Kashmiri scholar, poet, linguist and translator Professor Shafi Shauq, who has been named among the recipients of the Padma Shri Award 2026 for his contribution to education and literature, in Srinagar, on January 25, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Professor Shafi Shauq, a 75-year-old poet, linguist and translator from Kashmir who was nominated for the Padma Shri Award, on Monday (January 26, 2026) said Kashmiri language is that of workers and peasants and will survive.
In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Shauq, who hails from Shopian’s remote village of Kapran, said Kashmiri language will outlive the threats posed by the cyber era and English.
“Kashmiri language is the language of workers and peasants. Kashmiri language does not need a poet, a writer, a journalist or a language activist to survive. It’s a spoken language. It will survive in grief, sorrow and lament,” Mr. Shauq said.
He described the Padma Shri award, among the highest civilian honours in India, as “an acknowledgement of the richness of Kashmiri language, its antiquity and the importance it holds in the sub-continent and globally.”
“The award is a heartening gesture. It is really a moment of pride that I was considered for the most prestigious award and was considered worth it. I have always held the cause of Kashmiri language of foremost importance, even more than personal self,” Mr. Shauq, who has authored and translated over 100 books, said.
For Mr. Shauq, Kashmiri language “defines the identity of people of Kashmir and supports their existence”. “The Kashmiri language is known as ‘Koshir’ and the people as ‘Koshur’. They are synonymous. The language even survived the domination of Sanskrit in the region,” the writer, who served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts till 2010 at the University of Kashmir, said.
Mr. Shauq has translated from Kashmiri to English works of all popular Sufi poets who wrote between the periods of Mahmud Gami (19th century) and Shams Fakir (early 20th century). He also translated English classics of Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Guy de Maupassant into Kashmiri, and the popular book ‘Gul Gulshan Gulfam’ by Pran Kishore from Kashmiri to English.
Published – January 26, 2026 07:25 pm IST
