B L Saraf
bushanlalsaraf@gmail.com
Jammu and Kashmir is the new Ranjhi trophy champion. The whole place is up in jubiliation. Youth, in particular, is exuberant. And why not! After all the maiden victory is a hard fought one which has come after a long wait of 67 years. Congratulations are pouring in from all quarters. PM Narendra Modi hailed J &K’s first ever Ranji trophy victory in glowing terms and said that this feat will inspire young to dream big .L G Manoj Sinha said, while hailing the historic win , that J &K’s finest hour has arrived and exhorted the youth to pioneer era of dominance and visualized a start of J&K’s “unstoppable future.” Chief Minister ,Omar Abdullah made it to the playing ground in Hublli to physically witness history being made by the J & K’s cricket team and personally congratulated the players and supporting staff , right in the arena .
It is worth mentioning how a National Daily carried the news of J &K winning the Ranji Trophy .In its front page columns the paper wrote : ” For long before Kashmir Valley woke up to a champion cricket team ,its willows had peddled dreams across the country . On Saturday ,the famed willows found their winning players from their midst as Jammu and Kashmir created history by clinching their first ever Ranji Trophy crown with a commanding triumph over Karnataka in Hubballi .”
In Hubballi cricket ground , though , its cricket team sweated it out to claim the title, in fact players’ profile put the whole state of Jammu and Kashmir and its colorfully pluralistic mosaic in view before the nation . One could easily spot majestic peaks of Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley ,together , shining in the bright sunlight – an erstwhile state whose geographical length and breadth stood demarcated by the blood and sweat of brave Dogras of the Jammu region , which draws spiritual strength from the works of great Rishis and Sufis of Kashmir – where “Devoon Ka Dev” Mahadev and Mata Vaishno Devi have taken abode, respectively, in the remotest Hill region of Kashmir Valley and the sacred peaks of Tikuta hills, in the Jammu province .
The winning cricket team represented all the good that defines Jammu and Kashmir. It reflected a fine blend of ethnic and cultural profile, put together purely on merit and qualifications which make a champion team. Paras Dogra demonstrated astuteness of a leader to marshal his troops to conquer the field. Aquib Nabi and Yudhvir went all cylinders blazing with the ball while as Qammran Iqbal wielded the bat with the delight and deftness. The players came from all places – from Baramulla, Anantnag in the Valley- from plains and the hills of the Jammu region.
This moment of jubiliation brings to the mind the words of the Vice President of the Republic of India who in his convocation address to the Kashmir University graduates said “Yeh mera Kashmir nahain: Yeh tumhara Kashmir nahain: Yeh hum sab kaa Kashmir hai.” “It is not my Kashmir: It is not your Kashmir: it is our Kashmir” Kashmir has been used as a metaphor but the true sense which His Excellency’s words carried was of the whole Jammu and Kashmir. Blend and the texture of the triumphant cricket team has quite eloquently revealed the essence of what the Vice President had in his mind while employing these words.
The youngsters of Jammu and Kashmir have shown in the past and continue to show that they are capable and moving ahead to pursue their genuine aspiration. Felicitating the great cricket victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised J K youth to aspire big and move ahead to pursue these aspirations. L G told them to “pioneer an era of dominance.” But in J&K options are limited which force them to move outside. For that they need calm environment and a level playing field across the mainland. Unfortunately, we have seen that many young people – particularly of the Valley – face, at some places, many constraints on account of the ethnicity and belief. It need to be ensured that they do not come across such constraints while pursuing their dreams in the Cities of Opportunities situated across the country. They have as much claim over national institutions to hone the skills as any other Indian has. This sense has to be strengthened in Kashmir’s youth.
The willow may have been of Kashmir which made the cricket bat, but it were the Jammuites and others who wielded it to the perfection and deftness, to bring laurels to Jammu and Kashmir – of courses with the substantial contribution of other team members. That makes one say that what came good for J&K in the cricket field will get repeated in other spheres of the life. Walking together, hand -in-hand, is the reigning “Mantra.”
The author is former Principal District & Sessions Judge
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