Mushtaq Bala
From the historic lanes of Srinagar’s old city to the traditional marketplaces of Sopore, Anantnag, Baramulla and other towns, the Zargar community has played a significant role in shaping Kashmir’s jewellery-making traditions. Their story is not merely about gold and silver, but also about craftsmanship, cultural identity, trade, migration and the changing fortunes of traditional artisans.
A Community Behind Kashmir’s Jewellery Traditions
Kashmir’s cultural heritage is widely celebrated through its handicrafts, including papier-mâché, woodcarving, carpet weaving, shawl-making and copperware. Less frequently documented, however, is the contribution of the Zargar community, traditionally associated with goldsmithing, silversmithing, jewellery design and the intricate working of precious metals.
In Kashmiri usage, a Zargar is generally understood as a goldsmith or jewellery artisan. The community’s historical presence is closely associated with the old commercial quarters of Srinagar, where generations of craftsmen fashioned ornaments for households, weddings, religious occasions and social ceremonies.
Their work connected artisans with merchants, customers, metal dealers, gemstone workers and other specialised craftsmen. Jewellery was not simply a luxury. It represented wealth, family inheritance, social standing, personal adornment and, in many households, a form of financial security.
The history of Kashmir’s Zargars, therefore, deserves to be studied as part of the Valley’s wider economic and cultural history.
Tracing Their Origins: A History Still Waiting to Be Documented
One of the most intriguing questions raised in a recent Facebook discussion initiated by Jalal-ud-Din Shah concerns the origins of the Zargar families of Kashmir. How long have these families practised the trade, and how did the profession become established in the Valley?
Shah has suggested that skilled craftsmen from outside Kashmir, possibly including Central Asian artisans and later goldsmiths from Punjab, may have contributed to the development of the local jewellery trade. Such movements are historically plausible in a region that maintained commercial and cultural connections with Central Asia, the Punjab and other parts of the subcontinent.
However, the precise origins of Kashmir’s Zargar families cannot be established from surnames and oral recollections alone. The arrival of outside craftsmen may explain some family histories, but it would be premature to conclude that the entire community originated elsewhere. Local artisans could also have entered, developed or transformed the profession over several centuries.
Kashmir had established traditions of metalworking and ornament-making long before modern jewellery markets emerged. Historical accounts, surviving ornaments, family records and archival references could help establish how these traditions evolved and how specialised goldsmithing developed alongside them.
The arrival of Islam, successive political regimes, Mughal patronage, Afghan and Sikh rule, and the Dogra period all provide historical contexts within which artisans, merchants and specialised craftspeople may have moved, adapted and established family businesses. Yet the history of a particular Zargar family must be distinguished from the broader history of jewellery-making in Kashmir.
A systematic study of old business records, family genealogies, marriage registers, trade directories and oral histories could help answer these questions more conclusively.
Family Names, Nicknames and the Old City Connection
One of the most valuable aspects of Shah’s discussion is the collection of family names and traditional identifiers associated with Zargars. These names preserve memories of kinship, neighbourhoods, occupations and the social organisation of the old city.
Among the names mentioned in the discussion are Gada, Chashu, Bala, Chounchi or Choonchi, Buoir, Mahingar, Khujwal or Khawjawal, Shawl, Nahroo, Jawhari, Guroo or Guru, Gogour, Bulbul, Pesh, Daie, Tsaath, Gujwaree, Zarkoop, Tolu, Zarabi, Lal, Kouik, Pheeru and Wouzuil.
These names should be regarded as an initial collection of community recollections rather than a definitive genealogy. Spellings may vary, and some names may refer to extended families, occupational designations, neighbourhood identities or traditional nicknames rather than formally documented lineages.
The Bala family of Saraf Kadal, Srinagar, deserves particular mention among the traditional family names associated with the Zargar heritage. Saraf Kadal and adjoining commercial neighbourhoods form an important part of the historical landscape of Srinagar’s jewellery trade. Recording the Bala family’s lineage, senior members, workshops and professional specialisations would add another valuable dimension to the history of the city’s goldsmiths.
Shah has specifically clarified that Khawjawal is associated with the Zargar community, while cautioning against confusing it with Kanjwal or Kanjis, whose origins and connections require separate examination. He has also identified the Guroo families with the Zargar tradition.
