“Na umeedi ka main qayal to nahin hoon magar,
Maine barsaat main jaltay huwe ghar dekhe hain”
In ancient legend, Kashmir was an inland sea from which a demon emerged to terrorise the earth. The demon was quelled by Goddess Parvati who dropped a mountain on him. One of those mountains forms the backdrop of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital. The spirit of rage living beneath that mountain seems to have awakened and taken Kashmir to its original form, an ‘Inland Sea’.
Kashmir has experienced a calamity of sorts that it has not experienced for a century. The recent floods in Srinagar have reportedly taken the lives of over 200 people. The torrential rains that have inundated the Kashmir valley have now stopped but the destruction is not over yet. The images of the Kashmir valley left me feeling completely helpless and numb sitting at the student dorms at Warwick University. Corpses of children and women are still floating in the water logged valley and the number of lives lost remains a mystery. The loss in terms of property, savings, and personal belongings are enormous. There are many who lost everything. Only after the floods cease can the magnitude of the destruction be fully assessed. Srinagar is submerged, the National Highway from Jammu to Srinagar is cut-off and the only way to Srinagar is by air.
The tragedy in Kashmir is a challenge for India as a whole. It is often said that tragedy unites and this tragedy can unite the people of Kashmir with the rest of the country. The government of India and the Indian army have put their best foot forward to stand behind the people of Kashmir and help bring the people of Kashmir to safer shores and provide them relief and rehabilitation. The Indian government has left no stone unturned to make the people of the Himalayan state feel safe and show them that they care. Google has created a crisis map for flood inducted parts of the valley to aid rescue operations and India Inc is also loosening the strings of its wallet. NGOs, religious groups, the Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims have all united on humanitarian grounds setting aside differences to help the people of Kashmir.
The disaster has prompted a slight thawing in chilly relations between India and Pakistan. In recent days the leaders of both states have offered to help each other in relief efforts. Despite these friendly noises, it’s unlikely that either country will do much to collaborate in the relief effort. Nevertheless it is important to note that in times of a national crisis both countries are setting aside animosities and working towards saving lives and providing relief.
The flood in Kashmir is India’s first urban catastrophe, comparable only to the Hurricane Katrina that had flooded the US city of Oklahoma in 2005. I believe that however great, mighty and powerful one is a national calamity of this magnitude cannot be solved alone. No civilian government in the world is ready to face such a calamity. How much can the Prime Minister and Chief Minister do? Can they build a new Kashmir in 1000 crores? Can they take it back to its original glory? Intelligent, motivated and passionate youngsters from the state, our country world need put in their blood sweat and tear to build Kashmir brick by brick, home by home, village by village.
I caught the earliest flight back from London to Jammu to empower you all and connect you to the right avenues so that we together can rebuild the lives of our brother and sisters who have lost everything they had. We the youth need to partner with NGOs, self help groups, Government in every form possible to make sure the food, clothes, medicines and water among other necessities reach the people of Kashmir and instead are not being sold in the black market as they presently are for 200 rupees a water bottle. In times of need like this we must leave the grudges of 89 behind and pledge to build back the lives and livelihoods of the people of Kashmir. We need to act as facilitators to streamline the rehabilitation process in the valley.
The damage to property and homes might be repairable, but the trauma their hearts and minds have been through isn’t. This is not the time to be playing the blame game but the time we need to stand by the people of Kashmir as a show of our solidarity and loyalty. I will leave my home to build the poor Shikarawala a home, I am willing to share my food with those who lost their daily bread, I will donate a bottle of water for every bottle of water I drink and I urge you do the same .I believe I can help rebuild Kashmir and so can you. I believe together we can create a new Kashmir, a better Kashmir. A Kashmir deeply rooted in its glorious past and one that is ready to embrace the future.
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