Alright guys, it's time to put your artistic skills to the test and come up with a flag for Kashmir! Deadline is January 31st, 2012. Full details can be found here. So try your hand at drawing and spread the word!
There was always that one cool kid back in school. You remember him, don't you? At lunch time you'd see him leaning against the wall out of sight from the administrations, one leg straight before him, the other flexed at the knee and propping him up. He'd cuff his sleeves out of style, and tucked inside of them would be his ticket to suspension. In a flash, the roll would be out, artfully placed between his lips and then lit. He'd take one drag and let out a plume of rebellion. Everyone wanted to be just like him.
Fast forward three decades to an overweight slob who can hardly muster the breath to answer the door. He's got this persistent cough and bloodshot eyes, and the doctor's told it's just a matter time. It was those cancer sticks, you see. They did him in. What is it that makes them so alluring? Your breath and body reek of staleness, and you've got yellowed fingers and teeth. Not very attractive. Yet it's a sad truth that so many in our society still smoke. We've come so far in regards to our knowledge of the adverse effects of smoking. So what would possess anyone to take it up? It seems to me that it's getting more and more common to see kids puffing away their life. The Quran reminds us "...do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction." (2:195). Hey, if you want to commit suicide, go right ahead. Hang, shoot, drown yourself, whatever you feel comfortable with. Just don't get my well-being involved when you decide to prolong your self-inflicted death. You've no right to damage my body with your second-hand smoke. Maybe I want to live to a ripe old age. If my death is a result of your cigarettes, do you not think you will be held responsible? I'll never understand the inherent fascination some have with flirting with death in such a grotesque manner. Who wants to go out with a ravaging disease devastating half of their organs, money and resources wasted on something that could have been easily prevented? I wonder if many people realize the extent of damage incurred on their families when they make the decision to smoke. Leave second-hand smoke aside, third-hand is just as dangerous. The stench remains in clothes, furniture, car upholstery, and the general household. Kids can easily inhale the remnants of your fixation from there. When you come into the mosque for prayers, imagine the chaos you cause to the lungs of those around you as they struggle to attain clean and fresh air to escape from your malodor. Not only do you disturb their worship and potentially aggravate underlying illnesses they may have, you come to supplicate before your Lord with a soiled body; "O ye who believe! Draw not near unto prayer when you are drunken, till ye know that which ye utter, nor when you are polluted save when journeying upon the road, till you have bathed." (Quran 4:43). You fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, abstaining from food and drink. This also means that you cannot light up. So how do you get through that day? Do you waste the precious hours of Ramadan dreaming about when you can grab your cig and inhale your anxiety away? How can you properly devote your time to ibaadat when your mind is being lured elsewhere? The devil has you at his bidding, hankering for a stick chock-full of destruction. Not to mention the fact that in many situations, there are individuals living from paycheck to paycheck who have no problem whatsoever with purchasing nicotine instead of sustenance. God clearly states: "But squander not your wealth in the manner of a spendthrift, verily spendthrifts are brothers of evils." (Quran 17:26-27). If you already finding it difficult to make ends meet, why add insult to injury by potentially cutting your life short, and leaving your family in the lurch? Plain and simple, you're an addict, always hankering for a nicotine stick. You're fixated on a Grim Reaper disguised as an innocuous pastime, slowly digging your grave while life moves on around you. Do yourself a favor, and give up the habit. Prevent deaths associated with your weakness. Prolong your life, cleanse your soul, and do right by humanity. Have you any idea as to the contents of your average cigarette? Let me inform you: ammonia, cyanide, arsenic, naphthalene, butane, lead, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, etc. These are just a few of the delicious ingredients for your drawn-out death meal. I must admit, it does sound rather appetizing. I mean, I've always wanted to munch on some poisons with a side of household cleaners. Yum! Maybe I've gotten through to you. Maybe I haven't. But I can only try and inform you all about the associated hazards and pitfalls of this most filthy habit. Whether or not you take heed is your own choice. Free your mind from any sort of attraction that you believe smoking may hold. The outcomes are never pretty: lung cancer, mouth cancer, esophageal cancer, peripheral vascular diseases, poor circulation, diminished lung capacity, premature wrinkling of skin. These are some of the few bonuses you can expect to receive with your shortened life when you decide to become an addict. So which would you prefer: a membership as Death's preferred customer, or a life to live on your own terms? It used to be that whenever someone was to ask me where I was from, I’d tell them Kashmir. Depending on the listening party, there was a good likelihood of my enduring flak over the admittance. And then the political conversations that came as added baggage. Hardly something I enjoyed dealing with upon every introduction. It’s much easier to simply cop out and say ‘Texas’ than to get pulled into a mire of endless debating and arguing.
