Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

The traditional practice of fishing has remained significantly important among most of the communities in India, albeit the primary reason for fishing has remained predominantly for consumption, but in contemporary times, fishing acts as an important source of income generation and survival. The traditional practice of fishing among the Haanji’s of the Kashmir Valley has passed on from generation to generation. History of Haanji’s as a fishing community can be traced through the folktales, oral narratives present among the people. Since the last few decades, change in societal norms, and factors such as globalization have had a deep impact upon the community. The Haanji’s have remained always discriminated against in terms of class, power, and status in the society. Fishing has been regarded as a low esteemed profession in society. Therefore, social factors such as class and status have also influenced new generations of the said community to opt for newer kinds of professions (other than fishing). This has, however, impacted the traditional practice of fishing in the Kashmir valley. This paper tries to look at the social-economic and political issues that have affected the fishing culture in the valley. It also looks at the status of women and the level of women empowerment in terms of marketing aspects. This study delivers the roots of the demise of fishing as a practice in everyday life, and it will be first of its kind as no prior study has been done on the said community.