A gruesome massacre has finally united the people of Jammu and Kashmir with rest of the country. From Kerala to Kupwara, from Tamil Nadu to Tangmarg, from Bangalore to Budgam this tragic incident has met the same kind of response. Condemnation, unequivocal and unapologetic condemnation. On the streets of Kashmir, Kashmir’s tradesmen, government employees, civil society members are out to protest the carnage. On the waters of Dal Lake, Shikara rowers are holding placards saying no to terrorism. In the famed Lal Chowk, the business hub of Srinagar, traders are up in arms against the terror attack. Even in the remotest areas, Keran, Kupwara, Tangmarg, Pulwama, Tral, Kulgam, people took to streets protesting against the gruesome murders. Kashmiris are aghast, Kashmiris are angry, Kashmiris are hurting. Let the entire nation do, understand and appreciate this. Please don’t look at it as something connected to religion. Yes, the perpetrators were visibly Muslims but have they ever spared the Muslims of Kashmir Valley. Who killed Mirwaiz Maulana Mohammad Farooq? Who killed Qazi Nissar and who killed the tallest political leader Abdul Gani Lone. The same terrorists.
So just because the killers shared their religious faith with the majority of Kashmiris doesn’t mean everyone from that faith subscribes to the ideology of terrorism. Common Kashmiris during past three days have made it absolutely clear that the murderers neither belonged to them culturally nor socially and also not religiously. They were aliens, having no moral, religious or cultural roots. They were just barbarians, heartless and soulless humans because calling them inhuman would be an injustice to animals as they indulge in such carnages. No, never. We may have some human-animal conflicts but these are not planned and executed under some design. These are abrupt ones so calling the terrorists inhuman is insult to animals.
Having said that, while the people all over the country are angry, and genuinely so, they should not play in the hands of hate-mongers. If intention is to defeat terrorism, no step should be taken that helps terrorists and their sponsors to achieve their goal. Their goal is to destroy Kashmir’s economy and if in the backdrop of Pahalgam attack tourists stop visiting Kashmir, one of the goals of the terrorists would be achieved. Similarly, the terrorists aim was to create a edge between communities and therefore if Kashmiri traders or students are harassed in different parts of the country for the crimes committed by the terrorists, again we are facilitating victory to terrorists. Terrorists will be defeated by unity of all sections of the society. Common people are united in this battle but some miscreants are out there to spread hate. The people of the entire country have to defeat these hate-mongers too.
