From Copper Utensils to Daughter's Earrings, Kashmir’s Shias Mobilise Aid for Iran |
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Srinagar: Nasir Hussain reached into his pocket, pulled out a velvet box and placed it atop the pile on a rectangular table placed at Hussaini Park of Srinagar’s Dal Lake on March 22.
One by one, the boxes started to pile up.
Two framed photographs sit side by side on the table — one, a portrait of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the other a digitally-altered image bringing together three of the Islamic Republic’s most defining figures: founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei himself and Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.
“I donated a golden earring which I had brought for my daughter. My sister and sister-in-law also made some donations. It is not just us but the entire locality which has come out and contributed according to what they could,” Hussain, a Shia Muslim and a businessman, said.
Hundreds of residents of Mir Behri locality, a predominantly Shia neighbourhood in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital, swarmed the park on Sunday carrying jewellery boxes, cash, copper utensils, piggy banks and whatever they felt counted as donation.
Residents told The Wire that the money would be deposited into a bank account which had been shared by the embassy of Iran in New Delhi soliciting donations for humanitarian assistance amid the ongoing war which has killed more than 1,500 people in the country, many of them children.
The embassy in Iran has acknowledged the contributions made by the people of Kashmir by sharing photos and videos of the donation efforts on its X handle.
A respected sister from Kashmir, donated the gold kept as a memento of her husband who passed away 28 years ago with a heart full of love and solidarity for the people of #Iran. Your tears and pure emotions are the greatest source of comfort for the people of Iran and will never… pic.twitter.com/0zFcJwGhj0 — Iran in India (@Iran_in_India) March 22, 2026
A respected sister from Kashmir, donated the gold kept as a memento of her husband who passed away 28 years ago with a heart full of love and solidarity for the people of #Iran. Your tears and pure emotions are the greatest source of comfort for the people of Iran and will never… pic.twitter.com/0zFcJwGhj0
— Iran in India (@Iran_in_India) March 22, 2026
Across posts, it signed off its messages with the line, “Thank you, India,” while referring to “the kind people of Kashmir” and their acts of solidarity.
The posts appear to be a subtle diplomatic point and a reminder by the Iranian government of its traditional balanced position on the dispute, coming at a time when there has been concerns from certain quarters in India over Kashmiris donating to Iran’s humanitarian efforts.
After the embassy publicised the details of its State Bank of India account, so it could collect donations, social media platforms in Kashmir have been awash with videos and photos purportedly showing local residents contributing in cash and kind towards the effort.
A table on which donations towards Iran’s humanitarian crisis were being kept in Srinagar. Photo: Ubaid Mukhtar.
According to preliminary estimates by community leaders, cash, gold and other items worth crores of rupees have been collected so far in the donation drives which were organised in predominantly Shia localities in Kashmir on Sunday. Many Kashmiri residents seem to have made direct bank transfers to the Iranian embassy, according to social media and community leaders. Some contributed by selling household items such as copper utensils, unopened kitchen appliances and so on.
A video which went viral on social media showed a young Kashmiri man vowing to sell his motorbike and contribute the money raised from the sale to Iran. Another video, which was shared by the embassy of Iran on its X account, showed a young girl donating her piggy bank.
There is no official figure on the number of Shia Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir. One unofficial estimate suggests that Shias make up around 10% of the population in Kashmir and live predominantly in Srinagar, Budgam and Baramulla districts.
‘Religious, cultural, social and historical links’
Hakim Sameer Hamdani, a Srinagar-based architectural historian, traces the social and religious affinity between Kashmir and Iran to the 14th century when the Sufi saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani brought around 700 craftsmen from Persia and Central Asia to the valley.
Hamdani has written three books which touch on the topics of cultural and religious linkages between Iran and Kashmir.
“The family of late Ayatollah Khomeini arrived in Kashmir in the 18th century from Iran and after two generations in Srinagar left around 1830,” he said.
