Arhan Bagati: A young KP boy is trying to change perceptions

Srinagar:  A dream to promote positivity about Kashmir brought US-educated Arhan Bagati back to his roots. 

Coming from a reputed Kashmiri pandit family which migrated from the valley a long time back, Arhan shifted to his home at Nishat to stand with his Muslim brethren in their quest for peace and prosperity.  

Founder of Kashmir’s Yumberzal Applied Research Institute (KYARI), Arhan Bagati became the youngest deputy chef de mission of the world at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic.

He recently co-hosted the first-ever traveling ‘Kumaon Literary Festival’ in the Valley. Arhan is the Awareness and Impact Ambassador of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) and founded LetsEnable.com and launched the mobile apps InRio and IndTokyo to assist Indian Paralympic athletes

“I was born and brought up in Delhi but my grandfather, who served in the army, was from Bulbul Lanker. I traveled extensively right from my school days and studied in the US where I also completed my thesis. For the past year, we have been living in Kashmir. I wanted to come back to my roots and we have now shifted home and residence to Nishat in June last year,” Arhan told The Kashmir Monitor.

“We at KYARI mainly focus on research but along with research, we promote Kashmir in whatever way we can. We partnered with the Kumaon Literary Festival and have convinced a top Bollywood production house to shoot in Kashmir. We cannot reveal the name of the production house right now but they will extensively shoot in Kashmir. We will try our best to make Kashmir the center point and promote it for the good and right reasons, not the wrong reasons,” he added.

KYARI was the co-host of the Kumaon Literary Festival that was held here for the first time earlier this month and attracted renowned writers and Bollywood personalities.

Arhan said the KYARI research works mainly focussed on the developmental aspect.

“We have taken up several developmental research projects on subjects like rural tourism, climate change, and horticulture and we are preparing an extensive paper on tribal communities like bakarwals. We are identifying issues district-wise and then we provide solutions with the help of researchers,” he said.

He said he had returned to his roots as he wanted to make a change on the developmental front.

“After traveling extensively, I realized that a lot can be done on the ground. People are not doing much regarding the developmental aspect. Whatever I have learnt in the US, I will try to put that to use in Kashmir,” said Arhan.

After his International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP), he completed his Liberal Arts education with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics (specialization in Comparative Politics) and in Asian Studies (with a concentration on India), from Pomona College, USA.

Arhan is the Awareness and Impact Ambassador of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) and founded LetsEnable.com and launched the mobile apps InRio and IndTokyo to assist Indian Paralympic athletes.