We Kashmiris yearn to live. Not live to die
Seven decades have passed — but there is no sight of peace in the Kashmir Valley. Killings, abductions, protests, funerals are brutal everyday realities here. And alongside the deaths and the tumult, the Valley is caught up in a tussle of proxies provided by a number of political role players.
Jammu and Kashmir is a conflict of ideas and egos, seen as a disputed territory between the two countries, India and Pakistan. Kashmir has become a battleground for them, and the mother of all problems between the two nations too. Several wars have been fought. More remain on the anvil. Neither of the two nations wants to lose an inch.
In my mind, India's retaliation is somehow unquestionable — while Pakistan’s agenda is not clear to me. India doesn’t want to bow down to a country that was created out of it. Pakistan, perhaps, wants to avenge Bangladesh's split.
But who is the victim of this scuffle?
It's the Kashmiris who are caught up in this clash.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir are truly suffering. They mostly hide their emotions but they know only the harshest reality. Our mornings turn into mournings. They are simply rife with funerals. Our days are never free of dread.
As a young Kashmiri, I am writing this out of frustration, not hatred for anybody. I am not frightened by the constant violence. It’s just that I cannot see this place turning more volatile than it already is. What will happen to us if it continues to be the same? Or to escalate? How many more people will get killed? Why don’t these self-proclaimed “leaders" put an end to this bloodshed?
Questions like these arise and I have no answers. It puts me in a dilemma. But a wise young Kashmiri man who spoke to me said, “For their actions, a sovereign state will strike back.”
Politician turned separatists and commanders contested the 1987 assembly elections. They lost — and alleged rigging. In 2013, Imran Khan lost to Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan and he too alleged that the elections were rigged. But did Imran Khan and his party members pick up guns? No! They fought the battle legally, believed in democracy and came out victorious.
Here, the people who lost did the exact opposite — they started an armed rebellion. They pushed young men to pick up guns and that led to the devastation of Kashmir and the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. No sincere efforts were ever made to bring them back. Life in the Valley became thoroughly destabilised and it has been in the grip of terror since.
The atrocities abound from all sides.
Often narrated by our elders, some horrendous tales still haunt me; some sights, I have witnessed myself.
I was around eight or nine years old. Walking by a road, I saw a group of people gathered by the roadside. When I rushed to the spot, I saw an armed forces vehicle around which the crowd had gathered. Inside the vehicle were two young girls — twin sisters — who were kidnapped and raped three days ago. I’ll never forget their innocent faces, their tear-filled eyes, searching for their head scarves lying on the road. The angry crowd tried to burn the vehicle but the men from the armed forces fired some shots and managed to disperse the crowd.
As a kid, I did not think much of it.
But I had witnessed something that troubled me greatly years later. As I grew older, I began to think about that incident. I needed answers for myself. At times, I wondered, whom to blame? The armed forces? Or the people who created the violent atmosphere in Kashmir that became a root cause for such incidents?
Time passed. Somehow, the situation started to improve.
Several peace talks were organised from time to time. But they always lacked consistency. Peace talks over the last decade (and more) didn't go well. Perhaps the two nations were never serious in resolving the Kashmir issue. The people who started the bloodshed back in the early 90’s are responsible for today’s turmoil — had they not chosen a path of extremism, we would not be here today.
They sit back and watch this place burn and becoming hell.
Self-proclaimed leaders cannot decide what is good and what is bad for Kashmir. Their policies didn't help, and are not helping, resolve this issue — they have to understand that and now let people decide what is best for them.
Nobody wants protests and subsequent funerals every week.
India has to act sincerely to find a tenable solution to end this problem.
I'd quote the forebodings of Allama Iqbal here: “Teri barbàadíyon ke màshware hain àasmàno main, na samjho gey to mit jaoge, Hindustan walo! Tumhari daastàn tak na hogi daastáno main.”
(The sky is full of forebodings of your doom, dear Indians! If you fail to realise this, there will be no trace of you all in the history books).
India must realise the urgency of the situation and negotiate to bring back what is lost in Kashmir. India must strive to win over the hearts of the Kashmiri people.
We yearn for peace and prosperity in the Valley.
We yearn to live. Not live to die.
Also read: The 'independence' debit card at the ‘Bank of Kashmir’