Such distinctions matter. In Kashmir’s older social landscape, a family could be known by a nickname for generations, while its official surname might be different. Some identifiers could emerge from an ancestor’s name, a locality, a trade speciality or a memorable family association.
The name Choonchi, for example, has been recalled in connection with a Kashmiri Pandit family engaged in jewellery-making in Chinkral Mohalla. The discussion also mentions Kanji families associated with Bohri Kadal and Gurgari Mohalla. These recollections suggest that the history of jewellery-making in Kashmir cannot be understood through a single surname or religious identity.
The precise relationships between these families, however, require verification through interviews and documentary evidence.
From Traditional Nicknames to the Surname Zargar
An interesting contemporary development is the tendency among younger generations of these families to adopt Zargar as their formal surname in place of traditional family nicknames.
Names that were once used primarily within neighbourhoods, commercial circles and family networks are increasingly giving way to a surname that directly reflects the community’s historic association with goldsmithing.
This transition may be understood as an effort to preserve a shared occupational identity and reconnect younger generations with their ancestral heritage. It may also make the community more recognisable beyond its traditional localities, particularly as people move into new professions and settle in different parts of India and abroad.
At the same time, the older nicknames remain valuable historical markers. They preserve family distinctions, local associations and memories that could otherwise disappear from public record.
It is therefore important to document both identities together: the traditional family name or nickname and the surname Zargar adopted by present-day descendants. A record identifying the older name, present surname, ancestral locality and known family history would help preserve the individuality of these families while recognising their shared occupational heritage.
The transition should not, however, be assumed to apply uniformly to every family. Some may continue using their traditional surnames or nicknames, while others may use both names in different contexts.
Mahingar, Kundangar and Other Specialised Craftsmen
The traditional jewellery trade was not necessarily the work of one kind of artisan. It involved a range of specialised skills, with different craftsmen contributing to the production, finishing, repair and sale of ornaments.
In his account, Shah associates Mahingar with fine or minute workmanship and mentions Kundangar among the related occupational groups. He also refers to Chilaigar and other craftsmen connected with the trade.
These occupational terms deserve careful documentation. Their meanings may have varied across places and periods, and the precise division of work cannot be assumed to have remained constant. Nevertheless, the recollections point to an important feature of traditional craft production: a finished ornament could embody the combined labour of several skilled hands.
A goldsmith might melt, alloy, shape or assemble metal; another artisan might undertake fine detailing; a specialist might work on stones or settings; and a merchant might procure materials and sell the finished product. Such arrangements formed part of a wider artisanal economy in which knowledge was transmitted through apprenticeship, family workshops and practical experience.
Kashmir’s ornament-making traditions should consequently be studied not only through the finished jewellery but also through the tools, terminology, techniques and professional relationships that made its production possible.
Jewellery as a Reflection of Kashmir’s Cultural Life
Kashmiri jewellery has developed in response to changing tastes, materials, religious customs and social practices. Ornaments associated with Kashmiri Pandit women, including the traditional dejhoor, have their own distinctive cultural and religious significance. Muslim households have maintained their own jewellery preferences and ceremonial traditions, while many forms of ornamentation have crossed social boundaries through shared markets and craftsmanship.
Shah refers to dejhoor, ath or athorouz, and jiguin in discussing ornaments associated with different communities. The spellings and precise forms of these terms should be checked with knowledgeable wearers and artisans, but the larger point is important: Kashmiri goldsmiths served a culturally diverse clientele.
The jewellery trade required craftsmen to understand not only metal and design but also the customs of the people who commissioned their work. An ornament could be associated with marriage, religious observance, family tradition or a particular stage of life.
The designs developed by local artisans were therefore more than commercial products. They formed part of the Valley’s visual culture, preserving aesthetic preferences and social memories across generations.
Mughal, Sikh and Dogra Periods: Patronage and Change
Shah’s account associates the development of particular jewellery traditions with successive historical periods. He recalls a tradition connecting the ornament known as kuntmal with the Mughal period and the architect Muhammad Hussain Qabuli, who is said to have received such an ornament in recognition of his work on the fortifications of Hari Parbat.
