Skip to main content

The Curious Case of Kashmir

Kashmir, a complex problem to the fair people.  What comes to our mind today when we hear about Kashmir is mainly about terrorism. But only a few decades earlier, the only word that Kashmir was related to was paradise. So, what has changed? I would say a lot of stuff but mainly the occurrence of a large amount of terrorist activities. Some people will not agree with this statement because they call these people as their liberators. They are liberators for some and terrorists for others. As they say, heroes of some are the villains of others.

But the point is what made these liberators or terrorists, whatever we may call them, cause such a condition in the Kashmir valley. The only thing that comes to mind is the bad politics of the Kashmir valley. Politics in the region has never been good or even average. Most of the politicians are divided over their concept of Kashmir. Some want to remain with India, some want Pakistan while some want a separate country. But the thing is, all of these politicians are earning something from it. While some are earning money, the others are earning power. The only ones who are suffering are the common people and they are suffering badly in some cases. Kashmir is in a problem that everyone fully understands but no one wants to solve and why will they solve it? Since solving it would result in their losses.

So, when did it all start? I would say, way back in 1947. Since 1947, the fate of Kashmir has always been hanging in the balance. Since India achieved independence and divided into two countries, the Kashmir became the bone of contention between these countries. Each of them has the piece of this bone but wants the full part and the other one is never letting it go. In fact, they have allowed a third country to take some part of Kashmir and call it their own. Even the United Nations has taken a step back. They also don’t want any part in this problem.

The condition has worsened since 1990’s. It had turned so ugly that the Kashmiri Hindus (Pandits) had to leave the valley, leaving everything behind and find refuge in other cities. The people who were left in the valley, mainly the Muslims, have also had suffered a lot. They are getting hammered from both the sides.

So, who is at fault here? Is it the Hindus or the Muslims? Is it India or Pakistan? I would say a little bit of everyone is at fault here. Everyone let this condition continue to grow and now everyone is in a deep mess. A mess they can neither clean nor get out of. But this mess only continues to affect the common people. The common people, who have lost their loved ones, their livelihoods and in some cases everything.

I hope one day there will be happiness and peace in the Kashmir valley again. That one day both Muslims and Hindus will continue to live in peace as they used to live earlier. I hope for the day when both India and Pakistan reach to a proper conclusion to this matter.

In the movie Shawnshank Redemption, the Hero says "Hope is a good thing; probably the best of things and no good thing ever dies." On that note, let’s keep this hope alive.

Comments

Post a Comment