Sirhama, one of the most promising villages in the state ofJammu and Kashmir, is located in the lap of beautiful mountains. It is locatedon the eastern side of the mountain ( Khareewan) which demarcates theSrigufwara tehsil of Anantnag district from the Tral tehsil of the Pulwamadistrict. It is positioned in the Dochnipora bloc that is the rural part of theAnantnag district. The village is 8 km away from the tehsil office Srigufwara,12 km from the sub-district Bijbehara, 20 km from the district headquarterAnantnag and has a distance of 55km from the summer capital Srinagar .
The village Sirhama is the fourth most populous village atthe Sub-district level. As per the 2011 census, the village has a population of5960 among them 2896 are males and 3064 are females, hence has a better sexratio at the state level. It has 887 house holds (2011). The village is dividedinto two Panchayat Halqas that is Sirhama payeen (Bongam) and Sirhama bala(Hergam) with 07 and 06 panch constituencies respectively in each PanchayatHalqa. The village has a Primary Health Centre, Vetenary Sub-unit, JK Bank,Post office and a Government owned agricultural Farm.
The main occupation of the people of the village is fruitbusiness. So popular is the village in fruit business that the word Sirhama issynonmously used for the red delicious apple. It is the largest Apple producingvillage in the entire district. In 2018, the village has the apple productionof 18 to 20 lakh apple boxes. It is famous in producing the high quality appleslike high density Italy, red chip, top red, bulgaria, kulu, palmer, glamaous,red delicious, delicious, american, golden, chamoora, maharaji etc. Theseapples always remain in high demand at the local fruit markets like Batangoo,Sopore, Shopian, Kulgam etc and are equally popular in the national fruitmarkets like Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmadabad, Punjab, Lucknow, Jammu etc. Jammu is thesecond home for the people of Sirhama .
The people of the village spent almost ten crore rupeesannually only on the fertilizers and pesticides. The village hires a number ofworkers from other villages, far-flung areas and sometimes non-locals too, forthe apple harvest and provides employment opportunities for the unemployed andunskilled lot in the entire area.
Besides apples, walnuts, almonds, vegetables and other worksrelated to the horticulture and agriculture add to the gross domestic productof the village. The village has almost stopped agricultural farming like paddy,mustard etc., hence this sector is losing its relevance. Although the villagehas the other businesses and trading sectors besides the salaried class, but itis the apple production which has made the fortunes for the village. It has notonly helped the village to grow economically but has also supported to besocially conscious. There is assured basic necessities like Roti, Kapda andMakhan. The village gives a perfect look of an advanced village in terms ofconstructions and the life style of its inhabitants.
The village Sirhama has a white feather also that is thevillage is famous for milk production. Almost every house hold domesticates oneor two cows. These cows not only feed the households but also produce surplusmilk, that is supplied to other areas inAnantnag and Srinagar districts. In Anantnag town the preferred milk is themilk supplied by the Sirhama. As per the milk collection centre owner, FarooqAhmad Rather, the village produces a surplus milk of 2000 liters per day insummer.
The literacy rate in the village is 60.44% (census 2011).The village has lately developed the taste of education. It has fiveeducational institutions among them three are the government institutions ( ahigh school and two middle schools) and two are private institutions ( highschools). The village has produced officers – IAS, and KAS – Professors,Lecturers, Doctors, Engineers, Teachers, Businessmen, Entrepreneurs and a lotof other officials in almost every department of the central and stategovernment. The students of the village are creating history by toping theexams in the whole Dochnipora bloc. The students are also pursuing differentprofessional and academic courses in the foreign lands like China, Russia,Bangladesh, the Gulf etc.
The new generation students besides being good in academicsare also very fond of other tastes like literature, music, art, fashiondesigning and social services. The people of the village are well rooted andhave tremendous love for their village, hence are well connected and deeplyinvolved in the progress and prosperity of the village.
The village has a group of voulanters, a kind of aneducational committee. This committee uses all possible ways to groom the youngtalented minds in their courses ofcareer. It organises special seminars, counselling programmes, debates andcourses both online and offline. It handles its facebook page ( The RisingSirhama) and a watsapp group ( Career Counselling Group). This committee hasplayed a great role in boosting the morale of the students and has a decentsuccess rate in polishing the careers of the students.
This growth in education has given a new life to thevillage. It has changed the mindset of people. It has widened the outlook of acommoner and has motivated every parent and guardian to give education tochildren, as per their tastes, capacity, and capability. The common resident ofthe village is now well content with this thought that if apple has given themthe economic progress and prosperity, it is the education which is necessaryfor the social recognition and the improvement of living standard. It is theapple and education which has changed the status of the village from abackward, illiterate, unemployed village to a promising, progressive, educated,and wealthy village.
The village of rising sun (Sirhama) provides a true pictureof communal harmony and brotherhood. The village had a big mohallah of Pandiths(Hindu) of almost 25 families, but after the mass migration of 1990, there areonly 10 families of this community who live happily in the village. The relationshipbetween the Hindus and Muslims is cordial and is based on mutual trust,understanding and the spirit of common brotherhood.
The village has 14 Masjids among them four are Jamias. Thevillage has also a Mandir (Hindu Temple). The Mandir of the village isperfectly in sound condition in the entire area. The Hindus of the village praythere without any fear. One of the Jamia Masjids of the village is adjacent tothe Pandit mohallah, and when in the recent past the said Masjid was underconstruction, the construction material was guarded by the neighbouring Hindufamilies. On the other hand during the last thirty years whenever the Pandithfamilies had any bereavements, the Muslim brothers stayed with them inperforming the last rites. In happiness and mourning, the members of both thecommunity are together.
The village being rich in resources, high in talent and atthe top in progress and prosperity lacks the political and administrativeattention. It is this apathy which sometimes demoralises the people of thevillage. It is expected that the administration may recognise the genuinedemands of the people of this village in terms of providing basicinfrastructure to the core areas of governance – education, health, roads,water supply, electricity, horticulture, animal husbandry etc, so that thepeople may not face the difficulties they are facing today.
Masood Ali Mir is the native of the village, a socialactivist
masoodalimir@yahoo.co.in