This is an interesting oral-history reference, but the specific account—including the identity of the recipient, the circumstances of the award and the date—requires independent historical corroboration before it can be presented as established fact.
More broadly, Kashmir’s successive political regimes shaped patterns of patronage, trade and artisan mobility. Royal households, aristocratic patrons, wealthy merchants and ordinary consumers all contributed in different ways to the demand for ornaments.
Shah further recalls that goldsmiths from Punjab settled in Kashmir during the Sikh and Dogra periods and brought new influences into the trade. He mentions Tara Singh and Mehtab Singh as names remembered in connection with jewellery-making and changing styles.
These details merit investigation through family histories and archival sources. If corroborated, they could help explain how local designs interacted with techniques and commercial practices introduced by craftsmen from other regions.
Rather than viewing these developments as the work of a single community or period, the history of Kashmiri jewellery is better understood as a continuing exchange between local knowledge and wider regional influences.
From Family Workshops to Modern Jewellery Markets
For generations, a jewellery shop could be both a commercial establishment and a family institution. Skills were passed from elders to younger members, customers returned to trusted craftsmen, and knowledge of materials, measurements, designs and repairs accumulated through years of practice.
The system has changed considerably. Shah observes that ready-made jewellery arriving from markets such as Amritsar, Delhi and Mumbai has challenged traditional local craftsmen. The observation reflects a wider transformation affecting many hereditary crafts: mechanised production, standardised designs, changing consumer preferences and large-scale distribution can make locally produced work harder to sustain.
When a retailer purchases ready-made ornaments rather than commissioning their production locally, the economic relationship between the customer and the artisan changes. A craftsman who once controlled the process from design to finishing may find himself increasingly confined to repairs, alterations or a narrower range of specialised work.
The consequences extend beyond individual livelihoods. As workshops close and younger generations move into other occupations, specialised vocabulary, techniques, tools and design knowledge can disappear.
Shah also expresses concern about the quality of gold jewellery in the present market. Such a judgement needs to be assessed item by item, rather than applied generally to contemporary jewellery. Purity, hallmarking, workmanship and price transparency are matters that consumers can verify through recognised standards and appropriate testing.
The central issue, however, remains the survival of local craftsmanship in a market increasingly shaped by mass production and commercial competition.
Sopore, Anantnag, Baramulla and the Wider Valley
Although Srinagar’s old commercial quarters remain central to the recollections shared in the discussion, Shah points to a broader geographical spread of jewellery-making traditions. He mentions Sopore, Bijbehara, Baramulla and Anantnag, while noting the growth of jewellery markets in Anantnag, Sopore and Shopian.
These references are significant because they suggest that the history of Zargars is not confined to Srinagar. District towns had their own customers, artisans, traders and patterns of demand. Some families may have specialised in making ornaments, others in retailing, repairing or sourcing goods from larger commercial centres.
The distinction between a goldsmith and a jewellery merchant is important here. A family operating a jewellery shop today may continue a hereditary craft tradition, may have shifted from manufacturing to retail, or may have entered the business more recently. The two histories should not automatically be treated as identical.
A district-wise survey would help document the older families, their original workshops, the techniques they practised and the changes they have experienced.
Zargars Beyond Kashmir
The Facebook discussion also raises questions about people bearing the surname Zargar in Iran, Nepal and other places, including Kashmiri Pandit families.
The presence of a similar occupational surname in different regions is an important subject for comparative research. The word zargar is used in Persian and related linguistic contexts for a goldsmith, and occupational names have travelled with people, languages and trade networks.
Nevertheless, sharing the surname Zargar does not, by itself, prove common ancestry. Some families may have adopted the name because of their occupation, while others may have inherited it through family tradition or migration. Establishing connections between Kashmiri, Iranian, Nepali or other Zargar families would require evidence such as genealogies, migration records, historical documents and linguistic research.
The recollections of Shah and other contributors provide useful leads for such an inquiry, but the connections should remain questions for investigation until supporting evidence is available.
Marriage Customs and Changing Social Relationships
Muzaffar Bazaz observes in the discussion that Zargar families traditionally preferred marriages within their own community, adding that this practice is less prevalent today.