Frankly, I no longer care. It makes no difference to me the various argument put up by opposing parties. What’s the point? By taking out their venom on me, will any change befall the topics they speak of? Time and again I’ve had to endure would-be policymakers tell me just how the entire problem could be solved, or that if we simply admitted that we were a part of their country, all would be well. Initially, I’d offer forth a witty retort, and so would start the battle, always ending futilely, with glares being exchanged, arms crossed, and feelings miffed. How’s a kid supposed to make friends in that kind of an environment? These days everybody has an opinion, whether or not they actually have an idea of what is occurring. Why bother when in this modern age one can simply borrow ideas, thoughts, and political strategy from the nearest television? Why even think when there’s something telling you how to do just that? What gets me is that man has made such advancements- scientific, medical, mathematical, etc. Yet ignorance prevails, and even more so among our youth. Why is that? How can it be possible that the one generation with thousands of amenities at their fingertips fail to adequately use them? I can come to terms with how some decades ago, waves of people joined behind one ideal or another at the pure say-so of those running for office. Lack of resources and constraints of time made it difficult to keep in touch with the state of affairs. But nowadays what hampers us? News is as far away as our cell phone. A milieu of papers can be perused in a matter of minutes. What excuse does one have to not be in the know? We impede our nation’s progress. If anything, thanks in part to the persistent efforts of a good many in our society, we are slowly slipping back to days long forgotten by industrialized nations. Shame fills me when I see tourists in the streets perusing the wares of Lal Chowk amidst filth, dung, and a penetrating odor of urine. One is more likely to collide with livestock driving the roads than with another vehicle. Trash is dropped as though a trail beckoning Alice to the rabbit hole. Hospitals are breeding grounds for fatal illnesses. The one place we at least would want to keep clean tends to be just as dust-ridden, with chaos enveloping the masses as soon as the last salaam is turned. Naturally, shoe racks are superfluous. It makes infinite more sense to toss footwear in the nearest corner instead of placing them in their designated place, lest we be late for the khutbah and elicit dirty stares from those we jostle in order to obtain a spot near the front. Have we not even the most basic forms of hygiene? The Valley has become a hovel, a putrefying blend of droppings and phlegm. And it’s hardly as though one could hope for any sort of enlightenment to fall upon the successors of this Vale. Many would much rather busy themselves with the latest fashions, gossip in regards to who is dating whom, and dismiss any form of tradition or value that was once held in high esteem. One must be modern to fit in, with modern ideals. Marriages are based on money, hijabs are worn as per whims, and cursing is the only way to speak. We’ve seen many a nation herald a new beginning and instill reform, but only through unity amongst the people and an inherent trust that we severely lack. We’re far more interested in lining our pockets than bringing about change. There’s a sort of apathy associated with my generation. For decades this issue has simmered. If our parents and theirs before them couldn’t solve it, why waste time and get involved in a sure-fire money burning activity? Indeed, why bother? At least, why continue in the same manner as those before us. All they've given us is a quicksand of deceit wherein we shall always be stuck. Let’s give our revolution its own twist, paint it our way, and get the most of what we want. Now the pertinent question- how? Go to school. Get an education. Study well, top your classes, and ensure yourself a national seat in a prestigious institution. Attempt to secure any form of a scholarship along the way. Complete your degree, and become an upstanding citizen. Vote. Make yourself heard through your works. Express your thoughts through your hobbies. Get a job in the most competitive fields; infiltrate each and every aspect of Indian life and culture. Speak Hindi or Urdu with clarity, become well-read in the matters of art, history, poetry, and science. Run for a political office. Become the dean of medicine in the finest hospital. Espouse economic reform measures. In short- take advantage of each and every opportunity afforded to you by the world’s largest democracy, but keep strong in your heart the solidarity of your people. Bring forth the wealth of the oppressing regime into your backyard, and let us bring back our former glory. Retain the languages of our ancestors and instill it into the minds of children from the very beginning. Establish a concrete written form, ensure that the works of literary greats are known, and teach open-mindedness and optimism. Speak to the occupational forces in Kashmiri. Refuse to respond unless they too enquire in Kashmiri. Make it your initiative to uphold your culture and ideals throughout all of their taunts. Keep in your mind the following verses: “What reason do we have not to put our trust in God, when He has already guided us to the ways of our lives? We shall certainly endure your persecution patiently, and those who want to put their trust, should put their trust in God.” (14:12). What use is there in burning buildings, throwing rocks, shutting down commerce? In the end, who does it benefit? Why have we forsaken the one thing that will lead us to felicity? Fighting fire with fire never got anyone anywhere. “True servants of the Compassionate are those who walk on the earth in humility and when ignorant people address them, they say: ‘Peace.’” (25:63). Be proper, be polite, be humble. Never give them a reason to instigate. Beautify your land through your own efforts. Pick up wayward trash. Utilize dustbins. Don’t use the roads as your sink or toilet. Again, let it never waver from your mind that “…The fact is that God never changes the condition of a people until they change it themselves. If God wants to afflict a people with misfortune, none can ward it off, nor can they find any protector besides Him.”(13:11). So why do we indulge in the wishes of richer or more powerful people when in the end it will be of no avail? (This article was a feature article on Kashmir Awareness on the 27th of Novermber, 2012, and can be found here. It was also published by the Kashmir Walla on the 7th of December, 2012, and can be found here.) |