July 2, 2009

Shopian incident - An eye opener

Today after so many months i am sitting here in my balcony and am compelled to put my thoughts in words. I am actually fighting with my thoughts which are emerging every now and then when i hear about the "SHOPIAN INCIDENT ". My heart is overpowering my beliefs, my values and my passion which is all about HUMANITY.

I lost a friend in a terrible terrible incident and somewhere deep down i blame TERRORISM in Kashmir for this. Had there been no such thing in Kashmir i am sure my friend would have been still amongst us. Not only this but it also snatched away my HOMELAND, my childhood, my mental peace, my social security and above all my sweet memories. How can i love and forgive people who are responsible and still are propagating such menace and in humanism? How can i wipe my past all of a sudden ? This conflict within myself is disturbing and making me think hard that what is it that i want and am seeking. Is this going to be my FUTURE too ???

The answer is NO. I cannot make my future get over shadowed by something that happened in past and over which i had no control.I cannot live my life in hatred and pain. I cannot imagine myself becoming a part of something cruel and inhuman and History never forgiving me for this. If i carry on with my pain, grudges and hatred i would become no less then them. Instead i am going to make these as my strengths to over power them so that my future as well as someone else's future is safe and secure.

What happened in Shopian (Kashmir) was really pathetic and tragic. It should have never happened in the very first place but then there are things over which we have no control or even if we have control, we choose to turn a blind eye. Shopian incident is just the tip of an ice berg. There are hundreds and hundreds of such incidents and in-fact which are more cruel and gruesome in act that have taken place in Kashmir ever since insurgency started there. Kasmiri Pandit women were the initial targets of such heinous acts (Sarla Bhat, Prana Ganjoo, Mohini Kaul, Shama Dhar etc.). After raping and killing them their dead bodies were chopped into pieces and those pieces were thrown all over the roads which lead us to our HOMES.

Unfortunately due to less in numbers and fear for the lives of our near and dear ones we choose to remain silent spectators of such CRIMES. Maybe we could have raised our voices against such cruelty had the Government of J&K and of India supported and empathized with our agonies and pain or IF THE MAJORITY COMMUNITY WOULD HAVE RAISED THEIR VOICES WITH OURS. Nothing of such sort happened, hence the best option available to stop this madness was to migrate to other parts of India.

I am thankful to God that my community had an option to survive and survive with honor and dignity. I am thankful to God that I am in a position today to raise my voice and concerns against injustice, inhumanity and killings. I am also thankful to God that for the sake of all this i am in a position to fight it out too.

I am against any sort of violence and crime. I don't advocate hatred. I am a peace loving being and have been brought up with the beliefs and values which lead me to only and only HUMANISM. I am a proud KASHMIRI BATTYN who can look into the mirror without any fears and regrets and i owe it to my upbringing, my religion and my community. All of them teach and advocate LOVE, PEACE & NON VIOLENCE. It it this that has brought me and all of us to such a position where we can demand justice not only for our people but for those who also who ruined our lives. Two wrongs can never make one right.Murder and rape is a crime and it can never be justified.

I pray to God to bring peace and to give courage to the family who lost their daughter and daughter in law in Kashmir. I also hope that this time the concerning authorities roll their sleeves up and do what they are actually supposed to do and above all i hope the majority community ensures that whenever and with who so ever such kind of incident takes place, they raise their concerns, as they have raised this time.

Shopian incident should be an eye opener for all of us and it should become a torch bearer in opening up of all the cases which were never brought out in open light. Let justice take place for each and every person, who has become victim of such acts.

I am sure all those people who have conscience and want to live in peace and love and are with me in my quest and fight against injustice, crime and violence in any form, irrespective of the CASTE, CREED, COLOR, RELIGION OR SEX; will always raise their voices and concerns whenever and wherever such in human acts take place...