Promoting Cultural Sustainability Through Instagram: Content Analysis of Reels Highlighting Dogra Cuisines

Food is the best medium of keeping alive traditions of community culture, holding the repository of history, identity, and values. The Dogra cuisine is the symbol of Jammu and Kashmir's customs and identity, thus it forms a very integral part of the Dogra community's cultural heritage. Traditional foods form a sort of cultural artefacts which link an individual to their roots and establish a sense of belonging. In addition to this, giving names of regional dishes in posts on social networking sites helps protect and promote regional language, increasing its significance in the culture to identify with it. Social networking sites like Instagram have opened yet another avenue of preservation and sustenance for conventional cuisines, as the more visual and user-friendly nature of Instagram increases and makes these more relevant to share with the upcoming generations. This research paper showcases the role of Instagram in popularizing Dogra cuisines as a tool of cultural sustainability. Based on the content analysis method, Instagram Reels under the popular hashtags like #DogriCuisine and #DogriFood are analyzed to make sure that how the traditional food of Dogras is represented and perceived within the platform. It aims to investigate how food builds community and identity while engaging diverse audiences. This research analyses both visual and textual content on Instagram that supports the preservation of Dogra’s culinary heritage among the younger generation, thereby creating sustainable cultural practices. This research contributes to a larger discussion around food, culture, and social media, emphasising the potential of these platforms for intangible cultural heritage protection.