Ban on pheran faces online backlash

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 19

A former Chief Minister, former legislators and retired bureaucrats, and wife of a senior separatist are among those who joined an online backlash against the state education department’s ban on wearing pheran, a knee-length cloak worn by most Kashmiris during the winter.

The backlash has forced the department to withdraw its last week’s order which had asked employees in north Kashmir’s Langate zone to avoid wearing pheran.

The ban ordered by the Zonal Education Officer, Langate, unified different voices across the political spectrum. They stormed the Internet in support of pheran and denounced the official directive as part of a cultural invasion.

“I fail to understand why pherans should be banned! This is a regressive order that makes no sense at all,” former Chief Minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah tweeted.

He defended wearing pherans as a “very practical way of keeping warm during the cold winter aside from being part of our identity”.

Mushal Malik, wife of separatist leader Yasin Malik, also condemned the ban and described the traditional winter wear as part of the “identity of all Kashmiris” and the “dress of every Kashmiri”. “How dare anyone try to snatch our identity from us… long live Kashmiris’ richest and finest heritage,” she said.

Kifayat Bashir, a twitter user, was among many who joined the defence of pheran on online forums and described it as an “integral part” of Kashmiri culture. “I don’t need anyone’s permission to wear it. If pheran represents me as a Kashmiri then I pledge to keep this pheran with me till the last breathe,” he wrote on Twitter.

The social media campaign in support of pheran was joined by people from almost all walks of life, including doctors, entrepreneurs, serving and retired bureacrats and politicians, who also shared their pictures wearing the long cloaks.