In conflict-torn Kashmir, people suffering from depression find solace in Sufi Islam

A man reads from the Quran at the Sufi shrine Khanqah-e-Maula in Srinagar, Kashmir. Photo by Basit Zargar.

SRINAGAR — As the countdown begins for the holy month of Ramadan April 12-May 12, Muslims across the world are preparing to fast and pray to seek forgiveness from God for their sins. In Kashmir, India’s Muslim-majority region that has been riddled with conflict and violence for decades, like every year, people will be praying for peace and an end to their suffering.

The beauty of Kashmir, with stunning streams and valleys carved into the Himalayan mountain tops, has long been associated with heaven in medieval Persian poetry. But the soul and the spirit of its people is now scarred and shattered by conflict and turmoil.

The killings of tens of thousands of civilians, thousands more injured, arbitrary arrests and detentions and military occupation that has enforced harsh lockdowns, curfews and blocked Internet throughout 2019-2020 have all contributed to the population’s trauma and mental health issues. On top of that history, lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic have caused loneliness, isolation and depression, especially for young people who weren’t able to attend school or even access high-speed Internet for online learning.

“I used to get attacks of depression whenever violence flared up in Kashmir,” 21-year-old Mantasha said. Her name has been changed to protect her from the stigma that mental health issues still carries in Indian society. “I was simply not able to cope with it,” she said. “I began to imagine somebody dying in front of me. But today I am well, I have reconciled to the fact that the conflict in Kashmir is not going to end soon and things could get worse in the future. I have trained my mind for that.”

For months, Mantasha paid regular visits to Sufi shrines in Srinagar, spending significant time in the silent and aromatic prayer halls, praying for peace and healing and watching other visitors. She’s like thousands of other Kashmiris whose faith is taking a leading role in their healing from trauma.

Kashmir has a rich tradition of spirituality and diverse religious practices— most notably, Sufi Islam, a mystical expression of the faith that emphasizes direct intimacy with God. Hundreds of Sufi mosques and Sufi shrines have soothed Kashmiris for centuries. In the absence of mental health resources from the government, many in the valley have found solace and healing in Sufism.

The valley’s shrines and mosques are like islands of peace, where people cut off from the fear and violence outside get time and space to reflect and rejuvenate. In the prayer halls, which are usually filled with smoke of incense sticks and the aroma of rose water that’s sprinkled on the visitors, people are found either humming Quranic verses, talking in whispers, or just sitting with heads bowed meditating. The peace within and the fear outside is separated by just a few meters.

Mantasha remembers the cycle of protests in Kashmir in 2016 that followed the killing of a separatist militant commander Burhan Wani by Indian security forces, triggering five months of unrest that left 93 civilians dead and more than 15,000 injured.

The unrest in Kashmir took a heavy toll on her mental health, and she was diagnosed with clinical depression. Support from her family and medical intervention helped her to recover from her illness, but she used to suffer from bouts of anxiety whenever violence flared up.

“Every day [in 2016] we heard reports of people getting injured,” she said. “It was not possible for me to isolate from what was happening around. I thought if somebody was hurt or killed, I too can suffer the same fate.”

According to a 2015 survey by Medicine Sans Frontiers, 45% of the adult population of Kashmir showed symptoms of mental distress, 41% showed signs of depression, 26% showed signs of anxiety and 19% showed probable symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Islamic scholars say that just listening to the recitation of the Quran, the Holy book of Muslims, reduces anxiety levels of people. They believe the recitation of the Quran enhances a person’s capacity for stress and creates a sense of relaxation.

Doctors agree religion is an important socio-emotional resource, especially for a region ravaged by violence, and religious practices like prayer and meditation are shown to improve mental health.

“Religion has historically acted as a coping mechanism for people of Kashmir in stress,” said Dr. Abdul Majid, a senior psychiatrist based in Kashmir. “Kashmiris take refuge in religion during conflict and natural calamities.”

Most people in Kashmir regularly visit shrines for solace and prayers. During devastating floods in 2014, the worst deluge in a century to hit the valley in which nearly 300 people died, Kashmiris showed a great sense of communal harmony. Muslims took shelter in Hindu temples and Sikh Gurudwaras, and Sikhs and Hindus took shelter in mosques.

“This is the beauty of Kashmir, there is harmony in diversity. Religion has acted as a big coping mechanism for people to counter stress,” Majid added.

One entrance of the shrine shrine Khanqah-e-Maula. Photo by Basit Zargar.

The seeds of the conflict were sown when Kashmir acceded to India at the time of India’s independence in 1947 rather than merging with a Muslim Pakistan under a constitutional provision called Article 370 that allowed a semi-autonomous rule in Kashmir. Militant separatism in Kashmir during the last three decades has claimed the lives of about 47,000 people so far, according to the Indian official data. Nearly 7 million people live in the Kashmir Valley, 97% of them Muslims. In the 1990s, many Kashmiri Hindus fled for their lives and settled outside the valley.

An armed insurgency backed by Pakistan started against the Indian rule in Kashmir in the early nineties. There have been separatist agitations sparking massive street protests in Kashmir in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2016 that stretched on for months. Hundreds of protesters have been killed by security forces following clashes in those violent spells of unrest.

Kashmir has also been the center of Indian politics for years. In August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party stripped the region of its semi-autonomous status agreed to during independence, enforced the world’s largest communication blackout for months, introduced laws to allow greater Hindu settlement in the country’s only Muslim-majority region, and Indian security officials have arbitrarily arrested politicians and young men, often under a law that allows detention without evidence or trial for up to two years.

Doctors say the number of patients showing signs of depression and anxiety in Kashmir have increased drastically. Among those showing signs of depression are students who stopped going to the schools and colleges after the lockdown was imposed.

To cope, Kashmiris flock to shrines like Khanqah-e-Maula in Srinagar, located on the banks of the river Jhelum, an important religious destination in memory of the 12th century Iranian Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdan, who stayed in Kashmir and was instrumental to spreading Islam in Kashmir. The shrine’s caretakers say the best mechanism to deal with anxiety and depression is to turn to God and spirituality. 

“We worship God in our shrines. We turn to God for peace of mind and relief from depression,” said a caretaker of the shrine. “The path shown by the Sufi saint guides us towards love. This is precisely the reason that more and more people are thronging to shrines in Srinagar.”

Zaffar Iqbal is a journalist based in Kashmir, India. He has reported for 18 years on armed encounters, environmental issues, crime, politics, culture and human rights. He’s formerly the bureau chief of Jammu and Kashmir for NDTV.