My First Brush with Fundamentalism

It was August 17, 1988 and Kashmir was witnessing a very strong anti-India movement. There were riots and arson everywhere. People of Kashmir were shouting anti India slogans from the back of their throat. Me and my sister would think that what has gone wrong for people to resort to such kind of strong agitation. It was around evening when my father returned home from his office that we came to know the reason. The reason behind such stupid agitation was the death of Pakistan’s Premier, General Zia ulHaq. He died in a plane crash after witnessing a military exercise between Pakistan and US army at Bahawalpur. I asked my dad but why this ruckus in Kashmir ? He choose to be silent. Perhaps he knew the answer but didn't want to share it. For next two days all schools, colleges and government establishments remained shut. After his funeral on 19.8.1988, slogans in his pride and honor were reverberating in the cool breeze of Kashmir.

“ Jabtak suraj chand rahenga, General Zia tera naam rahenga”

I would always wonder as a child why my Kashmiri Muslim friends used to support Pakistan cricket team in an India-Pakistan game. We used to argue how they can support Pakistan when they are living in India. I never got my answer. Perhaps we were too little to understand the undercurrent. After all we were all toddlers.  However I got my answers latter when Kashmiri pandits were thrown out of valley in the most inhuman manner. Our men were killed, children were maimed, girls and women were raped. It was a well orchestrated ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri pundit community from valley backed by nefarious design from across the border. The so called secular thread of Kashmir was broken beyond repair and forever. In January 1990 sea of Militants was flowing on the streets of Kashmir and were being asked to leave valley. The cruel announcements were being made on the speakers of mosques located in every nook and corner of the valley. As if this was not enough, a new slogan was coined to frighten the community. It was unimaginable, humiliating, nerve wrecking and painful. It was “ Assi gachi panun Pakistan, bataw ros te batnian saan”. It means we want Pakistan with kashmiri pundit women and without pundit men. It was just a beginning, more was to come in the later years that we spent in exile.