By: Malik Tariq Rashid
A man always has two reasons for what he does- a good one, and the real one. Having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one’s country is the essence of true patriotism. But, the extent the ‘Rebelliousness’ has been inculcated in the young minds of our new teenage generation needs to be checked before it is too late. The dance of death in every nook and corner of the Kashmir valley has rendered all of us dumb and deaf. The untimely fall of blooming buds’ has made the situation gruelingly wretched. But the question is how long will the ‘DEMON’ kill our children so mercilessly? Where are we heading? Something is seriously wrong, either the direction we have chosen or the methodology that we have opted to achieve the- pardon me, yet to be agreed upon- Goal. The truth is we are all dying; the lie is we are all living.
I never doubt the intentions of the Leadership but want to know, have we been able to develop consensus to devise a reliable counter-strategy that is acceptable to the cross section of the society? Have we come a single step closer to our destination? There is often a big disparity between the way in which we perceive things and the way things really are. We have been using the same methodology since last 3 decades now. Have we been able to convince any influential country to side with us in the United Nations or to represent us in the international forums? Perhaps not!
Having said that, it would be sheer injustice to blame the leadership and the masses only. Where law ends, tyranny begins. What good can we expect from a tyrant? They will leave no stone unturned to suppress the voice of dissent. So, one needs to be quite stronger and cautious to resist their every oppressive move. But the same should be done after proper consultation with the stakeholders. It should not be based on revenge or anger but all of its pros and cons, long run consequences; and the minimum desired outcome should be taken into due consideration before its implementation and most importantly ,Plan ‘B’ should always be there to get implemented with full might; in case Plan ‘A’ fails to deliver or gets hijacked. To quote John F. Kennedy “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and Direction”. He who rejects change is the architect of decay.
For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something. The crux of my argument is to draw a balancing line between the Gains and Losses. The situation may or may not be favorable but at this very time we seriously need to introspect whether we have gained something after losing so many precious lives and having undergone the irreparable loss to the economy else we need to revisit our ideologies and strategies, sooner the better.
Let us teach our younger generation to value their lives. Let our new generation pledge to live for the Nation and make it proud rather than finding dignity and privilege in death only. We cannot afford to lose yet another generation and the need of the hour is to devise a Multi-pronged and relevant strategy rather than sticking to the outdated formula of closing down the educational institutions and business establishments, locking down the shutters and taking the transport off the roads. Let us find the ways for ‘Sustentation’, devise new strategy other than the ‘Concussion’; and most importantly go for ‘Introspection’.
The writer is a socio-political activist and can be reached at maliktariqptn@gmail.com
