Not So Honest Memoir on Traveling Through the Kashmir Valley
The recent article titled An Honest Memoir on Traveling through the Kashmir Valley, in Kashmir Observer by Neha Saigal is not so honest view of Kashmir.
Although most of the article is devoted to the breathtaking scenery of the Valley that gets enriched with local hospitality but the article takes a very nationalistic and Indian centric view like when it mentions about an encounter between militants and government forces.
Saigal writes: There was news about shooting of some jawans in Pulwama, which is not very far from where we were, almost immediately our kind Kashmiri driver Amir, responded It is because of a handful of people that Kashmirs name is ruined all over the country. He further added Why would we not want to live in peace, after all we are Indians as well. The car fell silent, not because we were surprised at what he said, but, the fact that he had to justify on behalf of all Kashmiris which side they were on.
The killing of any individual on our planet Earth should not be written casually. I feel the author has written it in a language that feels cold and emotionless-when it reads-shooting of some jawans. Who shot, and who are jawans? What are some, and are dead bodies in Kashmir so cheap that you did not bother to gracefully write the details of their stories? Is that the nationalism has completely blurred your vision of writing the truth about Kashmir? And this comes into light when you write in the preceding section It is because of a handful of people that Kashmirs name is ruined all over the country. He further added Why would we not want to live in peace, after all we are Indians as well.
Isnt it ironical that while writing your honest memoir of Kashmir you have somehow completely erased the historical basis on which the entire Kashmir issue stands? Remember. It is one of most dangerous political conflicts in Asia. And please, how can you justify that a handful of people are able to challenge the militarymight of India, and force the authorities to completely hold Kashmir on the basis of military power. How can you just ignore your own observations of such forces as seen everywhere? Clearly what you have writen is not an honest account of what makes Kashmir the most militarized region in the world, and importantly an internationally accepted political dispute.
Anyone who travels to Kashmir immediately feels, and understand that this part of the world is much different from other similar places on the globe, and the variations that standout are not only because of rugged topography, geology, and culture but mainly because of the presence of massive military. And since it is the time of the year when Hindu pilgrims travel to Kashmir the nuts and bolts of the security layers are tightened further. Isnt this an honest testimony that the place where even pilgrims need multiple layers of security cannot be called a safe tourist destination? How many places on the Earth need highly militarized machinery to guard people or pilgrims? War zones, right? This presence of highly trained military manifests a serious political problem, which is usually, and wrongly perceived by most of the Indian media, and authorities as an internal matter. They often do it for political reasons, and we do understand what motivates such versions, but, what really hurts is when a traveler like you authenticates such a completely biased narrative.
You have rightly observed that Kashmir is one of most beautiful landscapes on the planet, but perhaps you have failed to acknowledge that Kashmir, throughout its history, has largely remained a testing laboratory for political experiments. Right from the advent of foreign rule during Mughals up until today Kashmir has suffered endless misery, treachery, and betrayal. Such tales are engraved in the imagination of every Kashmiri that is hard to miss. And how can one just miss such stories, and keep traveling through-what some Kashmir observers have called-an ‘open air prison’.
Visitors: be our guests, and remember you will not be disappointed to discover the kind warmth, love, selflessness, and hospitable nature of an ordinary Kashmiri. However, like in most other countries or places, a section of people may cheat you, and even rob you, and I wish you never meet one. However, traveler please feel the place and communicate everything that you witness and observe.
This is a conflict zone, with equally twisted history. It has its imprints everywhere. We observe that the moment we land at Srinagar airport (if you travel by air) military inside out. If this place and people are peace-loving, warm, cordial, then why overbearing security deployment? Please keep watching and observing, look at that airport main gate, it is located a few kilometers away from the actual airport, and it is intensely militarized, locked for the public. This may be something very scary, and very strange for you to perceive, and you might ask how all this can coexist in what is famously known as paradise on the earth.
Now, when you step out of the airport and on the main road you will see various agencies of security forces present everywhere. And then compare the place that you have visited so far with Kashmir, and try to understand what makes this place different. That is what an average Kashmiri wants you to discover and not just the natural beauty and generous people. The movies, songs, and tales that have motivated you to visit the place brimming with gushing-cold-glacial-water-filled steams have not shown you the ghostly violent part of the Kashmir that torments an average Kashmiri day and night.
The truth remains that the arrival of guests truly makes a typical Kashmiri happy, cheerful, and smiling but little do the guests realise that deep within that smile lies the extreme pain. How can we tell you that? This should ideally be visible to any traveler, and particularly to our neighbor. But for that one needs not to see only but feel as well. As a saying goes our eyes believe in what we see but it’s our heart that believes in what it is.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
