Meenakshi Rathore
Meenakshi Rathore is an avid traveler who has visited Kashmir for the fourth time. She has seen Kashmir from the eyes of a school going girl in 1987 to the times of ‘Stone pelting’ in 2010 and then immediately post Abrogation of Article 370 and 35A and also on it's anniversary. Being a healer and spiritual guide herself, she feels for the Kashmiri people and aspires for a peaceful and prosperous Kashmir. This story comes from her gallery of experiences in Kashmir.
ना हमारे बाजुओं में है दम कम
न ही है हमारे होंसलों में दरारें।
इन सर्हदीन की जंगों में ,
हम अपने ही हम वतनों से हैं हारे ।
The above lines so resonate with the present scenario of Kashmir where the years old militancy is reincarnated in the shape of highly educated youngsters belonging to well to do families. Lets look at some examples from a couple of years back. Burhan Wani, a handsome Kashmiri, pursuing PhD at Aligarh Muslim University left his research program to join militancy. His killing sparked massive protests and unrest in valley recruiting numerous more such fighters. A 19 years old suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dar, more or less flickered war between the two neighbouring countries killing 40 paramilitary personnel. The picture of Eisa, a final year engineering student at Jammu University, holding AK-47 rifle on electronic media gives a bolt from the blue to his family. Teenagers like Faizan Bhat, Faid Mushtaq Waza are so much more willing to die for a cause they hardly understand.
A 18 year old stone pelter Sameer Tiger picked up an American M4 Carbine and provoked dozens more to pick up guns before he was killed. 31 Year old, a PhD holder, Mohd Rafi Bhat, a Professor in University of Kashmir whom his students admired as a reliable and ambitious scholar whose research work on consumerism might have launched him elsewhere in India, shocked everyone when the TV announced him killed in confrontation with security forces as he had joined some anti India terrorist group.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness
Only light can do that
Hate cannot drive out hate,
Only love can do that
- Dr Martin Luthar King, Jr
The Tough Question
Youths like Bhat, Wani, Eisa are highly educated, tech savvy and have promising careers ahead of them. But why did each of them embrace violence?
It's heart breaking that the young Kashmiri is choosing a wrong path and is destroying his future. Actually these youngsters have grown seeing so many killings in their surroundings that they have no fear of death left. Some of them were stone pelters who were arrested and confronted by police, as a result in humiliation and revenge, they may have picked up arms. Another trigger to these local youths to pick up guns is the last call made by the trapped militant to his family. Such voice recordings locate its way to common folks and act as catalysts to young minds. It also results in providing extended assistance to cornered militants specially during encounters allowing their effortless flee. Numerous such incidents led the way to injury, trauma or death of local civilians who get killed in cross firing. And each such death directs to added brutal protests and at times a violent cycle in which every death leads to more deaths.
Pakistan based terror groups are also attracting Kashmiri youth and glamorizing the gun culture through electronic media by broadcasting misleading information of assuring a brilliant future, pictures of militants relishing good perks and power, also by creating hatred among locals by printing write ups against India to persuade them in the name of Allah and Kinship. As a result, the young minds fall prey to these blueprints in the desire of glimpsing a finer tomorrow. They get trapped to the blood sucking militant minds and loose their own ability to think that how they are being used in the name of religion and brotherhood against their own country.
Changes in the destiny of mankind can be effected only in the minds of little children
Sir Herbert Read
Religious Preachers Failed Kashmir
Another factor adding flavours in spoiling a young Kashmiri’s thought process is the evil minded religious preachers who are manipulating the innocent and talented with anti-India and anti-Hindu views for their own political survival. As a result, the student discontinues his education and picks up arms for a cause he is very innocent to understand. At the same time, separatist leaders have deprived modern education to children by calling for frequent ‘Bandhs’ and ‘Hartaals’ resulting in closure of schools / colleges to validate a set of uneducated, unemployed stock easily available for stone pelting and other sinful activities.
The educated lot of Kashmir has to understand the strategy of these Wahabi preachers and separatist leaders who are misleading them. They have to stay away from such influences and not get carried away by radical thoughts. Parents also have to play a vital role in order to save their children from death and destruction by keeping a track of what they are surfing online and that who is influencing them.
The youth has to understand the bitter truth that till date none of the children of any political or Hurriyat leader has picked up gun in the name of Islam and brotherhood, infact they have been kept away from this blood shed and militancy and are sent to better places for higher education and career making for their better lives.
Has a young Kashmiri ever thought why was this happening to him?
Who Helps?
Besides the primary job of parents to keep tracking their child, the Centre and UT Governments should counter this aimless trading of youth. India has been executing miracles in technology, sports, health care and making significant steps in day to day life. India has so much to give to its Kashmiris, specially the young educated lot. The forces can also play a vital role by being ‘humane’ with the common people who seek help. Beautiful example of a ‘humane’ approach was visible in Sopore on 22 October when two local misguided youths of Al-Badar tanzeem were forced to surrender during an encounter by the Army and Police, saving young lives exemplified the ‘humane’ face of the gun wielding powerful Army. Lets hope such actions make more local terrorists to surrender in the future ………….. Inshallah!
संघर्ष करते रहेंगे हम,
अपनी कमज़ोरियों से लड़ते रहेंगे हम ,
गरजने के साथ बरसेंगे भी हम ,
एक दिन इतिहास रच देंगे हम,
हम होंगे कामयाब।I
Rahul Akarsh
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