Raj Begum: The forgotten voice of Kashmir’s lost melody

For today’s generation in Kashmir, the name Raj Begum may not strike a chord. Once celebrated as the “Nightingale of Kashmir,” her voice that once echoed across the valley has been drowned by over three decades of violence and turmoil. Yet, for those who lived in the pre-1990 era, she was more than a singer — she was a cultural icon, a symbol of courage, and the soul of Kashmiri music.

Born in Srinagar in 1927, Raj Begum began her journey as a wedding singer before joining Radio Kashmir in 1954. Encouraged by her father, she broke societal barriers in a deeply conservative environment where the stage was rarely a space for Muslim women. Her powerful, melodious voice carried the essence of the valley — songs of love, faith, and nature. She rose to become one of the most celebrated female artists of her time, honoured with the Padma Shri and numerous state accolades.

Alongside contemporaries like Naseem Akhtar, Shamima Dev Azad, and Hasina Akhtar, as well as Kashmiri Pandit singers like Asha Kaul, Neerja Pandit, and Kailash Mehra Sadhu, Raj Begum helped weave Kashmir’s rich cultural fabric. Their music once defined daily life, from weddings to festivals, until the rise of terrorism in 1989.

The 1990s brought more than political unrest; they silenced Kashmir’s music. Concerts stopped, women performers vanished, and art was branded “un-Islamic.” Cinema halls were bombed, public entertainment erased, and cultural memory deliberately suppressed. The loss was so deep that even in 2013, an all-girl rock band, Pragaash, was forced to disband under threats.

For the youth born after 1990, Kashmir’s soundtrack has been the sound of gunfire, curfews, and mourning. Many only rediscovered Raj Begum’s name when Bollywood invoked her story, sparking disbelief that a Kashmiri Muslim woman could once have been a national singing icon.

Raj Begum passed away in 2016 at the age of 89, but her legacy endures in haunting recordings that remind listeners of a Kashmir that existed before violence overshadowed its culture. Her voice remains an archive of an era when melody and meaning shaped the valley’s identity.

To remember Raj Begum is not just to honour an artist — it is to reclaim a piece of Kashmir’s stolen heritage, a heritage that belongs to all its people, regardless of faith.