Donations Collected in Kashmir and Ladakh for Iran’s Relief Efforts
The collected items are being converted into cash before being transferred through authorised channels to Iran, despite logistical and diplomatic challenges
SRINAGAR: Muslims, predominantly from the Shia community, across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have come forward to donate valuables and cash to support Iran in coping with losses suffered during the ongoing U.S.- Israel military strikes.
Contributions have included gold and silver jewellery, as well as copper utensils, alongside monetary donations. According to organisers, donations worth billions of rupees have been pledged over the past week, with a significant surge recorded during the festival of Eid‑ul‑Fitr.
Across the regions, activists, volunteers, and the managements of mosques and imambargahs have remained actively engaged in door‑to‑door collection drives. In addition, makeshift collection centres established at various locations—particularly in the Kashmir Valley and in Kargil—have witnessed a steady influx of donors. Women have been prominently visible in these efforts, personally handing over their valuables, including gold ornaments. Children, too, have participated by donating their Eidi, the money traditionally received from parents and relatives during Eid celebrations.
Nowsheen Zahra, a resident of Magam township on the outskirts of Srinagar, said that parting with her jewellery brought her a sense of inner peace and emotional relief. “I felt some comfort after depositing the gold and silver ornaments that were given to me by my in‑laws and those my father had prepared for me at the time of my marriage a year and a half ago,” she said. Zahra added that this was the least she could do, apart from standing in emotional solidarity with those affected by the recent strikes on a country to which, she said, the community feels a deep emotional connection.
The collected items are being converted into cash before being transferred through authorised channels to Iran, despite logistical and diplomatic challenges. A lawyer based in Srinagar told this newspaper that he alone managed to collect ₹31 lakh from within his extended family. Recalling a meeting in New Delhi with Dr. Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khameni's representative to India, the lawyer said he was deeply moved after hearing firsthand accounts of the situation in Iran and, overcome with emotion, transferred ₹1.5 lakh—the remaining balance in his personal bank account—on the spot.
Meanwhile, parts of the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Kargil once again witnessed protests during Eid congregations over the weekend, with demonstrators raising slogans against the United States and Israel while expressing solidarity with Iran. Muslims, predominantly from the Shia community, across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have come forward to donate valuables and cash to support Iran in coping with losses suffered during the ongoing U.S.- Israel military strikes.
Contributions have included gold and silver jewellery, as well as copper utensils, alongside monetary donations. According to organisers, donations worth billions of rupees have been pledged over the past week, with a significant surge recorded during the festival of Eid‑ul‑Fitr.
Across the regions, activists, volunteers, and the managements of mosques and imambargahs have remained actively engaged in door‑to‑door collection drives. In addition, makeshift collection centres established at various locations—particularly in the Kashmir Valley and in Kargil—have witnessed a steady influx of donors. Women have been prominently visible in these efforts, personally handing over their valuables, including gold ornaments. Children, too, have participated by donating their Eidi, the money traditionally received from parents and relatives during Eid celebrations.
Nowsheen Zahra, a resident of Magam township on the outskirts of Srinagar, said that parting with her jewellery brought her a sense of inner peace and emotional relief. “I felt some comfort after depositing the gold and silver ornaments that were given to me by my in‑laws and those my father had prepared for me at the time of my marriage a year and a half ago,” she said. Zahra added that this was the least she could do, apart from standing in emotional solidarity with those affected by the recent strikes on a country to which, she said, the community feels a deep emotional connection.
The collected items are being converted into cash before being transferred through authorised channels to Iran, despite logistical and diplomatic challenges. A lawyer based in Srinagar told this newspaper that he alone managed to collect ₹31 lakh from within his extended family. Recalling a meeting in New Delhi with Dr. Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khameni's representative to India, the lawyer said he was deeply moved after hearing firsthand accounts of the situation in Iran and, overcome with emotion, transferred ₹1.5 lakh—the remaining balance in his personal bank account—on the spot.
Meanwhile, parts of the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, and Kargil once again witnessed protests during Eid congregations over the weekend, with demonstrators raising slogans against the United States and Israel while expressing solidarity with Iran.
