Azadi In the Back-burner?

Ever since I was a child, I have been stumbling upon stories of why we as a people should strive towards ‘Azadi.’ Kashmiri civilians have laid their lives by being caught between militant and government forces, among which most details are staggering. Government forces are the reason for a lot of civilian casualties in our state. Whenever they have failed to neutralize a militant, civilians have had to pay the price. To get beaten or killed you don’t need to be a militant or a criminal. Being Kashmiri is enough reason for them to humiliate, beat, torture or even kill us.

Thousands of people have been kidnapped by the forces leaving no trace of the person behind. The day a civilian is picked up by government forces, they are declared missing. The apprehended aren’t sure whether they will survive, or be killed in a fake encounter. The forces use them as as a means to seek glory, kill them, and then brand the deceased as previously wanted terrorists. This is the sinister method in which government forces and officials claim to be “successful” in their attempts to neutralize their targets, with the center rewarding them for such acts.

Why are are living in a place where armed men feel free to violate the dignity of women? They know they won’t be questioned by the law, because they are protected by it. Raping a woman is not the rape of one single woman. It the violation of the dignity of an entire country. How can a person feel his daughter or sister is safe when such incidents happen so close to where they live?

Looking at the illegal killing of civilians and brutalities of the government forces, the demand of Azadi should be on every tongue and in each of our hearts. We must demand it even at the cost of our lives. Then in our deaths, we will be remembered as those who gave their lives for a greater cause. To be killed by the bullet of government forces is acceptable to us, if we can save those who are raped and murdered.

To achieve Azadi, sacrifices will have to be made. There will be costs to achieving justice for our land. The forces won’t let us be in peace, without trying to break our spirit first. But, to see the dawn of Azadi, we have to go through these hardships. Fathers and mothers have sacrificed their children, but how are we to continue this struggle, without dedicating all our efforts to achieving our ultimate goal of freedom? Are we ready to shoulder the coffins of our beloved? The day we work solely towards ending our oppression, will be the day we will see independence on our horizons. As we move outside the state, we see several Kashmiri boys who have registered themselves under various programs initiated by the government, for the sole purpose of keeping the youth of the valley diverted from the birth right of Azadi. They are succeeding in their schemes. While talking to them, most of the boys registered there are from areas which were once known for their resistance against the brutality of government forces, but are now barren in their desires for Azadi. For them, it seems as though they have forgotten their birth right, the right of Independence. We cannot let this continue.

The reason for our failure to achieve independence is how importantly we prioritize it. We are beginning to prefer jobs and money, all under the illusion of modernity, while neglecting our basic right as an independent people. To achieve freedom, we must keep our struggle as our only priority. Neglecting all other necessities, our aim and demand should be freedom from the oppression of government forces. Prioritizing anything else, will draw more blood from the innocent.

Syeed Amir

[email protected]

Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now

MONTHLY	Rs 100
YEARLY	Rs 1000
LIFETIME	Rs 10000

CLICK FOR DETAILS