Kashmir Hosts Maiden Hindi Technical Seminar on Silk Industry 

SRINAGAR: Scientists and silk industry experts from across India gathered in Srinagar on Tuesday for the country’s first Hindi-language national seminar on sericulture, underscoring both the potential and the challenges facing Jammu and Kashmir’s once-renowned silk sector.

The day-long event, titled “Technological Interventions for Improving Quality and Productivity of the Silk Industry,” was organised by the Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute (CSRTI), Pampore, under the Central Silk Board (CSB) of the Ministry of Textiles. Held at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), the seminar brought together 88 scientists and researchers from 20 states to present new findings on mulberry, tasar, muga, and eri silk, as well as on post-cocoon technologies and by-product utilisation.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Central Silk Board, P Sivakumar, who inaugurated the seminar, said Jammu and Kashmir holds “immense potential” for bivoltine sericulture and assured technical and institutional support from the CSB to make the sector more resilient and economically viable. He called for technology-driven interventions suited to the Himalayan region’s climate and urged stronger market linkages and global branding for Kashmiri silk.

While acknowledging Kashmir’s historic reputation for high-quality silk, Sivakumar noted that scientific innovation must be matched with better policy coordination and infrastructure. “Kashmir silk is a brand that deserves global visibility, but the path forward lies in sustainability and collaboration,” he said.

Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, Director of the Sericulture Development Department, said the choice of Srinagar as the venue for the national seminar was significant, calling it an opportunity to “revive an age-old legacy through scientific and linguistic inclusivity.” He added that holding scientific deliberations in Hindi and Urdu would make technology transfer to farmers more effective.

CSRTI Director Dr. Sardar Singh said this was the first time the institute had hosted a dedicated technical seminar in Hindi. “Scientists from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir have come together to bridge the language gap between laboratories and looms,” he said.

Mussarat Islam, Director of Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir, said advances in sericulture research could directly benefit the Valley’s handloom sector, which depends heavily on locally produced silk. “Reviving sericulture is integral to sustaining the handloom industry and expanding export potential,” he said.

During the event, three Hindi publications—Smārika (Abstract Book), an annual Hindi magazine, and a half-yearly newsletter—were released to promote the use of Hindi in scientific communication. A Rajbhasha session featured four presentations by officials from the Central Silk Board on the role of Hindi in science and technology dissemination.

Officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Rajbhasha Vibhag and the Central Silk Board described the move to conduct scientific seminars in Hindi as a “pivotal step” toward making research more accessible to India’s sericulture farmers.

The discussions highlighted that despite decades of decline, Jammu and Kashmir still retains the ecological and cultural foundations for a sericulture revival—if backed by technology, training, and timely institutional support.

For many participants, the Srinagar seminar marked a renewed effort to reconnect the Valley’s silk heritage with contemporary research and development—a reminder that the story of Kashmir silk is not yet over, but in need of deliberate revival.