1st August — and we have a count down starting for the independence day celebrations. A mushroom growth of military on all roads. Frisking and checking at every other nook and corner starts.
The military has maintained its ugly presence in Kashmir for all these 19 years, and we are so used to it that it just has become a part of the background. For Kashmiris, the life just moves on.. or … umm.. some semblance of life…
But with the India’s independence day coming up, the security measures have been increased. You see more and more armed men walking on the streets. More convoys to interrupt your way to office and home.
This morning as I was on my way to the office, I reflected on the irony of “independence day”, got irritated at the ugly presence, got angry at the way the armed men walked on my land as if it was theirs. I got upset thinking of how these people shove us about on our own roads… I thought to myself, “baap ki sadak hay…?”
And then my mind wandered to the bolllywood music that was bombarded from 92.7 FM… “suno’ sunawo baat banawo”…
what hypocrisies do we live in?
what freedom do we want?
why do we hate the presence of Indian military, when we willingly accept everythng that is Indian?
Questions.. ugly questions … that come to my mind …
19 years of “tehreek” — 19 years of wasted lives– 19 years of physical, emotional torture…
15 days to Independence?
We should not get irritated…. Insha Allah soon we will have our own independence day to celeberate.
I also hope that ‘soon Kashmiris will have their own independence day to celebrate’. 🙂