Seeing how my letter to the Mirwaiz never got a reply, I decided to go viral::
It was a cold November morn when I first met you, the chill air nipping at my tightly bundled body as I left the hospital. What did I know of the strife and militancy that was brewing all around me as I puckered my lips and blew spit bubbles? Years passed, and I grew older, but was still ignorant as to the true source of unrest. Vain attempts to understand drew lines of confusion into my brow. So one day I decided to take it upon myself, and figure it all out. There was only one problem- where do I start? And once I square that away, what would be a reliable source? I decided to begin with the post-1947 period, then work my way to the present. In doing so, I utilized books, websites, newspapers, and people for my purpose. I ended up with an even bigger headache than before. To summarize what I learned- a leader was pushed forth to bring about freedom during an era of toppling regimes. A nation rested their hopes and dreams on this conquest, and were ultimately betrayed. This opened the door to decades of skirmishes, shoot-outs, wobbly governments, and bitter residents. Curfews, strikes, protests- these became words that even the youngest of children came to comprehend. Frustrating stuff. Beyond that, there were pockets of individuals, who, in the place of freedom, would rather be apart of Pakistan or India. This, as you can imagine, did nothing to quell the raging fire that had engulfed the Valley. Now let’s discuss the occurrence of the past twenty-odd years. You’ve gone through a lot. Majestic peaks, serene lakes, indigenous flora and fauna- all have been marred by the greedy and uncompromising man. And, of late, what improvements have been made? The days pass in darkness, the nights in agony. We fret about in search of a figurehead to repair the damage done to you, but get nowhere due to our lack of faith. Now this faith need not arise out of a belief of a Higher Being. The faith of which I speak goes beyond the tenets that so oft separate those whom we should embrace as brothers. Simply stated, a deep-seated want, desire, thirst for change at all costs- this is what we lack. Here you stop me and point out the protests, the rallies, the stone-throwing, and generalized agitation put in play by so many amongst us. I’m not trying to knock what they’ve done, but only wish to point out that these tactics have been apart of our fight for the last six decades. If it’s done no good for us over these years, why should it continue? The individuals who are currently playing the political field waste our time by talking about what the other guy isn’t doing, and what they will do- but no one ever seems to get around to making a difference. There are set political parties who have a handbook on how to deal with us, and rope us along, generation after generation, with half truths and whole lies. After a couple of decades, they refresh their staff with younger faces, but they’re still spewing the same nonsense. So why are we still listening? C’mon now, Kashmir. I know you better than that. You’ve got a fresh batch of blood pumping through your veins. Step up. Do you realize that when you litter, it clogs the arteries of a dying land? Your cigarettes suffocate any attempt to breathe, your apathy adds to the crumbling state of mind. Do tears not fill your eyes on seeing the sad state of our existence? We live at the mercy of a foreign-run ventilator, and if we don’t learn how to subsist on our own, the plug will soon be pulled, leaving us to writhe in the throes of a futile death in the hands of our captors. (This article was published in Greater Kashmir on the 10th of January, 2012, and can be found here.) Another year gone! One can only hope this year is just as awesome and exciting. A few articles and maybe even a vid or two are in the works. Stay tuned!
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