Donations Collected in Kashmir and Ladakh for Iran’s Relief Efforts

What are you doing? Muslims from the predominantly Shia community in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh have come forward to donate their valuables and cash to support Iran in dealing with casualties during the ongoing US-Israeli military offensive.

Contributions include monetary donations as well as gold and silver jewelry as well as copper utensils. Donations worth billions of rupees were pledged last week, with a significant increase recorded during Eid al-Fitr, according to organisers.

Activists, volunteers and mosque and imambargah managements across the region continue to actively participate in door-to-door collection campaigns. Moreover, makeshift collection centers set up in various places, especially in the Kashmir Valley and Kargil, are witnessing a steady flow of donors. Women were prominently visible in these efforts, personally handing over their valuables, including gold jewelry. Children also participated by donating their Eidi, the money they traditionally receive from their parents and relatives during Eid celebrations.

Nowsheen Zahra, a resident of Magam district on the outskirts of Srinagar, said parting with her jewelery brought her a sense of inner peace and emotional relief. “I felt a little relieved after I handed over the gold and silver jewelry that my mother-in-law gave me and that my father prepared for me when I got married a year and a half ago,” he said. Zahra added that this was the least she could do, short of expressing emotional solidarity with those affected by the recent attacks in a country to which the community feels a deep emotional connection.

Despite logistical and diplomatic difficulties, the collected items are converted into cash before being sent to Iran through authorized channels. A Srinagar-based lawyer told this newspaper that he managed to collect ₹31 lakh on his own from his extended family. The representative of Iran’s Religious Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamani in India, Dr. Recalling his meeting with Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi in New Delhi, the lawyer said he was deeply moved after hearing first-hand accounts of the situation in Iran and overcame this emotion and transferred the remaining balance of ₹ 1.5 lakh in his personal bank account to the spot.

Meanwhile, parts of Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Kargil once again witnessed protests during Eid congregations over the weekend; demonstrators chanted slogans against the United States and Israel while expressing solidarity with Iran. Muslims from the predominantly Shia community in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh have come forward to donate their valuables and cash to support Iran in dealing with casualties during the ongoing US-Israeli military offensive.

Contributions include monetary donations as well as gold and silver jewelry as well as copper utensils. Donations worth billions of rupees were pledged last week, with a significant increase recorded during Eid al-Fitr, according to organisers.

Activists, volunteers and mosque and imambargah managements across the region continue to actively participate in door-to-door collection campaigns. Moreover, makeshift collection centers set up in various places, especially in the Kashmir Valley and Kargil, are witnessing a steady flow of donors. Women were prominently visible in these efforts, personally handing over their valuables, including gold jewelry. Children also participated by donating their Eidi, the money they traditionally receive from their parents and relatives during Eid celebrations.

Nowsheen Zahra, a resident of Magam district on the outskirts of Srinagar, said parting with her jewelery brought her a sense of inner peace and emotional relief. “I felt a little relieved after I handed over the gold and silver jewelry that my mother-in-law gave me and that my father prepared for me when I got married a year and a half ago,” he said. Zahra added that this was the least she could do, short of expressing emotional solidarity with those affected by the recent attacks in a country to which the community feels a deep emotional connection.

Despite logistical and diplomatic difficulties, the collected items are converted into cash before being sent to Iran through authorized channels. A Srinagar-based lawyer told this newspaper that he managed to collect ₹31 lakh on his own from his extended family. The representative of Iran’s Religious Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamani in India, Dr. Recalling his meeting with Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi in New Delhi, the lawyer said he was deeply moved after hearing first-hand accounts of the situation in Iran and overcame this emotion and transferred the remaining balance of ₹ 1.5 lakh in his personal bank account to the spot.

Meanwhile, parts of Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Kargil once again witnessed protests during Eid congregations over the weekend; demonstrators chanted slogans against the United States and Israel while expressing solidarity with Iran.