All these years while I was out
of Kashmir, all that troubled me about Kashmir was the political turmoil, the
killings, the atrocities of the Indian State in our land. I had been very vocal
about all this, discussing and fighting it out for Kashmir with my friends and
foes during the college days. After living outside Kashmir for about eight
years, I was very eager to return. With the grace of Al-mighty I could shift
back to Kashmir. It has been five years now and the enthusiasm about Kashmir is
dying since the day I landed back.
Kashmir is not bearing the brunt
of political turmoil only; Kashmir is dying, socially, morally and ethically.
We might have hi-tech schools, technical institutes, ever growing number of
colleges and educational institutes, but we are not getting educated at all.
Over these years, we have just complicated ourselves, our society, our culture
with the senseless list of "to do's". It is time we look into
ourselves and frame a "not to do" list for ourselves.
We cannot carry on crushing the
very essence of our way of life - Islam, under the pretext of following our
culture and traditions. Our society is dying, and it is very painful to see all
of us as Muslims let it happen. We got to listen to our elders, but we also got
to correct them. What is right socially might not be right Islamic-ally. We need
to shift our preference to pleasing the Al-mighty. Islam has teachings that
emphasize love for our brethren, keeping our friends and family happy. But this
happiness cannot come at the cost of living our lives according to rules
prescribed by them, especially if they are not in line with our religious
teachings. Keeping someone happy does not mean living your life according to
the principles defined by them or the society.
Our elders tell us that we are
too young to understand how things are to be done in society. They continuously
give their practices the shade of the society factor; fearing criticism and as
a result not following their heart. We
have to live in the same society, so we have to follow what the society tells us.
But if we think the society needs a change, we have to make this society such
that following it is like following your heart. We cannot be brushing aside the
teachings of our religion and covering our mistakes in the name of culture and
traditions. We got to live to please the creator, and if that means not doing
what is in vogue in our society, it’s perfectly ok!
There are so many social problems
that exist in our society. Many times we discuss them, criticize them, but when
it comes to going against them and changing them for good, many of us are very
weak to take that step. We fear what people will think about us, forgetting
what Allah will think about us if we go against his commandments. We have to
stand strong against criticism and taunts. We need social mavericks, they are
out there, but they are very less in strength. We cannot bring a change in the
society till we gear ourselves up as mavericks against evil social practices,
against social rules that just aim to please people, mostly for selfish gains. The
younger generation has to gear up! Kashmir needs lots of social mavericks; I pray
that the younger generation rises up to make the society better for themselves
and the coming generations!