This observation opens another important area of social history. Marriage patterns can reveal how occupational communities maintained relationships, passed on property, preserved commercial networks and transmitted specialised skills. Endogamy, where practised, may have helped strengthen relationships among families engaged in the same trade.
At the same time, communities are never entirely uniform. Marriage practices vary between families, generations, localities and historical circumstances. The experience of one family cannot establish the custom of the entire community.
Modern education, migration, new occupations and changing social expectations have widened the range of relationships available to younger generations. The extent of these changes among Kashmiri Zargar families deserves to be documented through respectful interviews rather than generalisation.
Oral History: Preserving Memories Before They Disappear
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the Facebook exchange is the willingness of community members to share personal memories. Veena Dhar recalls her college friend Maymoona Zargar of Safa Kadal, whose grandfather dealt in gold and silver ornaments from a roadside corner shop.
Abdul Qayoom Khan remembers the late Abdullah Joo Gojiwari, known as Mahraja’s Sonurr, whose sons, according to his recollection, continued running jewellery shops in Hari Singh High Street market, Srinagar.
Arfan Nazir Baba speaks of his mother’s Zargar family from Nawabazar. Other contributors identify families and localities associated with the trade. These recollections may appear small individually, but together they provide the foundations of a community archive.
They preserve the locations of old shops, the names of respected craftsmen, family connections and the everyday circumstances in which traditional skills were practised.
Such memories should be recorded with the names of the contributors, approximate dates, localities and, wherever possible, corroborating photographs, business documents and family records. This would allow future researchers to distinguish personal recollection from independently verified history without losing the value of either.
The Need for a Community Archive
The history of Kashmir’s Zargars remains an unfinished subject. A comprehensive account should combine oral testimony with documentary research and the study of surviving craftsmanship.
Kashmir Pen could initiate a community-history project inviting Zargar families from Srinagar and the districts to share their genealogies, photographs of older shops, examples of traditional ornaments, family-held tools, stories of apprenticeship and accounts of how their businesses have changed.
A useful record would identify each family’s traditional name or nickname, present-day surname, locality, approximate period of involvement in the trade, specialisation, known ancestors and present-day activities. Information about family origins or migration should be included where supported by testimony or documents, with uncertain claims clearly identified as such.
The project could also document the terminology of goldsmithing, the techniques used to work precious metals, traditional measurements, old designs and the differences between locally manufactured and commercially sourced jewellery.
Interviews with senior artisans would be particularly valuable. Their knowledge may not exist in written form, and the loss of a single experienced craftsman can mean the loss of techniques accumulated over decades.
The traditional family names, including Bala of Saraf Kadal, should be recorded alongside the surnames used by their descendants today. This would help preserve both the community’s shared identity and the distinctive histories of its individual families.
Conclusion: More Than Gold and Silver
The story of Kashmir’s Zargars is ultimately a story of people whose skills helped give material form to the Valley’s cultural life. Their workshops served families across generations; their designs reflected changing customs; and their commercial networks linked neighbourhoods with wider markets.
Today, the community’s history faces two challenges: the economic pressures confronting traditional craftsmanship and the absence of a comprehensive, documented record of its families and practices.
The recollections assembled by Jalal-ud-Din Shah and other contributors offer a valuable starting point. They should encourage a deeper investigation rather than be treated as the final word on the subject.
The traditional family nicknames, the emerging use of Zargar as a formal surname, the memories of old workshops and the skills of surviving craftsmen are all parts of the same heritage. None should be allowed to disappear without documentation.
For Kashmir Pen, recording this heritage would be an opportunity to preserve a neglected chapter of the Valley’s social and economic history. The objective should not merely be to list surnames, but to understand the people, skills, relationships and historical changes behind them.
Gold may retain its market value, but the knowledge of the artisan who transforms it into a piece of cultural heritage is equally worthy of preservation.
Kashmir Pen invites members of the Zargar community, senior artisans, historians and families across Jammu and Kashmir to contribute additional information, family histories, photographs and documentary material to help build a more complete record of this important cultural legacy.
Mushtaq Bala is Editor-in-Chief of Kashmir Pen, an award-winning filmmaker, cultural commentator, and advocate for peace through narrative media.
