THE PARADISE WEEPS FOR PEACE AND HARMONY

 

 

THE PARADISE WEEPS FOR PEACE AND HARMONY

  

                          Being the birthplace of Hindu cosmology and Buddhist mysticism the ‘Parvati valley in Kullu’ is often visited by people across the country to seek enlightenment and oblivion. However, due to extremely difficult climatic conditions most of those who come to the region fall prey to the nature. Over the past decade and a half, the valley has been holing up a number of violent deaths and unexplained disappearances of a score of backpackers dubbing it as the ‘Valley of Death’ and/or ‘India’s Bermuda Triangle’. It is the natures curse or blessing that puts the valley into this kind of a no stranger zone of misadventure and mystery and we, as humans, have not been able to rectify even an iota of such happenings yet.

                             Paradoxically, the Kashmir valley nicknamed as ‘Paradise on Earth’ and endowed by nature with implausible beauty, tranquil lakes, crystal blue rivers, stunning Chinar trees etc. has been turned into a virtual ‘Hell on Earth’ by the mortals due to their inhumane, devilish and cold blooded activities. Kashmir was the beautiful homeland of multiple religious groups that had lived in harmony since time immemorial. The land, derailed by time now, was not a place, not a region, not a province and certainly not a borderland. It was, for all practical purposes, a fabric of coexistence for all kashmiris, be it Pandits, Sikhs or Muslims. As they used to don the pheran over their bodies and place the karakuli over their heads, this fabric of mutual existence, Kashmiriyat, represented the portrait of calmness, tranquillity and harmony. However, the concept of Kashmiriyat has suffered a lot in the context of the Kashmiri resistance movement and now it seems to be a bygone term, whispered in few liberal seminar rooms or perhaps an odd lecture halls, accompanied by nostalgia for the good old days when peace and harmony prevailed.

                                  The dispute that brought about this change in Kashmir started at the brink of India’s partition and the formation of Pakistan. The land, derailed by time, has been the central cause for five wars and is currently at the flashpoint of a nuclear face-off between the two countries. The whole valley has been turned into a hostile zone because of the war of prestige between the two countries and as per the Guardian 2019, it is one of the most unsafe places to live in.

                                  The mass exodus of over 95% of the Valley’s indigenous Hindu population in 90’s following a spate of targeted killing of minorities interspersed with a host of highly provocative, communal and threatening slogans has been one of the darkest chapters of modern India’s history and failure to officially recognise them as ‘Internally Displaced Persons’ only amplified this tragedy. Almost 63,000 families of displaced Pandits, Sikhs and some Muslims have been living in camps in Jammu or the NCR area, as well as throughout other Indian states in India and abroad. The fight to return back to their homeland with full dignity, security and civil rights still continues.

                                   At the time after three decades when the state of affairs seemed to be favourable and provisions were being sought for their safe return, the peace started deteriorating again due to the communalised ambience. A spate of targeted civilian killings after the interval of three decades including the ones who had stayed back during the peak of militancy and been there through the thick and thin times has revived the same old feelings of insecurity, reopened the ugly wounds that had somehow healed with time and made the community panic-stricken again. Such kind of inhumane acts is further going to delay the return and as a new generation in Kashmir has grown up in the long shadow of Pandit exodus, both Muslims and Hindus have gained memories from a generation that is slowly losing them. If the generation of Kashmiri Pandits born in Kashmir before 1990 do not return, the community we know as Kashmiri Pandits may not exist. This ruthless ethnic cleansing is a crime against humanity and a cloak of silence that society puts over it is like a final nail in the coffin of that crime.

                                   We need to understand that the Valley of Death is being in the domain of the Almighty and remains unchallenged while the Virtual Hell on Earth is being created by the mortals. It needed an immediate explanation and rectification, but, as the politics and selfish motives are inculcated deep into the human character these days every single step that could have been a solution to the crisis was delayed strategically so as to gain the brownie points as and when required. The need of an hour is to understand the situation and rather than pleasing one religion, one faith and one theology we all need to come and work together for the peace and harmony of one and all. 

 

Dr. Pawan Suri

Chief Cardiologist

SGL SuperSpeciality Hospital

Jalandhar, Punjab