To,
All Indians with a conscience,
I am writing this letter to you, in the backdrop of yesterday’s devastating Pulwama attack, which claimed more than 50 precious lives of our brave-hearts, hailing from different parts of India. As a Kashmiri, I can say that no one can empathise with the pain and agony that the families are enduring at this hour of grief, better than us, the people of the valley, because losing dear ones and shouldering the coffins of our brothers has been the norm in Kashmir, for the last 30 years now.
Today, every politician cutting across the political lines, appears to be in a rat race, to condemn the Pulwama attack, who instead, could have used their positive politicking in stopping this incident, and could have also saved the precious lives of those local youngsters who day in and day out, fall prey to the bullets of forces in action.
History is witness to the fact that whenever a political process fails, violence replaces it. The Pulwama incident is no surprise for the people of Kashmir, who have lost the count of the dead bodies of their loved ones.
You, the people of India, need to understand the intensity of the Kashmir conflict which is slowly and steadily approaching a war-like situation. Not only, is the ongoing conflict consuming precious lives, but is also massively burdening the Indian state’s economic strength. If the situation wasn’t as tragic as it is, the huge expenditure used on the defense front in the shape of men and machinery could also be utilized to overcome nation’s poverty, but this has to be done only if the political leadership of India is impressed by you and us together.
The Pulwama incident undoubtedly would be used as a pretext for the forthcoming elections. At this juncture, you need to rise and impress upon the political leadership to address the root cause i.e. the resolution of the Kashmir issue, a key to forge peace and stability in the region.
If you fail to rise on the occasion, then you must remember that in a warlike situation that we are in, our voices will lose all the value, and will be suppressed by the sound of guns and bombs.
Regards,
Bilal Bashir Bhat
Srinagar, Kashmir
The writer in a journalist in Kashmir