Trying to defeat my own state of existence such as it is. This is an attempt at churning the wheels that refuse to move…I’m becoming uncomfortable under my own skin. I have decided to brave mediocrity and pour my words as they come, perhaps this will at least give voice to my opinion that sits smirking in the recesses of my mind.
Forgive me for stating the obvious; there is a rabid frenzy out there on the issue of Roy and her statements on Kashmir. I’ve been following the conflict of Kashmir with a great deal of interest, largely out of guilt that we are so unaware of our own brethren living a life in a manner that can only bespeak of shame in the wresting away of the rights of a land that is the pride of the democratic grandiose such as India.
Humanity has always been sacrificed at the altar of complacency but this is just not it, it transgresses this ‘minor’ infraction to something more, an unnatural detachment to the cries of the suffering. It’s just not Kashmir, it is the plight of such people under just such circumstances the world over.
Are we so caught up in our own geographical boundaries that ‘humanity’ stops short on the fringes of these lines on the map? Shouldn’t we endeavour to reach out to the bond that we share of that skimmed over entity, an ought-to in every pageant, the ballot of the politician, the vague grasp of everyman- Humanity. Lost in its own redundancy, yet, there’s nothing else to put it otherwise.
What of this state of Kashmir? It’s still a question now, time’s not too far when it might become a rhetoric, stops at a stone cold period. I’ve read up so much on Kashmir, the web is marvelous that way, everything has a flip side and it’s just a click away. If we have arguments that demand ‘Azadi’, there are those who argue against it. Each diatribe is followed by comments, appalling and intelligent, mostly appalling. It’s baffling how we stew in our own self-importance and lose every shred of empathy. Any person who is less than empathetic with the Kashmiri heart speaks out of ignorance. If you are the true citizen you claim to be, read up on the Human Rights reports over the past many years, reports by international organizations not the piddle that the supercilious and self-serving dish out.
While I commend all of those who are speaking up for the people of Kashmir, each one raising points of great importance but now, all of them are in the danger of sounding like a broken record, each statement meant well, meaning the same, unfortunately becoming the verbiage of a friendly thesaurus.
‘Azadi’ may well be the hymn in Kashmiri lands but how is one to sustain this, grow as a…nation, if you will. Or the India, built on such grand ideals, takes up the cause to heart, reforms its approach, and wins the heart of Kashmir…
How are we to proceed? Do we see any agenda that is not just the grappling of a drowning governance but the oath of integrity, to follow and to deliver? Do we see the framing of a work plan by the Kashmiri leaders that won’t steep the people in greater turmoil than they are in already once ‘Azadi’ is realized?
If we look past the masses of parades of the distrustful and agonized, past the smoking ruins, past the ringing gun shots, past the whistle of flying stones, past the drawn faces of the military, leaders, government- not ignoring them but gathering them as we sweep over this conflict and embrace all of it, in hopes of giving comfort…not by cooking your own goose to serve a soulful soup but making amends, building bridges that will not and cannot be burnt.
Look past ‘Azadi’ as a power transfer, or warring interests, but as it is meant to be seen, freedom to live without fear or anger and the liberty to be happy as a people with due rights.
Give it up for 
