A disaster brought inexplicable sorrow to Kashmir recently and people saw their lives fall apart right in front of their eyes. Naturally everyone was found asking, why me? As people groped for reason, everybody wanted to have someone to blame.
In our chaos and confusion, nobody went to work and most people busied themselves in reproaching the government and the sins of those who were most badly affected. While some were genuinely trapped in their homes, people whose homes were not even flooded took their days off and had to be threatened by the government to return to work. The whole administration was in shambles as people forgot that it was they who were a part of it, in one way or the other.
We love to be comfortable and luxurious, but we do not want to work towards it. We love to find fault in others but keep our hands clean off all charge.
The worst part perhaps is the fact that that we have a very unique sense of righteousness. Things that suit us are morally correct and things that dont, are absolutely unethical. We find creative excuses to hide our sins.
Taking bribe is a matter of skill. You ought to know how! Not a single person is ashamed of himself when he asks for tea (chai) for every move his makes in office. Hooking the high tension line is only for those who are courageous! Recently I was told that there are some very intelligent people who plunge an electric boiler right into a 1000 liter water tank and use hot water for everything! How clever!
There is no end to the rant that women are the cause of the floods because they dress immodestly and we see posters comparing women in different attires. Yet we do not stop husbands from hitting their wives and fathers for being partial to their sons.
The tale of our deeds is never ending. But truly shocking is the account of people who are leaving no stone unturned to take advantage of the relief that is being supplied. People proudly tell tales of how they succeeded in taking relief money for themselves even when their houses were touched by a whisker.
Free ration was one thing but to steal the money that could be used to take someone out of a tent into a home is unthinkable!
We do not touch the Quran without performing wudu. We keep it on the highest shelf in the house. We make it a point to kiss it every morning. We read the Arabic letters fluently and with great zeal. But spiritually we pay no heed to it.
So today I, as a Kashmiri, wish to take my share of blame for the floods. I wish to apologize for every moment when I didnt take responsibility as a human being; when I could have made a difference and didnt! Contributed by Ambreen Hamadani
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