Kashmir which continues to bleed has often been described
as “Emerald set in Pearls”, “Jewel of Asia “ and “ Heaven on Earth”.
These enchanting beauties provoked the famous Persian poet Urfi
Shiraz to say that” if roasted fowl is brought to Kashmir not only shall it
come to life, but shall be on its wings again”. In his first visit to Kashmir,
the founder of Mogul Empire, Emperor Zahiruddin Bahar said” if there is a
paradise on earth, it is here”.
Such is the indescribable beauty of the snow clad mountains of
Kashmir with all its delightful flower beds, luscious green forests, lakes and
canals.
Set like
a jeweled crown on the map of India, Kashmir is a multi-faceted diamond,
changing its hues with the seasons – always extravagantly beautiful. Two major
Himalayan ranges, the Great Himalayan Range and the Pir Panjal, surround the
landscape from the north and south respectively. They are the source of great
rivers, which flow down into the valleys, forested with orchards and decorated
by lily-laden lakes.
The
Mughals aptly called Kashmir ‘Paradise on Earth’ where they journeyed across
the hot plains of India, to the valley’s cool environs in summer. Here they
laid, with great love and care, Srinagar’s many formal, waterfront gardens, now
collectively known as the Mughal Gardens. Anecdotes of four and five centuries
ago describe their love for these gardens, and the rivalries that centered
around their ownership. They also patronized the development of art & craft
among the people of Kashmir, leaving behind a heritage of exquisite artisan ship among these people and making the handicrafts of the land prized gifts all over
the world.
Kashmir
is a land where myriad holiday ideas are realized. In winter, when snow carpets
the mountains, there is skiing, tobogganing, sledge-riding, etc. along the
gentle slopes. In spring and summer, the honey- dewed orchards, rippling lakes
and blue skies beckon every soul to sample the many delights the mountains and
valleys have to offer. Golfing at 2,700 m above the sea, water-skiing in the
lakes and angling for prized rainbow trout, or simply drifting down the willow
fringed alleys of lakes in shikaras and living in gorgeous houseboats are some
of the most favored ones. This is my
beautiful Kashmir my valley of gardens which sadly turned into VALLEY OF
GRAVES.
This is
my Kashmir now where killings
don’t matter as they happen regularly. Where blood is cheaper than water, Where
days are darker then nights.
Many
people still have no idea what Kashmir truly is or what it means to be Kashmiri.
Being from that part of the world, I’ve seen how many people have no idea what
the conflict is or how many have died in that region. The important thing is
that in Kashmir according to local activist, Rahim Khursheed around 90000 to
100000 people have been killed and missing. A staggering statistic, yet people
around the world are oblivious to this fact.
Human
rights abuses in Kashmir is an ongoing issue. The abuses range
from mass killings, enforced disappearance, torture,rape and sexual abuse, to political
repression and suppression of freedom of
speech. The Indian Army, central reserve police force, border security personnel and various
separatist militant groups have been accused and held accountable
for committing severe human rights abuses against kashmiri civilians.
Kashmiri children grow
up watching graveyards populate their villages. Locals and human rights groups suspect the graves contain
bodies of some of the nearly 8,000 civilians who were "disappeared"
during the indiscriminately harsh Indian military campaign against the
Pakistan-backed rebels.That rebellion stands
largely crushed today. But over half a million Indian troops stationed in camps
dotting Kashmir are a constant reminder that the war is far from over. Now the
armed militants have been replaced by armies of stone-throwing youth. In the
battle of stone versus bullet, the "Gen Next" of Kashmir dies
fighting pitch battles and the graves continues to rise in numbers.
Two decades of
military crackdown have transformed Kashmir into a powder keg of bitter
memories. Residents often say they are subjected to collective punishment
whenever they rise in protest.
The people in Kashmir
feel that for sixty-three years they have lived a life of spiritual suffering,
political dis empowerment and mistrust by the Indian state, military brutality
and militancy by rebels since 1990. This collective sense of deprivation and
disconnection with their past, mixed with the experience of lethal injustice,
has been nudging people to find their own place in the world.
“Kashmir is still a favorite destination for
tourists but i wonder how much time it will take for Kashmir to be a place to
Live In Peace for a Native Kashmiri” be it a Kashiri muslim or a Kashmiri pandit.
