Shiban Khaibri
Blend of prudence and discretion warrants that one must be forthright and mustering reasonably enough courage to speak the truth about anything one is required to say , comment or opine. Yes, for speaking the truth , one needs to have a clear conscience , ethics and courage to speak . If not , and if conveniently chosen to beat around the bush , it is better , for God’s sake , to remain silent especially when it is about the extreme end of a thing-known as death and death caused by cold blooded murder . Snatching any innocent’s life is the greatest crime on the surface of this earth , even the God feels His domain was intruded and definitely He punishes . In other words, if Hindu tourists coming from different Indian States, regions, speaking different Indian languages and with varied cultural identities, were shot dead one by one at Baisarin Pahalgam right in presence of their wives and children who found themselves unexpectedly but abruptly in a state of utter shock and disbelief , horrified and paralysed with fear, why should surmises, probabilities, conjectures, speculations and assumptions be made about how the killers executed the massacre. Is it all by design to achieve some petty dirty political gain out of the innocents’ spilled blood ? Is it not , therefore, tantamount to rubbing of salt into the burning wounds of the devastated bereaved Hindu family members? Is it because propounders of such theories, as a result of their perverted mindset, lost none of their dear ones in the carnage?
How much this myopic indoctrinated terror is barbaric can be seen and even felt by those who value humanity and have any regard for right to live, that a young woman sitting on ground , dazed and bewildered, was looking at her ”fallen” husband during the very short process of succumbing to the lethal attack from point blank range from the terrorist who killed him because he was a Hindu which was duly confirmed before pumping bullet into his body. That heart piercing picture can become the trademark or ensign of what terrorism is all about or what does it achieve as its ultimate objective. Just kindly recall the picture of a Hindu toddler who, while sleeping in his mother’s lap , was shot in the head at Nadimarg village in Kashmir on March 23, 2003 along with other 24 Kashmiri Pandits, the impact of the bullet opening his one eye while the other still in sleeping mode, too deserves to be the ”logo and the stamp” of the “philosophy” of the Jehadi terror. These are the “badges” earned by these killers as a testimony of their ”bravery” of killing in cold blood unarmed innocents because they were not of the same religion or did not obey their diktats.
The immediate aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre of 26 innocents is shockingly interesting. Many are wailing for tourism to be affected on account of this carnage, others are sorry for a possibility of not a massive Amarnath pilgrimage this year, while some others are feeling it bad for ” Kashmiryat”. So the priority is tourism , the money, the proceeds of a good footfall of tourists , the economy , the hypothetical Kashmiryat etc and not the precious lives . By the way, an MP from Kashmir terms tourism as “cultural invasion” , and he says, “The tourism that is now happening….I won’t call it tourism…in my eyes it is cultural invasion , by purpose and by design. ” So, now , the very concept of tourism needs to be clarified before huge hullabaloo is made by some over tourism getting some type of a slight blow on account of Pahalgam killings. The main question as to why the innocent harmless Hindu tourists were killed after ascertaining faith , some even after pulling down their trousers to doubly ensure the faith factor, should never get relegated to the background . Decipher this “why” honestly , sincerely and truthfully and do not avoid this vital and fundamental “why” for any sort of convenience.
By the way, about this “Kashmiryat” , we would like to be educated as to what is meant by it, what is it all about and what does it stand for, what it comprises, whence it was born , how it has been functioning at least for the last four decades in Kashmir. Could those clamouring high about it , boasting and showing it off throw any light with concrete examples , achievements and data. We never heard this term before it was invented by Late Atal Behari Vajpayee nor about those who have been known flag- bearers , supporters and promoters of this ideology . Had it been really existing , the entire community of indigenous inhabitants of Kashmir – the Kashmiri Hindus — would have not been hounded out of Kashmir 36 years ago with an uncertain fate hovering over their return , Baisarin massacre accentuating fears , misgivings and elements of uncertainty. Those young women who proceeded towards Baisaran along with their husbands to enjoy the serene beauty of Pahalgam returned to their Hotels / lodges as widows, one of them having been married only a week before.
