Dr. S Ahmad
I am extremely distressed and traumatized by today’s horrific carnage and mayhem on CRPF convoy. This is yet another terrible tragedy which will have consequences for decades for Kashmir, India, and Pakistan. My consciousness would not forgive me if I don’t lament this loss and pray that this cowardly attack would inspire a new generation of suicide bombers and pave the way for Kashmir’s descent into hell.
Kashmir once the land of Sufis, peace and tolerance stands violated, vandalized, and wounded by its own people today. We claim to be the most devoutly religious people in the world, yet we do the most inhumane things, for which I am extremely ashamed. Too many people have died in this conflict- too many women have become widows, too many children have become orphans and too many mothers are losing their sons. There can be no peace without equal justice for everyone. We have lost the moral right to seek and demand justice when we are selective about justice.
There are so many difficult questions:
Where is the Hurriyat now, when 44 CRPF men were killed in cold blood?
Where are human right advocates who are crying for injustice to Kashmiris all the time?
What did these poor CRPF men do- they were not on active combat?
Who is going to call their parents about this terrible news?
Who is going to raise the child who became orphan today?
Why they are endangering the very existence of Kashmir?
Our greatest misfortune has been the attitude of our own leaders, they have never done anything sincerely for us- corruption & nepotism has become a fabric of the ruling parties. Both NC and PDP are part of this murderous game and routinely exploited people for their own electoral gains. On the other hand Centre can’t ignore the fact that this hell started with the 1987 elections, which were rigged. Central government is repeating the same mistake again by siding with the same corrupt and greedy politicians. They need to support real representatives of masses with impeccable record, who can get us out of this living hell.
The silent majority finds itself helpless in the violence-scarred milieu, and no one is willing to speak the truth for fear of being labelled a traitor.Anybody who has guts to oppose their suicidal ideology is being silenced. It is evident that those who give calls for hartals and violent attacks have sent their kids abroad for a better future and are using these poor ignorant “educated” kids for raising this “holy Jihad”. It is high time we understood that violence has offered us nothing but death, destruction, and misery. We know very well what the other side has to offer- extremism, bigotry, religious intolerance, violence, and suicide bombings. I fail to understand what kind of “Azadi” are we looking for. In fact, we need Aazadi from misrule and corruption, murders and assassinations, anarchy, agitation, hartals and stone pelting.
We need to make a very clear choice at this juncture.
Do we want extirpation, self-destruction, despair, and agony?
or do we want a prosperous, secular, educated, and tech-savvy next-generation?
Let’s seize the moment, our moment.
Let’s not make Kashmir another Afghanistan, Iraq, or Syria.
Let’s not make Kashmir another hotbed for religious extremism and ISIS!
Let’s not make Kashmir a place for suicide bombers and religious fanatics.
Let’s stop making the same mistake again and again, hoping to get a different result.
Let’s make Kashmir all-inclusive and unbiased, where everyone can live in peace and harmony.
(The writer is a Kashmiri doctor and can be reached at peaceinvalley@gmail.com)
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