Hamdani said that as a people Kashmiris have always been generous and making donations is an intrinsic part of community life. He cited the September 2014 floods when Kashmiris opened their homes to complete strangers, including tourists and even people from different religions, to underscore his point.
“Iran and Kashmir have religious, cultural, social and historical links. A number of places in Iran have inspired popular surnames in Kashmir. Even some words in Kashmiri language have been borrowed from Persian,” he said.
As the war rages on in Iran, many Kashmiris have stepped up their efforts to alleviate the sufferings of its people.
Some residents have made direct bank transfers to the Iranian embassy and shared the screenshots on their social media accounts. Some are selling their household items such as copper utensils, unopened kitchen appliances and others to raise the funds.
A gathering at which locals dropped off possessions as donation towards Iran’s humanitarian crisis in Srinagar. Photo: Ubaid Mukhtar.
‘Everyone is contributing’
On Sunday, a number of donation drives were organised by the Shia community leaders and elders in different areas of Kashmir. Amid the Eid celebrations, thousands are believed to have joined the effort to express their solidarity with the people of Iran.
Tabeena, a resident of Mir Behri, donated Rs 5,000 at the drive. “Our Supreme Leader has been killed. Children are being massacred. If I have to shed my blood for Iran, I will not back off.”
She said that Iran was on a “noble path” and fighting against the US and Israel “for a better world on behalf of the humanity”. “My sister-in-law contributed her golden ring. It is a just cause and everyone is contributing. We want Iran to win and the killers to perish”.
The businessman Hussain, quoted at the beginning of the article, said that his daughter, the eldest among three siblings, is pursuing an MBBS from a medical college in Tehran. She has been evacuated by the Indian embassy to the city of Qom amid the ongoing US-Israel attacks on Iran’s capital city.
Hussain said that he has been thinking of visiting the city of Mashhad, the second largest and the religious capital of Iran which houses the shrine of Ali ibn Musa al-Rida alias Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam and a descendent of Prophet Muhammad.
“I will go there once the war is over,” said Hussain, “But at present, Iran needs our immediate help. Islam and Khamenei saheb have taught us to value humanity over everything else. Iran stands with the people of Palestine and Lebanon. It is our moral and Islamic duty to stand with them at this time,” he said.
A table on which donations towards Iran’s humanitarian crisis were being kept in Srinagar. Photo: Ubaid Mukhtar.
‘Purely for humanitarian and religious cause’
Amid a deluge of photos and videos on social media platforms showing the residents of Kashmir going out of way to help besieged Iranians, the community leaders and elders have warned to keep these efforts discreet in order to avoid any legal troubles.
Former J&K minister and Peoples Conference general secretary Imran Reza Ansari alleged that “some individuals” who were involved in the collection process, were “reportedly receiving calls from various authorities seeking details about the funds, collectors, and contributors etc”.
“At this sensitive moment, it is important to reassure everyone that these donations are purely for a humanitarian and religious cause, meant to support the people of Iran in their time of need. The emotions of the people are deeply involved, and any unnecessary pressure or questioning may hurt public sentiment,” Ansari, a prominent Shia leader, said in a post on X.
The ruling National Conference legislator from Srinagar’s Zadibal constituency, also a Shia leader, urged the residents to refrain from publicising their donations.
“The way a cross-section of people of Kashmir from villages to towns have stepped forward in support of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New Delhi through contributions to the official State Bank of India (SBI) humanitarian relief account for those affected by the ongoing war is a remarkable testament to compassion and collective conscience. This outpouring of support reflects the finest spirit of humanity, where people rise above everything to stand with those in need. Just one humble request: do it, but don’t show it,” he said on X.
Separately, a Shia leader based in Srinagar who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that J&K police were seeking details from the people who were responsible for collecting donations in different parts of the city.
“They [police] have taken the details about the nature of the donations but not who made those donations,” he said, while urging the police to respect the “religious sensibilities” of the donors.