Dr Muhammad Maroof Shah

Sometimes questions are raised regarding our attitude to mutton consumption and there are advices for revisiting it. I don’t doubt that on occasions and in certain elite families mutton consumption may be excessive but we need to note that we can’t be a vegetarian society. To properly understand modern Kashmir’s obsession for mutton – the need of mutton as a protein source in the normal diet of all Kashmiris,  we may have a brief look at the figures provided by science. Not only do we consume far less than required when we speak in general terms for the whole population, but we are also deprived of quality meat due to absence of slaughter houses and non-availability of quality meat that goes for export to big hotels. If it were not for Eids , prayer food culture and festivals Kashmir's would, generally speaking, qualify as very poor consumers. Middle classes eat mutton mostly on different functions, festivals and marriages or when guests come visiting. The BP...

Increasing degradation in the value base of Kashmir culture is reflected in its different institutions and customs. The present paper focuses on the institution of marriage and customs associated with it, especially in Muslim community of our Valley, and highlights the divergence between traditional form and present day artificiality, mannerism and corruption of the same. It points towards capitalism as the key culprit in the process of degradation that has converted a great institution that strengthened relationships into a meaningless system of rituals that not only drain our economy but also reflect our moral and spiritual lassitude. The paper also addresses the cause of increasing divorce rate and failure of the great institution in its traditional sense in present day Kashmir. A need to revive the traditional basis of our cultural practices by a critique of existing institutionalized form is emphasized. What is culture and why is culture so important? What are our sacrosanct ...