In Srinagar's old city, there was once a bookstore where a reader could find Akhtar Mohiuddin's bold storytelling to Ali Mohammad Lone's heartfelt tales.

Today those authors and their books are gone. The shelves that once carried the soul of Kashmiri writing now stand empty. The novels that told our story have faded from view.

Kashmiri literature grew from the language of the people. It began with the wisdom of Lal Ded, flowed through Habba Khatoon's verses, and reached the modern world through writers like Mohiuddin, Amin Kamil, and Ghulam Nabi Gauhar. Their novels spoke of change, struggle, and everyday life in the valley.

Reading Dod Dag or Mujrim felt like walking through our villages and cities, hearing familiar voices, seeing our history unfold. These books carried the emotions and ideas that shaped Kashmir.

Today, most of them are missing. They are out of print and hard to trace. Some survive only in private homes or in old, worn-out pages. Libraries have few copies. Bookstores prefer selling English or Urdu titles. Online, there is almost no record of them. For young readers, Kashmiri novels have almost disappeared.

This literary loss touches our identity. When a language loses its stories, it loses its memory. Every missing novel means a missing part of who we are. These stories gave us ways to see ourselves, to understand our joys and wounds. Without them, our culture becomes smaller, our sense of self weaker.

Universities, cultural departments, and publishers can work together to digitize these novels and make them available again. Translating and sharing them online would bring them to new readers. Schools and colleges can introduce them in reading programs. Readers, too, can help by asking for them, by talking about them, and by valuing Kashmiri writing as a living part of our world.

Every recovered book is a story saved. Imagine a student in Pulwama or Kupwara finding Gatti Munz Gaash online and discovering a reflection of their own life. That moment can keep a language alive.

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