Lying down in the grass as the warm winter sun sets in, I find the sight of most students wearing the pheran – a traditional Kashmiri cloak – unsurprising. Like other central universities in New Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia University has become an institutional hub that welcomes people from different cultural backgrounds. As a result, an influx of cultural markers like clothing, food and fashion is not uncommon.
However, as a non-Kashmiri, I have always been curious about the rapid rise of the pheran trend in Delhi’s campus spaces – and by extension, across north India – and what kind of responses it generates, especially after the reading down of Article 370.
Shifting paradigms of the pheran as a cultural symbol
A few years back, Indian officials in Kashmir banned the garment at workplaces, following which many Kashmiris wore it and shared pictures on social media as a mark of protest.
The ban was later revoked.
Similarly, last year’s 40-day coldest spell of winter, known as chillai kalan, was celebrated by Kashmiris with many of them wearing pheran on the streets to spread their cultural preservation and non-identification with the India across the regional border – and also beyond the nation.
In recent times, the garment has been fetishised to symbolise vague ideas. A majority of north Indians wear it to showcase a “Kashmiri aesthetic”, while others justify it through a “liberal” ideology.
Also read: In ‘Naya Kashmir’, ‘Stop and Frisk’ Action Brings Back Memories of Old Times
Surprisingly, most people wear it without knowing the cultural weight it carries.
On Instagram, someone celebrates the anniversary of the inauguration of the Ram Mandir with the slogan “Jai Shree Ram”, and in the second story, wears the garment and says, “Finally, got my hands at Kashmiri pheran”. How do the two statements go hand-in-hand?
As I search for answers, some questions come back to my mind. For instance, how does one wear symbols of resistance casually, without a deeper analysis of their history and socio-political context? Why does clothing within university spaces become the object of cultural appropriation, in stark contrast to what is perhaps taught within the classroom?
When will “personal” preferences of fashion and clothing become political and start creating larger impacts?
Cultural significance the pheran
A pheran is a loose garment worn during the winters in Kashmir and is often paired with a kangir – an earthen pot Kashmiris keep paired with pherans – to keep people in the region warm.
Its history goes back to the Mughal era and it symbolises a blend of various cultures: Central Asian, Persian and various local styles within the many regions in Kashmir.
The pheran has stood for the mark of Kashmiri craftsmanship and local artistry. With many modifications available, it also features local embroidery, often tilla and zarri patchwork. The unisex garment is intricately connected to Kashmiri culture.
Over the years, pheran has also acquired a distinct identity rooted in the individuality of a people whose basic human rights are at stake under the ruling Modi government. It has become a tool of resistance on the one hand and of protest on the other.
X has often been stormed with hashtags like #dontbanourpheran and #pheranlove against a backdrop of several human rights abuses exercised by the Indian government in the region.
The garment has stood for the Kashmiri resistance movement, allowing them to retain their individuality every time the state has insisted on assimilation – more so after August 5, 2019.
Fear versus fashion
The pheran has also made Kashmiris suspicious of the gaze of the Indian forces deployed in the region, which has in turn led to people being harassed, arrested and even killed in the region. A peculiar fear regarding the garment makes military crackdown common, with Indian forces often keeping close surveillance on people wearing it.
On the other hand, non-residents of Kashmir are often found hoarding pherans at local Kashmiri shops and in cultural centres like Dilli Haat in various colour combinations and styles.
Also read: Met With Outrage, J&K Official Who Said Officer Wearing Pheran Looked Like a ‘Shepherd’ Apologises
For female students, especially in Delhi, pairing pherans with jhumka and tote bags has become a fashion statement even though they don’t know much about it, except the fact that it comes from Kashmir.
While wearing a garment fashionably is not wrong, being devoid of knowledge about its historical and political identity is exactly where the issue of cultural appropriation arises from. For then, it serves as an “aesthetic” object for the privileged.
The “liberals” often claim that they wear the pheran in solidarity with the integration of Kashmir. However, they tend to forget that this “integration” is exactly what Kashmiris are fighting against, an interesting observation made by A. Makbool and Neelofar Gooroo.
Time and again, Kashmiris have tried to use pherans as a symbol of resistance, expecting people to talk about Kashmir on a greater scale. However, the project usually fails as people take this garment out of context and allow it to serve their “fashion” interests while brushing Kashmir and its situation under the carpet.
The popularity of the pheran owes itself to the exoticism of Kashmir as a “heavenly” land and develops on the aspirations of the people to be a part of the Kashmiri culture, in some or the other way.
Thus, like a trip to Kashmir becomes mandatory for outsiders, wearing the pheran and picturing oneself within the valley becomes the next important thing.
University spaces are a microcosm of the cultural appropriation of these fashion trends and friends from college, who bought pheran during their trips to Kashmir, continue to style it for “aesthetics”. Meanwhile, others try to grab it from the nearest Kashmiri shop available as soon as winter arrives.
The tears and blood of an entire population go into making the garment but in vain. Where the identity of the garment lies then remains an important but unanswered question.
Zainab S Qazi is an editorial intern at The Wire.
