To,
The people of Kashmir,
All these years I have lived in illusion. An illusion that Kashmir, the Valley of my dreams, is very much a part of my country. I took great pride in it, and I believed you did too. But, a few days ago, I had raw exposure to your lives, much troubled lives.
I might never be able to think by, what they say, stepping into your shoes. I might never be able to empathise entirely with your tears. I will never be able to comprehend the torture you face, the wars you wage every day and night – to rise and to sleep, to step out of your homes into your own “motherland”, and then to step back in.
I will never understand the terror that grips you, even in the shelter of your humble abodes. I shall never possess such lack of faith in my protectors, lawmakers and administrators. I will never realise how it feels to be questioned at every breath taken, dictated at every step taken. I cannot fathom the countless defeats that greet you, everyday, at the hands of “authority”. And then, rise up boisterously again at the taste of dispiritedness. I shall never discover what your hearts are made of.
I will never feel the depth of angst in your voices which cry for freedom or “Azadi”. But, I only wish to lend my feeble yet determined voice to join yours. I only wish to make the people of my country feel the way I do.
Yours truly,
An Indian
A letter addressed to the people of Kashmir by Gyatri – a member of a group of ‘adventure junkies,’ who traveled across Kashmir and interacted with students and people.
Its heartening to see that some Indians are not blinding themselves either to the bitter truth about Kashmir or the lies that blindia is feeding them.
Riya, a student from Mumbai, while writing about The Many Faces Of Kashmir has this to say about the Indian Media:
We believe the lies that the media feeds us.
Do not miss to read Riya’s poem Another World.
Read the reflections on Kashmir of WCNCinc, a group of enthusiastic and adventure junkies and nature freaks here.
~ Kashmir ~ 
Irrelevant to post copy-paste content deleted.
deeply touching post. diggindianews.com
Truly Amazing. Trying to figure out how and where you manage to get all this from.
Riya’s poem ‘Another World’ fills the heart with compassion towards the people of kashmir. In as much as I know about kashmir, I have written a little about the
Masooda Parveen judgment.
Pretty sad the Courts have to have such an outlook towards the Kashmiris.
Aditya
I did read that post, I am a regular reader of your blog just not a regular commenter!
The tragedy of Kashmir is not just how the executive/judiciary think about Kashmir, it is how a majority of Indians think, thus giving the executive a free hand. Highlighting human rights violations by the Indian army, the cause of Kashmiris gets this blog labeled as a part of Al Qaeda network / a terrorist group by a lot of visitors! Not a lot condemn the state terrorism but rather justify it and the following quote from your post on the Judicial system is one of the reasons Kashmir is what it is today.
And this is not just post-89, this thought process has always been there, the executive has never trusted Kashmiris.