A Lawless Law in A Lawless Land

What does one do for revenge? Or for wanting something from someone against his will? Or for hating someone’s guts? Or wanting to ‘teach a lesson?’ Or for bullying someone at school? One can either act on them or just be content without doing anything. A lot of them appear vague reasons, meriting no response. (Some of these reasons are stronger than what our government uses to arrest people (it uses no reason) as you will read later on).

How does one act to fulfil these wishes, if one can not be merely content? A person may kidnap another to ‘teach him a lesson,’ or ‘demand money’ or  ‘ just kill him.’ This person then will be considered a kidnapper or a killer, as the case may be. A sane democratic government will hunt this person down and then put him on trial and then behind bars.

Q. But what if a state wants to do ‘all of the above’, and get away with it? What can the state do?

Of Hunger Strikes and Yasin Malik

In the early 90’s whenever there were plans by leaders to fast unto death or go on a hunger strike – a majority of the population would fast with them. Kashmir saw itself as one homologous unit, there were supposed to be no differences. Everyone had one goal: Azadi. There were no contours of this Azadi. It was crystal clear and above all, no one doubted the intentions of the leaders.

Today a hunger strike is seen more as an attempt to make ones presence felt than a tool of non-violent protest, as it is made out to be. And our iconic Hunger Striker is Yasin Malik, who has once again vowed to go on hunger strike for human rights abuses and etc.

Why do these symbolic gestures result in nothingness?

Symbolic gestures are essential, but have to be an extension of

Bells And Bullets

Bells

Bullets

They said the “leaders are human beings with personal problems.” (greater kashmir)

I was always made to believe that leaders are not ordinary human beings. I was told wrong.

But there is something that resonates true every time:

“…remember that as resistance decreases, suppression increases and the peace offered by suppressive regimes is often no more than the peace of prison or of the grave…” (niccolo machiavelli)

 

Then The World Would Mourn, Then It Would Forget

–Farhat Rukhsar–

A minute mourns and then forgets

My heart to my Kashmir indifferent seems

And while thou native were riddled with bullets

My long dead soul was chasing dreams

While blood oozed and they watched unconcerned

While thou were gasping for each labouring breath

While we joked in colleges in Mughal gardens sauntered

In Dalgate youth approached its untimely death

Riddled by Central Reserve Police Force

Then dropped a grenade in thy bag

This is the Heaven’s secret curse

An Angel given terrorists tag

How long on that pavement thy body bled?

How long resembling humans had their fun?

Thou went left dreams, parents half dead

Dark earth and sky, gone is their sun

Time has ceased what Happy New Year?

Mirth has left the home in paradise

Home were empty eyes look for their dear

Home where walls still echo with painful cries

Home where mere pain Eid would bring

Home where sacrifice already has been done

Home where thy memories forever would cling

Home where celebrations for Eid would be none

But killing innocents has a reward of its own

One lakh rupees and promotion I fear

And in my time conditions have honed

And protesters get killed everywhere

Thou college student and so am I

Though thou shot dead, I am not – yet

Tomorrow they might then they will lie

Then the world would mourn then it would forget.

(In Memory of Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh, 22; Riddled With Bulets on 9th August 2006, click here to read the post)

(poem courtesty of greater kashmir)