Fatwa Against Fashion: Can A Swimsuit Threaten 'Kashmiriyat'?

Indian designers Shivan Bhatiya and Narresh Kukreja had much to celebrate. After toiling tirelessly for 15 long years, they had succeeded in building India’s first luxury fashion brand - Shivan & Narresh, a feat they decided would be best commemorated with a fashion show. And what better venue to showcase their latest collection of Luxury Ski and Resort swimwear than at picturesque ski resort on the snowy slopes of Gulmarg in Kashmir?

While some models donned clothes that were fairly "covered", there were others — both men and women — perhaps more scantily clad showcasing the duo’s latest resort swimwear. A perfectly understandable display, especially given the entire event was a private affair aimed at garnering attention and creating social media fodder. 

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah himself admitted that "the Gulmarg fashion show was a private event, with no government involvement. It was a private party...they organised this event privately. It was hosted in a private hotel and privately were the invitation cards distributed."

Given this acknowledgment, one wonders why the Chief Minister and other prominent political leaders of the region took to social media in order to express outrage over the same. 

CM Abdullah qualified the above statement in the J&K assembly with the following — "Those people who organised the fashion show, did not use their brains, they did not think of the sentiments of the people, they did not think as to where they are doing this and at what time they are doing this. Some people have even said that this should not have happened during the month of Ramzan, I am of the opinion, forget Ramzan, from what I have seen, this should not have happened any day of the year."

So were brains not put to use? A designer duo, both Indian citizens, decided to use their own money to organise a private event to which other private individuals, expressed their consent via RSVPs, and gathered to celebrate the success of a homegrown and truly Indian luxury brand.

The holy month of Ramzan is being touted as reason enough to justify this specific brand of outrage that has labeled the organisers as 'insensitive', 'amoral', and 'uncivil'.

However, given that the hosts don't necessarily subscribe to the rituals associated with the month, attendance was completely voluntary, and Elle magazine did not issue diktats that every Kashmiri Muslim subject themselves to the visuals, one wonders where the ruling class seem to get their entitlement from. 

Notably, this is not the first time that fashion and by that extension art and ‘Kashmiryat’ have been at odds with each other. Take for instance the 2019 campaign run on Instagram by the brand Raw Mango.

The high-end brand founded by designer Sanjay Garg had posted videos, photographs, and stories of their collection ‘Zooni’. The images portrayed a bride wearing a red designer pheran, a traditional Kashmiri cloak, gracefully draping her bridal veil on her wedding day. The now-removed images and video were captioned, “Zooni… because Kashmir is about its people, who deserve to be seen and heard.”

The brand was also accused of appropriating Kashmiri culture as apparently no artist involved in this ode to the region was a Kashmiri. However, if one were to attribute such hostility to mere gatekeeping of regional heritage by the locals or simply a protest against appropriation, it would be a mistake.

Can it be argued that if the artists and designers have the right to expression, then the locals and their political representatives also have the right to free speech and are entitled to express disapproval? It would have been a perfectly fine proposition if the field was level and such backlash was inconsequential.

This was noted by Diet Sabya, an anonymous Instagram account known for its bold critiques and commentaries on the fashion industry.

The whole incident is unfortunate.

If the Swiss Alps can serve as a fashion backdrop why should the slopes of Gulmarg not? How can a certain radicalised section of society play arbitrator of what is moral and what is not, what should be allowed and what shouldn't? How can the state both aid and fuel such rhetoric? 

Such reactions are unfortunately reminiscent of Talibanic intolerance to music and cinema in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Why go that far, it is reminiscent of the slow but evident withdrawal of Bollywood from shooting in Kashmir and how cinema halls became the first fatalities in Srinagar during the peak of militancy in the 1990s.

In 2014, Rohit Bal, the celebrated Kashmiri Pandit designer who was made to flee from his homeland by Islamists courtesy his religion, chose to showcase his Kashmir-inspired Gulbagh collection against the backdrop of Qutub Minar. Similarly, his final show before he passed on, Kaaynaat – A Bloom in the Universe, which too drew inspiration from Kashmir was showcased at the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi.

The legend was very proud of his Kashmiri roots. "I grew up in Kashmir, and Kashmir grew in me. I left Kashmir during my school days but never stopped revisiting that paradise," Bal stated in an interview in 2016.

"Whatever I am today, whoever I am, it's all Kashmir. It's ingrained in my genes, so no matter what I do, it will always have a hint of the ethereal valley to it," he said.

The Shivan & Narresh show, far from being a simple celebration of Indian design, has become a stark symbol of the ongoing struggle for cultural expression in Kashmir.

The forced removal of their content, the apologies issued, and the chilling echoes of past censorship paint a grim picture. While the beauty of Gulmarg's slopes remains undeniable, the question lingers: can Kashmir truly claim its place as a modern, inclusive part of India when the very act of artistic celebration is met with such swift and silencing backlash?

The answer, it seems, lies not in the snow-covered mountains, but in the hearts and minds of those who determine the region's cultural future. Will Kashmir choose the path of open expression and economic vibrancy or will it remain trapped in a cycle of fear and enforced conformity? The world is watching, and the fate of 'Naya Kashmir' hangs in the balance.