This writer has all along been reiterating that “Terror has a religion”. Hence, it is incorrect to say that “Terror has no religion”. Terror has everything got to do with religion. Religion is the motivating factor, of course, how it could be misquoted or wrongly explained to serve a purpose is the other face of the coin. Had terror got nothing to do with religion, these 26 Hindu tourists would not have been told to recite Kalma which obviously they couldn’t only to be mowed down instantaneously. Recall happenings in Kashmir in late 1989 and 1990 as also thereafter , prominent and even common Kashmiri Hindus selectively killed followed by Wandhama , Nadimarg, Gool , Chattisinghpora, and several places of mass killings where religious factor played its role brazenly. Hence, from now onwards, it would look like a travesty with truth to say – “terror had no religion”. In the same way, downgrading the “status” of a terrorist as “militant” is equally trivialising the entire gamut of terror mechanism and aims thereof. Barring BBC and some other foreign media , most of the media has now realised that the two stands deliberately taken earlier – that of saying terror had no religion and calling terrorists as “Militants”- needed to be revisited and a spade called as a spade only. The era and the quality of political will of only sending “Dossiers” to Pakistan in good English with due care of grammar and typing following horrible Pakistan sponsored terror attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008 had since got consigned to sheer insignificance and now the people of the country seriously demand an end to over four decades of Pakistani terror (proxy) war making us bleed profusely . The 27 lives snatched in a barbarian way plus wounding scores of other innocents, needs justice, sooner than any later.
We may differ with AlIMM chief Assadudin Owasi on various issues but the stand taken by him on Pahalgam massacre of Hindu tourists is highly appreciable by admitting killings done only after ascertaining religion in Pahalgam . Owasi strongly and unequivocally condemned the attack. Omar Abdullah , the CM of Jammu and Kashmir pooh poohed attempts to politicise the carnage and said , “No cheap politics on 27 dead bodies and no demand of statehood after Pahalgam attack”. The J&K Assembly paid rich tributes to those who were killed in Pahalgam. However, the shock given by some political leaders over the tragedy by giving such statements which are conspicuous of being dirty, cheap , sordid and perverted , must be taken note of . Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party says , “Terrorists do not see religion, Hindus are killing Hindus every day.” Akhilesh Yadav says, “I do not share any personal relationship with Shubam Diwedi’s family hence unable to visit (for offering condolences). “Shubham was married on April 19 this year who got killed in Pahalgam. Imagine, if he would have been Shafi or Shahil , killed by terrorists , would Akhilesh give the same excuse? Robert Vadra , the new emerging ”secular” leader says terrorists did this act because they felt Muslims were ill treated in the country. Anil Deshmukh of NCP (Sharad) doubts that terrorists asked for religious identity or asked the victims to recite Kalma. Shatrugan Sinha , ex-BJP leader , MP for 14 years and former Union Minister in Vajpayee Ji’s Government , now a TMC Neta asks, ”Yeh Hindu Hindu kya keh rahe ho , yeh propaganda war hai”. HP Minister Chander Kumar on Pahalgam killings says, “whole world spits on law and order conditions in India , we at once blame Pakistan”.
Karnataka Excise Minister Timmapur says that killers did not ask for “caste or religion” before shooting them . Underline “caste or religion”, further says, “a conspiracy was being plotted to paint this as a religious issue.” CM Siddaramiah says, not in favour of a war with Pakistan over Pahalgam attack.” Naresh Tikait says , He was not in favour of stopping water, Pakistani farmers will suffer.” Unfortunate all this , more unfortunate for the Hindu victims . God forbid , had the situation been the obverse, imagine what would have been the role of such politicians. Vote and vote only is what delinquent politicians can be cured with but won’t we forget too soon to be to our detriment?
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