Give them Kashmir

Whether it is the terror attacks, the strained relationship between two neighboring nations or the animosity between the citizens of the two nations, it makes me wonder if a piece of land is worth the walls between hearts.

I am a proud Indian, but whether I was a Pakistani, Chinese, American or the citizen of any other nation, it wouldn’t make me think any different. I don’t believe any piece of land is worth more than human virtues of right and wrong, human relationships and universal brotherhood.

So, give them Kashmir. Give the Chinese whatever land there is a dispute over. And give any other nation any other piece of land they stake claim to. Give them your soul, your nationality, your pride, dignity, individuality and get it over with.

Relinquish all rights to national pride, relinquish any claims to individuality and accept a mute servility of the forces that dictate the order in the world. Accept that we are mute and spineless. Accept that we do not have the character to stand for our values and beliefs and accede to the global dictat.

Rid the common man of the life in terror. Relieve us of the brutality that we have to suffer while politicians, bureaucrats and custodians of the common man’s right…the public “servants” who masquerade as “rulers” get fatter and enjoy security beyond the reach of the common man. Let’s not live a sham, let’s not live in self deception anymore. Give them what they want and buy the notional safety by paying the price of pride, individuality, nationality and patriotism.

And if that’s not acceptable, don’t accept the “rulers”. Make them behave as public “servants”. Don’t accept the inanity of a blind world to atrocities meted out to a tolerant, peace loving people. Don’t cow down to hollow words and meaningless directives.

Who suffers? The politicos aren’t touched. Power shifts from one party to the other during elections. Empty words from ‘friendly’ nations leading to inaction that maintains the status quo do not save the lives laid in the line of national duty or sacrifice to terror.

Sandwiched between corruption and political pressures on the one hand, and inhuman brutality on the other is not an option. That is worse than selling your soul. My soul matters to me. I love every grain of soil in my motherland, am proud of it and love being an Indian. I cherish our tradition of peace, love, pride and standing for our values. I love the Indian even more. A life ground to death by politics and terror makes my heart bleed. Be it the life of a waiter at the Taj or the life of a soldier on the Kashmir borders. Give me back my nationality and my national pride. It’s about time the “rulers” of the nation made themselves accountable for ensuring that the average Indian’s rights are safeguarded.

Return the smiles to the faces of a Kashmiri child. Give safety to the vegetable vendor in the villages along the borders. Give back the pride of being to the slum-dweller, the dabba-wala, the bank clerk, the IT professional, the factory worker, the construction mason, the bullet-eating soldier and every other Indian soul. Give India back to every Indian. Give them the paradise on earth that they deserve. Give them Kashmir.