These days I wake up to the sound of Azadi slogans being raised in our streets. The shining sun doesn’t seep through the cracks in the curtains nowadays. Instead I wake up to a feeling of sadness and dread every morning. A few days back when I opened the window of my room, I saw a procession of small kids wearing green ribbons on their foreheads passing through my street. The kids were chanting slogans of freedom. Initially I smiled but then as my eyes fell on their innocent faces, I realised that none of them bore the childlike innocence we recognize on a child’s face. Their faces were sad and gloomy and full of fear.
I was reminded of my childhood in the 1990s when our entire valley quivered from the terror of crackdowns and gun fights. In winter, jack-boot marks in the snow would terrify us more than the footprints of wild animals. I remember one fine winter morning when we heard a call of crackdown from our local mosque, my uncle took me with him in order to save himself from the wrath of the security forces. While we were walking towards the school ground in which all the villagers had been ordered to assemble, I saw a man getting beaten by the men in uniform. My knees trembled at the sight and seeing my face turn pale, my uncle comforted me by saying that the forces weren’t going to beat us and quickly whisked me to the school ground before I could see more.
However today, there has been a gradual shift from the terror of crackdowns to joining pro-freedom rallies, from extreme necrophobia to no necrophobia among the children of Kashmir. Studies have proven that when small children are made to witness violence almost daily, it makes them desensitized. I fear the present violence in Kashmir is going to turn our children into zombies who are devoid of any emotions.
Instead of trying to find a viable solution to the Kashmir issue, the Indian government prefers prolonging it. The Prime Minister of India raised the issue of human rights violation in Baluchistan in his Independence Day speech. Raising the Baluchistan issue in the UN and not following the 1949 cease-fire brokered by the United Nations confuses a logical mind. Instead of participating in maniacal TV debates, the leaders at the Centre should try to address the problems in Kashmir. Not acknowledging the problem or addressing it will only give rise to more anger among the Kashmiris. An acute need for resolution of the Kashmir issue is important.
Frequent periods of unrest wreak havoc and only result in destruction. Political unrest is a harbinger of death and devastation. In the present unrest, we have already lost many precious lives and thousands have been maimed for life. The valley of Kashmir has come to a standstill. Schools, colleges, shops, business establishments, everything in the valley has remained shut for more than two months now. No Eid prayers were held at the Dargah in Hazratbal, Jamia Masjid Srinagar or other Eidgahs across Kashmir this Eid. Eid greetings were restricted to physical contiguity by the Indian government agencies due to a strict curfew and cellular network and Internet blockade. Khurram Parvez, a human rights activist, has been arrested and slapped with a Public Safety Act. Kashmir has been turned into an open jail by the Indian government.
What people of Kashmir ask from India is an understanding of their real demands, an end to an unjust occupation. Let us live our lives with dignity. Let us live in peace.
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