Srinagar, Jun 24: J&K government, heritage advocacy groups as well as the artisan community of Kashmir have hailed the World Craft Council for recognizing Srinagar as a World Craft City.
A letter from World Craft Council addressed to the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), reveals that capital city Srinagar has been recognised as a ‘World Craft City’.
“On the behalf of Mr. Saad al-Qaddumi, World Craft Council AISBL, president, The WCC AISBL Executive Board, The WCC Sub Committee, and the jury members, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to the government, the citizens and the craftspeople of the Srinagar City (India) as a WCC-World Craft City,” the letter said, which is addressed to the chairman of INTACH Kashmir convenor, Saleem Beg.
“This Designation has been approved by the WCL AISBL, Executive Board and The WCC Sub-committee members based on the evaluation report submitted by the jurors,” it added.
Speaking to Ziraat Times, Mr Beg, who has been a persistent champion for the preservation of Kashmir’s cultural heritage, arts and crafts, said that this recognition comes after years of efforts at multiple levels from multiple stakeholders.
“All of us are delighted with this recognition. And the bigger task at hand is to revive and preserve some of the exquisite arts that are synonymous with Srinagar city”, Mr Beg said.
Meanwhile, Director Handicrafts and Handloom Kashmir Mahmood Ahmad Shah , while speaking to news agency KNO that the government had applied for the title back in 2021 following which the council conducted inspections within the city.
“In April this year, the team of the World Craft Council visited Srinagar. After inspection, they went back and submitted a report to the World Craft Council. Yesterday, we received a certificate of World Craft City,” Shah said.
“The good thing is that we got recognition both in textile and non-textile crafts,” he added.
The director of Handicrafts and Handloom said the title will promote the city as the world craft destination, thereby benefiting the entire industry.
“It will help us project Srinagar as an international craft destination. People from different parts of the world will come over here to see the craft,” he said.
Meanwhile the artisan community is also jubilant, saying their hard work and efforts from the government “finally bore fruits”.
“This is really good news for the artisan community of Kashmir. After UNESCO’s creative city title, this is the second biggest achievement for our city. This is going to benefit the artisans community in the long run. It will lead to the boom in the craft and will promote our valley for its historic crafts,” Musadiq Shah, Senior Vice-president Kashmir Pashmina Organisation said.
He said the recognition will help the government as well the stakeholders in reviving various ancient and historic crafts of Kashmir.
Social media is also abuzz with this positive news with netizens expressing their delight for this recognition.
—(KNO)
