Pulwama-based English teacher and digital educator Riyaz Ul Hassan is using social media to connect Kashmiri with English in an effort to revive the spoken use of the mother tongue among children and teenagers.
33-year-old said the main motive behind his short videos is to reach the young population of Kashmir, particularly children and teenagers who are more inclined towards languages like English.
“Although we have huge literature in Kashmiri, in the spoken area of the Kashmiri language there are very limited efforts,” he said. “This is my humble attempt to connect our mother tongue Kashmiri with a language that is globally recognised and respected.”
He said that most Kashmiri parents, and consequently their children, are fascinated by English, which has reduced the use of Kashmiri inside homes.
“It is my dream that our children should be fluent in English as well, but their home language should remain Kashmiri. This whole effort is about that,” he said.
Sharing the inspiration behind the initiative, Hassan said his experience as a teacher played a key role.
“I met many young children and teenagers who believed that Kashmiri has fewer words compared to English,” he said. “Many asked if there could be something that connects English with Kashmiri so that they could understand and learn it. That was the moment of inspiration.”
Hassan said his content has now reached learners beyond Kashmir, with people from different countries approaching him for help.
“At present, I receive many learning queries through my social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook from learners across the world including the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran and Canada regarding Kashmiri language learning,” he said, adding that he tries to help them in the best possible way, including live learning sessions.
“They really connected with Kashmiri versus English content,” he added.
Summing up his effort, Pulwama educator said that despite being an English teacher with an MPhil in English and primarily teaching English, he consciously links it with Kashmiri through short videos. “After five or ten years, when Kashmiri will be available online with enough data, I would like to see my name among those who worked tirelessly to give Kashmiri a global platform,” he said. Educator said that he does not claim to be an expert in Kashmiri literature but makes efforts to research every video before posting. “I also ask for suggestions from social media users for improvement every time I post content. The process is ongoing,” he added.
