Kashmiris are globally known for their unprecedented compassion and empathy. The nation is famous across the world for rescuing sufferers and people in pain. Our hospitality is the symbol of our centuries old cherished values and ethos. We are the successors of Shaikhul Alam ( RA ) and Lal Ded ( May God be pleased with her ) who would hardly eat fresh vegetables, in order to do no harm to the green voiceless creatures. We are believed to have soft and tender hearts for people of all complexions and creeds. We shed tears for aching people irrespective of their religious faiths and beliefs. We have registered unique examples of charity and philanthropy, to help distressed and needy . We still feed mute creatures in our attics and compounds despite having little grains and food in store for our own children. But, beasts are there in our queues and rows. Ironically, most of the savages are so-called educated people of our society. Woe to such education which berefts people of values and ethos. Ablaze to such degrees which harden our hearts to stones. Ruin to the sky-towering learning institutions which fail to kill the beast in man. Here, I am reminded of a Rumi quote which says, “An ignorant is thousand times better than me if my learning ceases me to love the creation of God “. In the light of the quote, we must go for self-introspection. Prayers and rosaries are not the standards of our immaculacy and chasteness, but the degree of compassion and sympathy in our hearts, for the creation of God is undoubtedly the measure of our cardinal virtues and acceptance in the super-royal court of Allah SWT. Very recently, a group of highly qualified professionals including an orderly registered a dastardly act of cowardice and brutality which bowed our heads in shame. A crippled innocent 10th standard student namely Suhaib Ahmad of Srinagar was subjected to inhuman treatment outside a medical board office which ceased his breaths forever. He was not treated like a human being. The alleged medicos had refused to examine and attend him in his vehicle because his sister and mother were not in a position to take him inside the office. He was forced to wait in his vehicle for hours together. His elder sister had repeatedly requested the medical board authorities to leave their chairs for a few moments, in order to examine her lame brother so that he could get a helper ( scribe ) in the recently concluded class 10th examinations. The medicos and the orderly on duty ignored and ridiculed the young girl that too multiple times. Her video which had gone viral on different social media platforms, pierced every heart, bruised every bosom, moistened every eye, paled every face, angered every head and grieved every soul . The ordeal of the poor girl melted mountainous stones but failed to make any impact on the black hearts of these dirty professionals. The video evoked sharp public outrage for the medical board authorities. The culprits, allegedly responsible for the cold blooded murder of an innocent child with special need (CWSN), were condemned and ridiculed by the people of all walks of life. They were lambasted and castigated by commoners for their unpardonable sin. And finally, LG administration took serious cognizance of the matter, and suspended the crooks, and ordered a time-bound inquiry into it.
Jammu and Kashmir board of school education authorities are equally responsible for the mass negligence which led to the assassination of a solitary son and heir of a lower middle class family. Many will call it death, but for me, it is a murder. People at the helm of affairs should leave no stone unturned to deliver justice. God forbid, if the criminals are not taken to the task, the people of this land will lose faith in judicial and executive institutions of the state. Punitive action must initiated against the culprits, and all the vampires who suck the blood of innocents to satiate their filthy egoes. I believe and have tremendous faith in our judicial institutions. Hope, justice is delivered soon. The episode has sent shockwaves among public circles. Many public servants in our part of globe, are behaving like cruel dictators. It has posed serious question marks on the credibility of our public service institutions. Many such events go unnoticed and unreported. Such crocodiles are moving freely in our offices, to tear off the flesh of innocents into pieces. The big promises of different regimes to eliminate corrupt people from public chairs, have proven hoax. We have ghosts in the chairs who petrify people during the broad daylight. We have wolves in holy attires who pounce upon innocents to bloat their fatty bellies. Sermons of justice, love and empathy won’t help us to eliminate the predators from our system. The principles of sympathy and humanity have become obsolete for us. Values and sentiments hardly matter to us. Books and degrees won’t serve the purpose for us. We need iron hands to purify the system. If people at the helm of affairs can’t cleanse the system, then who can do it. Angels won’t be descended from heavens to make things easier for us. People at the helm are responsible for the execution of laws and regulations. We were yearning for a change in the contemporary non-political era but we jumped out of a frying pan and landed into the hellfire. The heinous crime has surfaced during the time when the voice to treat children with special need, at par with other children, is gaining momentum. Denial of writer to the deceased has torn RTE act into pieces. The deceased should have been allowed to have a helper (writer), and the declaration of his results should have been subjected to the production of requisite certificate, issued by the competent authority. But, no, the Tzarist authorities of Jammu and Kashmir board of school education forced the family of the deceased boy to produce a medical certificate which took the life of the boy. Sorry state of affairs! I demand stern punishment for all, involved in the gruesome killing of the boy. The poor family is waiting for the justice to be done. The parents of the deceased must be asking a question, “Who killed our son?” The soul of the deceased must be wandering on the planet to see his assassins being punished as per the law of the land. Justice only will solace his soul. Though no quantum of punishment will bring back the dead Suhaib Ahmad to life, but will surely protect the laps of poor mothers from getting ruined and wrecked.
(The author is a teacher by profession. Views are his own) [email protected]