Despite the decades long violence in Kashmir, where not a single day passes when no kashmiri is killed, the drift of tourists to valley never stoped. As there has been hardly any incident where any turist was effected due to any violence related incident, every year, lacs of visitors including Amarnath pilgrims come to valley fearlessly. In Kashmir, treating it as a humanitarian responsibility, people always hosted the visitors as respectable guests and never let any turist to feel insecure. However the recent death of a visitor during a stone pelting incident in Narbal Tangmarg was shocking not only for outsiders but also for all Kashmiris. As Kashmir is the region where law and order situation prevails, government had to keep the security measures under consideration and had to stop the travel of tourists under the circumstances, where even the local Kashmiris found it difficult to roman around, a day after five civilians were laid to rest. But also the anger of people shouldn’t have been such to kill another innocent, to take the revenge.
Though the commendable incident of turist’s death was first of its kind and pained every body including Kashmiris. But the Kashmiris who are daily being packed in coffins at young age are also humans and their untimely deaths deeply pain the Kashmiri people too, for whom no one from outside the state comes forward to condemn.An incident of death of a turist among lacs of tourists, is a rare case and should be condemned but should not be internationally highlighted in order to generalize the case with other visitors who have been travelling to valley since a long time in a peaceful atmosphere, offered to them by the people of Kashmir.
Leaving aside, the rare and unusual death related incident of a tourist here, Kashmir is a place where humanity and religious brotherhood has set an example. Apart from being famous for its scenic beauty, Kashmir is the region where the beauty of good humanity among people is apparently seen. The people of this region are well known for the nature of their human heart. The example of heart, that can reflect the pain of sufferers, can only be seen in the people of Kashmir. They can care for those in distress, even if they need to risk their own lives. There have been countless uproars in Kashmir, relating to political issues and human rights violations. But amid those violent situations, the outsider tourists and Amarnath pilgrims have never been affected.
A good example of religious brotherhood came forward in Kashmir during the unrest of 2016, when a bus carrying Amarnath Pilgrims met with an accident on Srinagar Jammu highway near Bijbihara, in which two had died and twenty three had injured, the local muslims rushed on spot, to rescue the injured, who were brought to hospital immediately and several lives were saved. Comparatively the people outside Kashmir, can’t generalise wholly, but mostly, are not careful and helpful enough for the people who are in distress like the Kashmiris do.
Last year I saw a recorded CCTV vedio clip of night hours in a city outside Kashmir , which was flashing on a news channel, in which an old man was hit by an auto, the driver stepped down and checked his own autoriksha, if there was any damage caused to it, again started the auto and drove away. Another person who passed through, checked the pockets of the old man, put out the old man’s cell phone from his pocket and ran away. Then several vehicles passed by, no one tried to pickup the person or help him, as a result he died as no one wanted to take him to hospital. That was really a heart wrenches seen, which would never be overlooked if happened in Kashmir.That CCTV captured vedio clip reminded me a same type of incident I had experienced in Delhi years before. Once in Delhi, while i was walking though a street, i saw a Rikhshawala whose right leg was badly bleeding after pierced by one of the iron rods, he was carrying on his Riksha, perhaps after colliding with a vehicle. He was badly injured and crying with pain, but the the people over there were watching without any kind of help. As I tried to approach towards him for any help, my companion who was also a Kashmiri pulled my arm back and said, ” it is not Kashmir, better is to leave the place. If police will come we will be questioned and being Kashmiris we are already looked upon as suspected people”.
Yes it oftenly does happen, at times people of Kashmir, who are apparently identified by their fair skin and beard as Kashmiris, do face such kind of situations when they step out side the Kashmir, where they are being suspected either by police or by locals. Some Kashmiris have claimed that while traveling to outside the state, the number plate of your vehicle becomes curse, police frisks many times and asks many questions regarding your where abouts. Some people label you as terrorists merely to express their hatred for you. However, Humanity is the heritage of Kashmir, irrespective of religion Kashmiriyat prevails here. Kashmiris whether Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims, generously come forward when they see any kind of atrocity being done to any one. The recent courageous nature of a Kashmiri pandit sister who advocates for the victim Asifa in Rasana incident is also a good example of this. She stood determinant despite the threats by the supporters of accused, and said, ” I will not compromise, at any cost and will not stop till Asifa gets the justice”.
Agreeing that bad is bad and no one should justify it as good, accordingly government says there is a law to deal with involved. But if bad incidents also do happen rarely in every state of country and are dealt with same law, then why a single bad incident in Kashmir is projected in such an infamous way that it is being made the point of discussion in the whole country.
(The author is a freelancer. His views are personal)
