It’s strange though to see media as well as politicians hurling the allegation of sedition against the world acclaimed author turned activist – Arundhati Roy. What she said, at a recent public meeting on Kashmir, is what millions of people here say everyday and other commentators have written and said for years. Her statement is nothing but a call for justice for the people of Kashmir. The Kashmiris who seem to pay the price, day in and day out, of their fight for justice are now learning to live in the terror of what is becoming a police state.
Ironically, despite all claims of justice being delivered, peace being prevailed by the childish government of Omar Abdullah, nothing seems to be seen in practice. On the contrary, Omer seems to be busy passing his weekends in farm house away from these voices for justice. We Indians, who find pride in calling Kashmir our integral part, have least to do anything for the Kashmiris’ rights. It comes from not wanting people to be killed, raped, imprisoned or have their finger-nails pulled out in order to force them to say they are Indians. It comes from wanting to live in a society that is striving to be a just one. It’s a matter of shame when someone calls to stop writers for speaking their minds and demands to jail those who ask for justice, while communal killers, mass murderers, looters, rapists, and those who prey on the poorest of the poor, roam free.
Farzana Z Khan
Nagpur, M.S.