The Paradise We Are Losing: A Surgeon's Lament For Kashmir

By Dr. Fiaz Maqbool Fazili

For thirty years, home was never just a place. It was a state of grace.

In Medina Munawara, every corner seemed to breathe blessings. The air carried the hum of prayer. Standing in Masjid an-Nabawi, near the resting place of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), made my soul expand.

Lectures, sermons, even a simple walk to Quba Mosque felt like a journey toward perfection. Every step was measured, and every thought purified.

Then life pulled me back to Kashmir.

I did not return by choice. A health emergency forced me home, a trial that felt less like destiny and more like an ordeal.

Friends who knew me well warned,“If you can, stay.” Their words lingered, but the call to serve was louder.

Kashmir today speaks the language of progress: smart cities, grand plans, futuristic slogans. But behind the glossy words lies a harsher reality. I see a land in moral and ecological decline.

Water clogs streets. Traffic flows in maddening disorder. Electricians and plumbers promise fixes tomorrow, promises that never come. Food and medicines are adulterated. Stray dogs roam like symbols of our neglect.

Beyond isolated problems, these are symptoms of something far worse: a collapse of conscience.

Backbiting, slander, false accusations have become routine. People in power, whether in government or business, act as if accountability is a foreign word. The race for quick wealth feeds scams, rotten meat sales, and sibling rivalries that end in tragedy.

Young people drift without direction, falling into addiction. Lavish weddings reflect a society that confuses show for substance.

Education and health systems remain hollow. Private players have stepped in, but many who can afford it send their children and families outside Kashmir in search of real care and learning.

Once, Kashmir was self-sustaining, a paradise. Fresh, organic food would come from local farms. Pure water flowed from mountain springs. Now, chemical-laden imports flood markets while food safety regulators sleep. Pollution and unplanned urban growth poison our lakes.

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