Kashmir :: Will it ever be the same again ??

This is a question my Dad and I ponder a lot..Albeit most Kashmiri Pandits (the Indian community that had to relocate from Kashmir completely in wake of terrorism) I guess will ask themselves this question several times in this lifetime....

To me definitely there is hope....maybe a minute possibility that one day Kashmir will be restored to the peaceful beautiful land it once was... It was described in all my geography and history books as the "Heaven on Earth" or the "Crown of India"...I remember everytime I read that I would feel so proud that I belonged to that enchanting part of India...Kashmir Valley so serene, so clean and so naturally beautiful....the lakes, mountains, the apple orchards....It really was Heaven and I absolutely loved every part of Kashmir.....

This is the Kashmir that I have lost in life and in memories...Today I try to avoid thinking about Kashmir because when I do it doesn't bring back these sweet childhood memories but it brings with it the horrror, the evil scent of blood that has been constantly flowing in Kashmir since the lates 1980s....One single day hasn't passed in the last 15 years when at least 15 people did not die in Kashmir either civilians and/or army men or terrorists...Who dies doesn't really matter...Its everyday last line news on the frontpage of every published newspaper...Who cares ?? Do people in India care ?? Do people in the world care ?? I don't know !

I find it hard to believe that its been 15 years since the last time our family was in Srinagar, the city where my parents were born and lived half their lives.....I still remember it was October 1989 and we were just getting off a bus at the Srinagar bus stand..While we were still unloading our luggage my cousin brother who was there to greet us was ready with a cab and was hurriedly trying to get us out of the main bus stand area...While our taxi was whizzing out into the narrow streets close to the bus stand, we heard a 'boom a whoom' sound...Lo and behold it was a bomb blast..It was the 3rd in one single day and more than half the city was under curfew......While we reached home safely my cousin gave us the latest run down on the militancy situation et al...My Dad has a large family and all of his brothers and sisters and cousins and their families had gathered at our ancestral house that week for my cousin sister's marriage..It was a happy occasion and amidst all the curfews and bomb blasts and the hail storm it was the last most eventful real Kashmiri wedding in our family..In typical Kashmiri fashion it lasted 7 complete days and we all had a blast...It was fun man..the good food, the great music...awesome....

Anyways, after digression let me get back to the topic in question :: what now happens of Kashmir:: Well the practical mind says nothing much can happen...Most of Kashmir is now inhabited by Muslims who per se want to be a part of Pakistan; and hence, there is no real reason to hold on to Kashmir and the resulting blood loss by the day 'coz Hindus who fled due to terrorism have after repeated attempts of return and subsequent massacares lost any desire to relocate back....But yes once we give up Kashmir we could have Assam, Punjab, Tamil Nadu all wishing to be their own country...Hence, India cannot give up Kashmir..Well I say if we can't give up why not completely take it over...This can be done and everybody knows this..Yet diplomacy, red tape, nuclear proewss of both countries and political mind games have led to proxy wars (read Kargil) and 15 years of raging terrorism sometimes more sometime less controlled by the Indian Army.....

In the present circumstances, it could be an eternity or some sort of a revolutionary step that would lead Kashmir back to the track...India's leading tourism industry, a land of natural beauty and peace..as nature evolves so will Kashmir by God's grace....Hopefully, some day my Dad will be able to spend his leisure time as a retired person idlying in the ambience of a house in Srinagar or a picnic villa in Pahelgam.....

To end my piece on a positive tone, the first good thing coming out of Kahsmir that I have heard of in many years is this----a startup, an outsourcing tech company that has started in Kashmir....To be able to do this with limited internet access, no cell phone usage, minimal infrastucrure is a feat in itself....Hurray to the courageous businessmen/women and JAI HIND !