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Category: INTERVIEWS/PROFILES

Published: 29 November 2016

JAMMU: The Pashmina Artist and the global voice for the community across Himalayas, Babar Afzal today got constituted with the Karmaveer Chakra and Karmaveer Global Fellowship in association with the United Nations. Karmaveer Puraskaar is National People's Awards for Citizen Social Justice and action in India. These awards are instituted by iCONGO. All the awardees are dubbed Noble Laureates. These awards seek to celebrate and inspire individual citizen social responsibility, justice' and action initiatives and are held every year on, the day the Indian Constitutional Pledge was signed. 

Babar has been conferred with this award for his constant advocacy work for the community from past several years. He stated that the pashmina weaving in the Indian handicrafts industry used to take place through middlemen. These middlemen exploit the artisans by not paying them amounts commensurate with their art. Babar from past few years has been looking at multiple ways to change this scenario. Hence he is working on establishing a social business model of Pashmina Goat Project, connecting the poor shepherds, weavers, craftsmen and women with the global markets by building a global supply chain focused on developing human capability and skills at the grassroots level, providing steady income for rural men and women in the most depressed parts of Jammu & Kashmir and connecting them with markets in the United States. Babar  is the founder of Pashmina Goat Project.

It is his story that clearly shows how determination and willpower, enables one to serve humanity. He believes that the reason behind his devotion to the cause is seeing underprivileged people empowered. He wants to identify, develop and enhance their skills, so that they could continue sustaining and lead a respectful life In order to uplift the grassroots and introduce them into the pashmina production value chain, he established KASHMIRINK Foundation, which works to enhance their artisanal skills and design sense, helping them further to become entrepreneurs. By elevating their status from mere wage earners to become business owners, it aims to providing better ways to artisans, especially women to earn more and lead a financially empowered life. It’s all about turning artisans as leaders within their occupation and to become self-employed for the future.

Babar Afzal has been nominated for the prestigious REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship (2015-16) honor and the Karmaveer Chakra award instituted with the UN. REX Karmaveer Global Fellowship is for life-changing innovators, champions of change and people striving to fulfil their passions and dreams, to network and collaborate with like-minded, ethical and socially conscious global citizens. A Hacker who quit his international corporate career to become a Pashmina Goat Shepherd in High Himalayas to save the Pashmina Goats and the Luxury Pashmina Eco-System of Himalayas.

He is a Luxury Pashmina Artist, Activist and a Shepherd. He is the inventor of Unique Luxury Pashmina Art which he discovered, developed and perfected while he was living as a Nomad in Higher Himalayas. He is the founder of the Pashmina Goat Project and is featured regularly in state, national and international media, and referred many a time as "the Most Credible Man on Luxury Pashmina in the World". Babar was profiled by TIME Magazine in its "Genius Issue" where only 10 people have been profiled so far from around the world in the past decade. Babar is a proud recipient of the Shri. Rabindranath Tagore Award, Dr.B R Ambedkar Award, Shri.Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award & Bharat Gaurav Award. He is a public speaker and he makes an attempt to talk and link the world to his real Heros "The Pashmina Shepherds and Weavers and Craftsmen and Women of Himalayas".

He also holds a rich international experience of working as a senior professional for organizations including McKinsey & Company Inc. and Computer Associates in India, USA, UK, Middle East and Saudi Arabia as a Technology Analyst, Business Consultant, Information Security Architect and A Senior Project Manager. He is a graduate in Electronics and a Post Graduate in Business and holds over 25 High End International Business and Computer Certifications and is also a Certified CISSP and PMP from PMI(USA). He said, “I dedicate this award to the real Heros of the Pashmina Eco-System of Himalayas which include the Pashmina Goats, the Weavers, Craftsmen and Women of Ladakh, Kashmir and Basholi”.