Eminent Kashmiri academic Prof Shafi Shauq has been named among the recipients of India’s Padma Shri award for 2026 in recognition of his profound contributions to education and literature. The honour, announced by the government ahead of Republic Day, highlights his decades-long efforts to preserve and promote the Kashmiri language amid challenges faced by regional scholarship.

Prof Shauq, born in 1950 in the village of Kapren in Shopian district south of Srinagar, grew up immersed in Kashmir’s oral traditions and natural landscapes that shaped his passion for words and stories. He earned a PhD in English and spent 33 years at the University of Kashmir, retiring in 2010 as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, where he mentored generations of students and researchers. Over his career he has authored, edited or translated more than 100 books across........

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