Spirituality

Srinagar filmmaker Ali Emran releases a book promoting Kashmir's Sufi heritage

Srinagar filmmaker and writer Ali Emran has released a new English-language book, The Unseen Voice, built around spiritual philosophy and poetic stanzas meant to preserve and promote Kashmir's Sufi culture and composite heritage, ANI News reports. Emran, who writes under the pen name Mehar, launched the book at a programme in the seminar hall of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages in Srinagar, according to ANI News.

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From engineering to films to Sufi poetry#

Born in Srinagar, Emran attended Burn Hall School and Tyndale Biscoe School before studying engineering outside Kashmir at his father's urging, he told ANI News. He said he completed the engineering degree with honours while already assisting on Bollywood productions, before going on to direct his own short and feature films, according to ANI News.

Emran has made around 13 films altogether, spanning short films, documentaries and features, some of which screened at Tagore Hall and INOX in Srinagar, he told ANI News. He also organized a film festival in Kashmir in 2007, a period when the Valley was seeking more support for its local cinema, according to ANI News.

Emran said his writing habit started in school, when he wrote Urdu poetry influenced by his mother, with his early verse later published and praised, according to ANI News. The Unseen Voice drew appreciation from literary figures including Mohammad Amin Bhat, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Adbi Markaz Kamraz, ANI News reports.

Sufism's place in Kashmir's shared traditions#

Sufism is described by Wikipedia as a diverse Islamic spiritual and ethical discipline centered on spiritual excellence, purification of the self and heart, closeness to God, and remembrance of God. Emran's book was launched in Srinagar, which sits on the Jhelum River and the shores of Dal Lake, according to Wikipedia.

Government-backed efforts in the region have separately emphasized Kashmir's standing as a meeting ground of Rishi, Sufi, Shaiva, Buddhist, Sikh and other traditions, according to KashmirPEN, which reported that an Interfaith Dialogue on Urdu, Kashmiriyat and shared cultural traditions was held at SKICC on June 27, 2026. At that gathering, Dr Karan Singh described Kashmir's heritage in terms of coexistence, Kashmiriyat and Sufism, invoking Mahatma Gandhi's description of Kashmir during Partition violence as a ray of hope, KashmirPEN reported.

Sufi poetry also figures in a separate push for recognition of Punjabi as an official language in Jammu and Kashmir, with the Daily Excelsior noting that Punjabi's regional heritage runs from Sufi poetry and writers across religious communities to census records, education and pre-partition railway stations. Following sustained demonstrations by the Punjabi Basha Morcha in Jammu that lasted beyond fourteen days, the Jammu and Kashmir government has agreed to bring a Bill in the upcoming Budget Session to recognise Punjabi as an official language, the Daily Excelsior reported.

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