Kashmir's Grace, And A Shattering Glass

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
Representational Photo

By Rayees Ahmad Kumar

The Nishat shocker spread quickly through phones, posts, whispers, and shocked voices.

In every corner of the Valley, people reacted with outrage. Shopkeepers in Nishat closed their stores. Religious, political and social groups, often divided, stood united in condemnation. Police acted fast and arrested the accused.

But what happened cannot be erased. It cannot be softened by statements.

This was not just a crime. It was a crack in the moral ground we stand on.

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Kashmir has long taken pride in its values of compassion, dignity, and hospitality. Nomads from Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley have journeyed through our lands for generations. They raise their cattle in our meadows, live in tents on the margins of towns, and leave when autumn arrives. Never before has a tragedy like this been recorded. This killing changes that.

Even in difficult times, Kashmir has upheld its tradition of helping outsiders. When tourists were stranded by snowstorms in Gagangir last winter, locals opened their homes and mosque hamams. Volunteers worked without asking for credit. We were celebrated for it.

And yet here we are, grappling with a horror that reveals something darker. It didn't come from strangers. It came from among us.

We must ask ourselves: what has gone so wrong?

Drug addiction is rising. Alcohol abuse is no longer hidden. Vulgarity and hate flood our phones and screens. Corruption and greed have hollowed out public life. Our spiritual and ethical compass, once steady, now spins without direction.

There's a numbness setting in. We see violence, scroll, and move on. We treat tragedy like content. But this incident has forced us to pause. And it should.

We need action. Laws that protect women must be made stronger, and enforced. Fast-track courts must ensure that justice is not just promised, but delivered. Police and local authorities must work together to stop the flow of narcotics and tackle the roots of crime.

But this cannot be left to the government alone.

Our teachers, preachers, writers and elders must speak. Not in slogans, but with clarity and purpose. We need to rebuild what we are losing - dignity, discipline, empathy.

Let us be clear: this was not just a crime against a woman, or a nomad, or the poor. This was a crime against humanity. And every time we look away, we allow space for the next one to happen.

The land of saints cannot stay silent when the most vulnerable among us are violated. If we care about what Kashmir means, or once meant, we must act now.

Justice is needed. But so is reckoning.

• Rayees Ahmad Kumar is a columnist from Qazigund, Kashmir.

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