Firdous Baba strives for revival of Sports, Sufism and co-existence in Kashmir Agencies

Srinagar  : Sufism practices in Kashmir valley did not continue due to various reasons including the introduction of new cultural practices.
On the streets of Kashmir’s down town area in Srinagar, an old aged man Ghulam Mohiuddin in his late 80’s is sitting on a parapet and is recalling the moments when he used to be a part of the Sufi group, Brightness in his eyes is quite visible while remembering the moments.
Years later, a young person, Firdous Baba attempted to resurrect Sufism in the valley in order to restore the lost glory among the valley’s residents. In an effort to revive Sufism in the Kashmir Valley, Baba conducted various conferences and Sufi programs in various regions of the Valley to spread the word about the mystical branch of Islam.
“Sufism has to be revived in this sub-region because it encourages the peaceful coexistence of all religions. In my opinion, Sufism needs to be introduced into every home in the Valley as it nourishes one’s soul to live in peace,” claims Firdous Baba, the chairman of the GSPF Unit in Jammu and Kashmir.
While Kashmir has always offered the unique nature of Kashmiri spiritual thoughts that seeks to combine elements of Shaivism with Sufism, Baba while promoting and propagating the legacy of Rishi’s and Sufi’s said,
“In the current turbulent global and regional environment, it is the best time to spread and uphold the tradition of Rishis and Sufis. At this crucial moment in history, the iconic role of the Sufis and Reshi’s in Kashmir’s cultural revolution needs to be revived,” he said.
According to Baba, Nund Rishi, also known as Sheikh Noor-ud-Din, played a significant role in fostering a sense of humanism that is superior to all other religions. He said that Nund Rishi was an enlightened individual who was respected by both Hindus and Muslims and he is trying to impart the teachings among people through conferences, seminars, discussions etc.
Baba is working on the origins of the real Kashmiriyat, which upholds racial, religious, and social equality as well as worldwide brotherhood.
“People here have lost touch with their traditional spiritual beliefs, which is one of the main causes of societal turmoil, and I am putting my all efforts to revive back the lost glory for co-existence,” he added.
Apart from promoting Sufism for co-existence in Valley, Baba is giving his every effort to promote the sports too by enlisting youngsters for a healthy future.
“It is a fact that full-time sports and recreation for youngsters appeared to be a faraway dream in Kashmir. Since youngsters who aspire to become future star players rely on various organisations for patronage, I decided to make some efforts to give back to those sports aspirants who pursue their career in sports and dream big,” says Baba.
Baba is focused on J&K sports and helped to create and advertise special events that put sports teams or athletic personalities of Jammu and Kashmir in a positive light in the communities that they serve.
“I always yearn to strengthen peace and development in J&K, and that’s the reason I worked on various sports related projects and proposals seeking more and more involvement of youth in the journey that will led to peace process. My only aim is to defeat the nefarious and ill designs of enemy country through channelizing the young energies into sports,” said Baba.
Baba entered the sports arena only to promote sports as a form of entertainment. He supported and sponsored thousands of sports events, including cricket and football tournaments, rural knock-out tournaments, organised girls defence training camps, dance classes, distributed equipment’s among youngsters and all this was done when sports vacuum in the erstwhile state was developed post 2018.
“We all know that there are very few opportunities that allow professionals to interact with their favourite, famous athletes. I put small efforts to help those athletes and sports organizations so that they reach to their full potential by involving the top stars of country in Kashmir Sports. Apart from Fit and healthy J&K, our initiative in Sports is a new rise of peace and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.(CNS)