TSOLHAMA ROSHE ROSHE WALO HA MYANNI POSHAE MADANOO (Upset with me, you left me. come back to me, my beloved )

Walking on the damped roads of Srinagar Kashmir, cold flakes of snow fall down. cars stopped at the red signal and the horns echoed in my ears. Suddenly in the middle of the road, everything abruptly came to a halt cars, people and everything stopped. After a while everything was back to track again, people walking, cars moving and the old man wearing PHIRAN (a long woolen gown) and woolen cap blowing the coal in KANGRI ( pot made of mud and wooden sticks ) said All curse to enemies. His words were expressing a whole gamut of rage. Phiran and kangri are the traditional things of Kashmir and are mostly used in the season of winter.

The ongoing conflict has affected the entire Kashmiri society, especially the women. The story of every woman is the same, how the Indian army during the 90s since the introduction of AFSPA ( Armed Forced Special Protection Act ) on 10th September 1990 caused tribulation in the lives of these women. This Act gives Army special protection. it was on the basis of this Act Army entered the house of these women with guns and picked up their husbands. It has been more than 20 years in many cases but no justice is given to these women. This particular section of women whose husbands have been subjected to extrajudicial killings is referred to as “Half Widows’’. These half-widows of Kashmir are living in the grey zone neither they know whether their Husbands are alive or dead. Every moistened eye had only one question “ WHEN WILL MY HUSBAND RETURN BACK HOME?’’, who will be the astringent for the heartbroken women of Kashmir? These women have decided to combat against injustice, These women are keeping the memories of their Beloved ones alive.

“VWOLO HAA BAAGVANO NAVBAHAARUK SHAAN PAADAA KAR"
(Come, gardener! create the glory of spring !)

There is someone who is ruling the order of life. The one who cannot be seen, and yet is visible in the eyes of all those who are standing for the rights of these half widows and justice as well . Indeed he sees everything and he is the only one who is witnessing the intentions behind all actions. The one who is changing the seasons and changing day into night and night into day will turn the tables of injustice.

Life of every person in Kashmir is a war in itself. some people died by guns and bombs but some are dying every day because of the agony they suffer, and when you live in a war zone you automatically come to the realization that you are always in danger. These half-widows are not holding guns in their hands, they don’t carry bombs, how on earth is then their struggle for justice a threat?

JANUARY 10,2019 :

Pratap park Lal chowk Srinagar Kashmir, on the 10th of every month, APDP ( Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons ) holds a silent sit-in protest to raise the issue of the enforced disappearances. APDP has been working for a long for the enforced Disappearances in Kashmir. It is completely a female-dominated movement headed by Parveena Ahangar, the iron lady of Kashmir whose own son Javaid Ahmad went missing from custody. How vicious could the human be? In front of me were the mothers holding the photograph of their disappeared sons, wives, holding the photographs of their husbands and all they demanded was justice, in one glimpse I caught the sight of the slogan “where are our beloved ones “ My heart felt the encomium for all the women who were fighting a war without weapons but just their words that were full of fury. It reminded me of the couplet from the poetry of the famous Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz :

DIL NA UMEED TO NAHI NA KAAM HE TOH HAI
LAMBII HAI GHAM KII SHAM , MAGAR SHAAM HII TO HAI

(THE HEART IS NOT HOPE LESS, AFTER ALL ….IT IS ONLY HELPLESS
THE NIGHT OF SORROW IS (ADMITTEDLY) LONG, BUT IT’S ONLY A NIGHT... AFTER ALL …)

Returning back from Pratap Park I heard a few gentlemen speaking about the enforced disappearances and it is the cardinal belief of people in Kashmir that issue of the enforced disappearances is not esoteric

SUEN KHUDA CHUKH WUCHAAN

Beauty of the chinars seemed to fade, the charm of Jehlum seems to be withered away, and the valley of paradise had turned into desolation. It seems the charm of snow-capped mountains has been hauled by the ghosts. The breeze blowing in the valley of Kashmir yells every day and asks How many tears do we have to bury inside our hearts? the clatter of violence has numbed the hope of people. Every person in this valley is in a tyrannical cage.

What anodyne will calm the pain of separation from beloved ones? single breath is arduous,

KASHMIR

THE TALE OF AGONY

THE TALE OF OPPRESSION

When the whole world enjoys the sound of whimsical music, a strident cacophony of Artillery shells destroys the immense population of Kashmir in no time. when children in other states play games in open areas, children of Kashmir slump with fear against cushions.

we don’t appreciate death in any part of the world, it's human nature to feel a bit dejected but doing a human rights violation is a threat to peace.

SITAARON SE AAGE JAHAAN AUR B HAI
(BEYOND THE STARS THERE LIE MANY MORE WORLDS)

ABHI ISHQ KE IMTIHAAN AUR B HAIN
(THE PATH OF LOVE YET HOLDS MANY MORE TESTS) 

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