces its roots back to merchants who travelled along the old silk routes / Photo: Andrew Whitehead

“We belong to this soil, Kashmir’s soil,” Mr Qazi insisted. Yet the community’s status is ambiguous. In Indian-administered Kashmir, only those who can demonstrate that their forebears are from the state can own land and have full rights. That’s tricky for the Tibetans – their Kashmiri lineage is too distant for this purpose.

In a region where not belonging, or being seen as outsiders, can be perilous, the community keeps a low profile. They seem content in Kashmir. But they are bound to reflect on a painful paradox.

In Tibet, they are Kashmiris. In Kashmir, they are Tibetans. There’s nowhere where they are simply themselves.

source: http://www.bbcnews.com / BBC News / Home> Asia> India / by Andrew Whitehead / December 02nd, 2017