Kashmir: A Dark Vale

Sajid Rasool
Kashmir was once called as paradise on earth as God has bestowed it with natural beauty. Its comeliness, delicacy and esthetics magnitise people all around the universe. Every year thousands of tourists visited here to please themselves and enjoy the beauties of nature. In India Kashmir was ranked among top 5 tourist places to be visited .Revenue generated due to the arrival of visitors uplifted its economy. But from past few years the whole scenario gets changed. It no longer remained paradise now..! Since it was ranked among top 5 tourist places now it hardly is seen in that catalogue of tourist places. The reason for this transformation is certainly and precisely the harsh environment induced by its administration. This radical change occurred since government of India scrapped the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by abrogation of article 370 and bifurcated the state into two union territories viz Jammu Kashmir and ladakh respectively. This decision of central ministry proved an unprecedented move. Government of India snapped all forms of communication and left the kashmiris only with air to breath. The situation in the valley worsened to such an extent that there was no certainty of a person to return his/her home if he/she had left at any time. The territory has “disappeared” leaving people like me only able to guess what might happen in future. A clear cut competition could be made between winter season and prevailing situation in Kashmir. In winter all animals’ burn with cold and get freezed likewise in Kashmir people are immobile and are freezed. Government of India especially the ruling party considers Kashmir its integral part in a way as it could earn for them plenty of votes and make them dominate. They exploit Kashmir by using it as an election tool in order to gain fame. They deprived kashmiris of internet service. If democracy exists then what on earth they dare to snap internet service. Internet shutdowns are pan-India problem but are more severe in Kashmir in their frequency, length and extent. They completely disrupt life and this goes much beyond streaming you tube videos to core area of human life such as health care. Although every citizen of India has got right to access internet .It then seems a clear violation of rights of people. Despite being disturbances in the valley every now and then internet provides a bit mitigation. It has a psychological impact; a fear pychosis is developing among family members and friends who are not being able to organise help in a proper manner.
An unknown virus with which nobody was familiar to. It has enveloped the whole world with fear, anxiety and despair. So darkness in the valley is surely prevalent at present.
The internet plays a huge emotive role in terms of calming anxiety and ensuring people are safe. The city from where no news can come is now so visible in its curfewed nights that the worst is precise wrote Aga Shahid Ali in his poem I see Kashmir from Delhi at midnight (1977). These lines ring as true today when Kashmir under lockdown is conspicuous in the fogged truths being disseminated from the ground. Internet in this world serves a drug to pain. Almost every person in this century partially or completely relies on internet. Deprivation of internet indirectly means to invite the problems particularly psychological ones. I personally request government of India to please stop snapping the internet services as they think it would bring peace and tranquility in the valley rather they are adding fuel to the fire thus worsening the situation. Students suffer a lot as they no longer are able to access the internet. Frequent violation in the valley has made people cold and stone hearted. No one fears of anything to be feared. People have become habitual of such situations but those who fail copping up these situations migrate to other place to ensure their safety and security. The most prevalent issue is unemployment. Majority of students pursue their concerned degrees in order to immigrate to other country for getting a descent job. In comparison of giving concern to snapping internet and likewise activities government should give more concern towards career of youth. Democracy can be witnessed only when government solely works for the benefit of its nation. We elect government so that it would provide us better opportunities and guide us towards progression.
Continuous shutdown and riots in valley have an immense impact on the cognitive ability of an individual. Researchers have revealed that more than 45% of adult population in Kashmir is suffering from depression. Adolescents are most affected and are trapped in these mental illnesses. This conspicuously drives them towards drug abuse and different anti-social activities. Apart from this Kashmir has witnessed mass genocide, innocent killings, bloodshed, brutility and what not? Young men who should be busy in performing researches and novel innovations are trapped in this havoc. Government should empathetically adress these issues and solves them accordingly. Many a times i get pleasure when i dream of a life which is free from any disturbance. Wish it were a reality! Another calamity came in the form of corona; a deadly virus which has boiled the whole world. An unknown virus with which nobody was familiar to. It has enveloped the whole world with fear, anxiety and despair. So darkness in the valley is surely prevalent at present.
(The author is pursuing B.Sc Nursing from university of Kashmir, South Campus. Views are his own, [email protected])