It’s been 10 years now of my life in Kashmir. I was born in Holland and remained there till 2003. The time I was in Holland I always used to hear about Kashmir from my father, killing in Kashmir, militancy, freedom struggle, big names and Of course the beauty of Kashmir. For my summer vacations I used to visit Kashmir but in my childhood. My father moved to Kashmir and I came along with him. Those days I was a child and I was unaware about the situation in Kashmir.I had joined a very popular school DPS and started studying there. The time I was in Kashmir I used to Miss Holland because I always used to think that Holland is my country, I’m born there so that's my country. But I was wrong, I didn’t knew that my land, my place, my people, my roots are in Kashmir and so that I’m a Kashmiri. Whatever I’m seeing since past 10 years In Kashmir has forced me to write an article.
I'm 19 years old and I have almost travelled every country in Europe. Holland is a very small country and not that beautiful in comparison to Kashmir but in Holland I’ve seen one thing, which is the love of the people for their country. In Holland no one will ever throw garbage on the streets or will start polluting their environment because they love their country. Whenever I visit Holland and come back to Kashmir after my vacations that time I feel very uncomfortable as I see the roads, garbage on the streets, polluted water bodies etc. Today whatever is happening in Kashmir, whether it’s the polluted Dal Lake, garbage, roads or the crisis in Kashmir, I think we Kashmiri’s are to be blamed for it. We don’t LOVE OUR KASHMIR otherwise the situation would not have gone so bad in Kashmir.
2008 till 2012 we the Kashmiri’s lost more than 200 civilians and I think we are to be blamed for it. Whether politically, environmentally or socially the situation in Kashmir, I think we are to be blamed for it. Pointing fingers against anyone is easy but accepting your own faults is very hard. I actually wanted to write on the present situation of Kashmir but now I feel like writing from the beginning. We Kashmiri’s pelt stones on CRPF, Police, on our own people, even on the ambulances and at the same time we ask for Freedom. HUM KYA CHAHTAI AZAADI. When our own leaders who claim to be the representatives of OUR KASHMIR are not united, how the hell will we get AZAADI. Never is strong leadership more needed then in a crisis and we are well aware of it since 1947. 2008 to 2010 youngsters died WHY? The people were misguided as there was no strong leadership. Those cannot represent OUR KASHMIR who sends their own children to become Doctors and Engineers and let the people suffer. Whenever I hear about stone pelting that time I actually feel like going there and tell the people what are you doing? My dear friends and elders this is our Kashmir and we should treat Kashmir as our own houses. Almighty God has given us heaven on Earth but we the people have made it worst then hell.
Why are we silent about the damaged roads which are not been maintained, about the Dal Lake, pollution and corruption in our Kashmir WHY? Is it that we don’t love our KASHMIR! Our CM Omar Abdullah who is born in England and I’m sure he has spent a lot of time out there but I think he was also useless for us like the others where. Did he give us better roads, did he clean the Dal Lake, and did he do anything about the growing corruption. You’re Answers please.
The major cause of accidents is that we don’t have street lights; it’s very hard for a person to drive the car at night. We don’t have parking’s; a bus driver can stop the bus wherever he wants. People can throw anything on the roads of Kashmir. Have we ever stopped them from doing all this? That’s why I wrote we Kashmiri’s DON’T LOVE OUR KASHMIR. The main difference which I’ve seen in Holland and Kashmir is that people don’t lie. Whatever one has in his heart has the same on his lips but in Kashmir we people have something else in our hearts and something on our lips. In Kashmir I’ve seen some moulvis who talk about Islam and are big liars. If we speak the truth we surely will become great human beings.
The police out here are very ill mannered, whether it’s a SSP or a constable very unhelpful. I remember an incident from my childhood days in Holland, I lost track of my way. I was only 6 years old that time and it wouldn’t be possible for me to get back home safe if the police there functioned as the police in Kashmir. I still have a vivid recollection of that day when the police took me along and took well care of me. They gave me a teddy bear to play with and didn’t led me shed a tear. It’s unbelievable that when my mother after a few hours came to register a report in the police station, she saw me playing happily like I was never lost and surprisingly I refused to go back home and wanted to stay where I was because I was looked after so well. If a child is lot in Kashmir there are hardly any chances that the child will get to see his family ever again.
There are numerous things we Kashmiri’s need to inculcate in ourselves before we demand AZADI. We need to realize that being a Kashmiri gives us certain responsibilities which we cannot ignore. We need to keep our city clean just like we maintain the cleanliness of our houses. We need to be united and we must consider each and every Kashmiri as our own family member and above all we must love Kashmir for it is what gives us our identity.
All these things need persistent efforts by us otherwise we will never be able to achieve our goals and later can we ask for AZAADI.
There is a quote by the great M.K. Gandhi which is for us the Kashmiri’s; “We must become the change we want to see.”
Let’s be the change then.
This article was published in daily 'Greater Kashmir' on the 27th of April 2012.
