Cultural Preservation of the Dard-Shin Tribe in Gurez Valley
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Art and Culture (Tribes of India, their culture, language), Indian Geography (Location of tribes, Important Valleys and Rivers), Social Justice (Scheduled Tribes).
Mains:
GS Paper 1: Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India; Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times (specifically focusing on tribal and folk culture).
GS Paper 2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States.
Key Highlights from the News
Personal Initiative: Dard-Shin tribesman Basheer Ahmed Terao started a museum in his own home to preserve the cultural heritage of his community.
Location: The museum is located in Dawar, Gurez Valley, Kashmir.
About the Tribe:
The Dard-Shin tribe has been recognized as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) by the central government.
They are believed to originate from the Gilgit region.
In India, they mainly reside in the Gurez, Tulail, and Drass regions.
Cultural Elements: The museum has a collection of traditional clothes, ornaments, utensils, agricultural tools, grass footwear, and literature and poems in the Shina language.
Army Intervention: Inspired by this initiative, the Indian Army has constructed a Shina Culture Centre on the banks of the Kishanganga river in Dawar.
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