R Thirumani (22), along with his family, was out on a vacation, visiting Jammu and Kashmir. For many lower-middle class families, visiting Jammu and Kashmir (the so-called ‘paradise on earth’) at least once in their lifetime is possibly one of their greatest dreams. They save money for their entire lives to pay a visit to this place. Probably, Thirumani and his parents were also one of these families. But what they may not have expected was the fact that their vacation would turn into a nightmare – and that they would lose their son forever.
Thirumani and his parents were out sightseeing in the Gulmarg region, when suddenly, their car was attacked by stone-pelters. All of them ducked – but unfortunately, he was caught in the incident. A stone hit the left side of his head. It broke his jaws and nose, and soon, he was lying in a pool of blood. He was immediately taken to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries in the evening. His mother was also injured in the incident.
This incident took place on May 6, 2018. Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned this incident, terming it as ‘heartbreaking‘. The state’s former CM, Omar Abdullah, also expressed his disappointment and sadness over this incident on Twitter.
Stone-pelting isn’t anything new in the J&K region. It gained a lot of momentum after the killing of Burhan Wani, the commander of the militant group Hizbul Mujahideen. He was popular among some Kashmiris mainly because of his activities on social media and his militant actions against India. He was killed in an encounter with the security forces in July 2016, which turned him into a sort of folk-hero in the region.
Ever since then, instances of stone-pelting increased a lot. Not even school buses are spared – a few days back, two students (one of them a class 2 student) were injured. And now, it seems that even tourist vehicles in the valley are being targetted. This may be the means of protest for some people, but they need to realise that their way of protest is taking the lives of other people every day. Take, for example, Thirumani’s case. He probably would never have expected that he wouldn’t ever go back home again.
To the best of my knowledge, a large number of youth are increasingly resorting to stone-pelting to register their protest against the armed-forces and the J&K police. In return, the army and the police retaliate by firing rubber-bullets, pellets, sling shots and tear-gas shells. Such incidents are very similar to the famous story of David and Goliath. Goliath, a huge and dangerous giant, starts attacking and killing people, but David becomes the people’s saviour by slaying him, using his sling and stones.
The state government and the armed forces both need to work together to solve this state of agitation among the Kashmiri youth. Why are they doing it and what do they want? This may be my opinion, but I think Burhan Wani would have still been alive if he had worked in a constructive manner by developing his career and life, instead of being involved in militancy. Everybody involved in this – the pelters, the government and the security forces – all need to seriously think about their actions and the effects.
After all, the compensation announced by the government cannot bring anyone back to life.
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