Rayees Ahmad Kumar
Kashmir the paradise on earth, is not only famous the world over for it’s enchanting beauty due to sky high mountain peaks, breathtaking landscape, lofty snow capped hills, fresh water streams and pristine lakes but also for being an abode of thousands of God-fearing and revered Saints who travelled long distances from far off places like Siminan, Hamdan and Baghdad of Central Asia to preach the noble teachings and mould the minds of people towards the righteousness. They played a pivotal role in shaping the spiritual and moral fabric of Kashmir, leaving an indelible mark on its cultural landscape. Besides preaching the noble teachings, they have played a crucial role in shaping the economy of this region by equipping the masses with skills of varied handicrafts.
A day before, our lone city of Srinagar was granted the status of World Craft City by Global Craft Council in view of being the home to a dozen of crafts recognized globally. The credit for this recognition goes to Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (RA) who brought hundreds of skillful artisans alongside him possessing myriad of handicraft prowess, who besides giving religious education taught these skills to local populace. They have spread the message of love, tolerance, brotherhood and unity in each corner of the valley. It is due to their virtuous character, nobility and selflessness that people in huge numbers would throng to listen them and embrace the true teachings. It was the impact of their teachings that Kashmir was popular all over the world for it’s hospitality, honesty, decency and crimeless culture.
Sir Walter Lawrence in his famed Valley of Kashmir, is of the view that Kashmir is a part of the planet where crime rate is almost zero, it’s people are trustworthy. Walter Lawrence, in his writings about Kashmir, generally portrays the Kashmiri people as honest and trustworthy. He often praises their integrity and sincerity in various aspects of life, including their dealings with others. Lawrence describes them as having a strong sense of honor and ethical conduct, which he attributes to their cultural values and traditions. His observations suggest a positive view of the honesty and moral character of the Kashmiri people during the time he wrote about them in the late 19th century.
However, the recent few decades have witnessed a noticeable decline in the moral values among it’s inhabitants. A son is now abandoning his parents and preferring to admit them in old age homes to the mercy of God’s grace and kindness. A brother is committing a wicked act of killing his own brother for a meagre piece of property. Sisters aren’t now being paid their due share of their parent’s property and if they demand so from their brothers, the former are denied their entry in the homes to which their past memories are attached and which they too had built prior to their transfer to the newer home. The story doesn’t end here, a mother is also killing her own newborn baby and the minor daughters are subjected to the gravest form of oppression in this land considered sacred and holy over hundreds of years.
Youths who are the future of this nation and to whom renowned poet and philosopher of the East, Dr Iqbal has specially addressed in his splendid poetry, are frequently engaging in immoral, unethical and indecent deeds thereby inviting the wrath of Almighty Allah. Yesterday while I was scrolling my smart phone, suddenly a video appeared, highlighting the unscrupulous incident of gangrape of a minor girl that had happened on the auspicious occasion of Eid and very few minutes later another news about the killing of an eight days girl child by her own mother also surfaced on the social sites. The duo incidents not only sent shivers down my spine but also compelled me to write few lines in condemnation and castigation of the inhuman, vicious and barbaric acts. A place which previously was crime free, where once unity, brotherhood and mutual respect like virtues dominated the social fabric is now seeing a surge in the crimes which we hadn’t even thought of in the past. Inhabitants of this land are now committing the worst ever crimes on daily basis breaking all previous records of illegal acts, unlawful activities and offenses.
To put a curb on this environment and prohibit the objectionable activities in the society, stringent laws need to be formulated at an earliest and implementation of these laws must be prioritised. Individuals committing these heinous crimes must be put behind the bars and subjected to worst kind of punishment. Besides yielding good results, it will help in creating a desired community of responsible and good mannered people.
(The author hails from Qazigund and can be reached at [email protected])
