Can A Silenced Poster Speak?

By Mahoor Haya Shah

What's wrong with saying 'Don't Litter,' 'Don't Urinate,' or 'Don't Drink' in Public Places? Last month, posters urging tourists to respect local culture and tradition and avoid liquor were removed in Kashmir, the Indian Express reported .

Is it really too much to ask that we respect the sanctity of public spaces? Why does a simple plea to not pollute, not defile, and not indulge in excess become such a bone of contention? Every locality across the globe has these basic rules-preserving cleanliness, ensuring respect & fostering communal living. In fact, it's almost standard to ask people to respect the spaces they enter, anywhere in the world. Yet, in Kashmir, when such modest requests appear on walls, they vanish as quickly as they were put up. Isn't it ironic that something as basic as cleanliness and respect should provoke such heated responses? What are we even protecting if the simple plea for respect and decency is treated as an invasion of personal freedom?

In a city that has learned to speak in hushed tones and murmurs, sometimes even the softest whisper can be a clarion call. Here, amid the storied avenues and resilient alleys of our cherished homeland, a modest message once hung-a quiet entreaty that urged us to honor our shared space, to keep it pristine in a world too often sullied by carelessness. It was not a manifesto of rebellion nor an outcry of defiance; it was a simple, human reminder, a plea for civility in the midst of chaos.

Yet today, that whisper has been silenced. In an act as indifferent as it is perplexing, the guardians of our public order swept away that humble note without ceremony or thought. And I find myself asking, with a bitterness that only truth can birth: if our collective goal is to safeguard one of the few sanctuaries of cleanliness and beauty-Kashmir, should we not champion the very expressions that call us to honor that duty?

Take, for instance, the area near the Clock Tower in Lal Chowk-here, every surface speaks of a desire to preserve the inherent dignity of our public spaces. And yet, even here, the relentless tide of neglect makes itself known. Spittle and stray marks by tourists have stained the pavement, a jarring reminder of the human indifference that often undermines our best efforts. The red hue of decay creeps in where gentle admonition once reigned.

This simple message, now erased, was more than just ink on paper. It was a quiet covenant between a people and their place-which bore testimony to a communal desire for respect and cleanliness. It was as unassuming as it was essential, a mirror reflecting our own responsibilities back at us. To see it removed, without so much as a murmur of protest, is to witness the erasure of our right to self-expression, even in its most unpretentious form.

And now, in the midst of modernity's sterile march, a gentle reminder of our values has been rendered mute by the cold efficiency of bureaucratic action. The irony is as pungent as the spittle that now stains our beloved streets-a stark, unwelcome contrast to the order we so desperately seek.

What is it about these small tokens of our cultural soul that makes their removal so profoundly unsettling? Perhaps it is that, in these brief lines, we saw a glimpse of ourselves-flawed, tender, and striving. They were not draped in the pomp of grand declarations; they were a humble, earnest call to maintain a measure of decency.

I cannot help but wonder if, in our quest to impose a sterile order on our public spaces, we are inadvertently silencing the very voice that calls for mindful stewardship. If cleanliness and respect are to be the pillars upon which we build a future of dignity, then must we not allow the expressions of that ethos to remain? After all, how can we claim to value our heritage when the very symbols of our intent are scrubbed away without consideration?

So, I ask you: in a land where every red mark tells a story of neglect and every erased word speaks of lost opportunity, can we truly afford to silence these small, but mighty, expressions of who we are? Are we not, as custodians of this fragile beauty, entitled to the right to protect our own territory-to speak our truth in whatever humble form it takes?

In the end, the act of erasing that modest message is not merely an administrative decision. It is a quiet, yet profound, reminder of the delicate balance between order and expression.

Views expressed in the article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer

• The author is a columnist

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