How Green Was My Valley...

Every now and then, a bunch of pretty, rosy - cheeked women go door to door asking for food, old clothes or money, whatever you can spare. Further investigation reveals that they are the much talked of, displaced Kashmiri Pundits, who fled the Valley and have been living in refugee camps for years. They talk wistfully of their homeland with its verdant, green valleys, beautiful meadows carpeted with flowers and fruit trees bowed down with produce. Crystal clear are those memories but sadly that is all they remain, reminiscences of a better time with no intention to bring it back to life. In fact a new generation of Kashmiris have been born in the camps, youngsters who will never see the Valley but will grow up yearning for it. They're like young animals in captivity, staring out through the bars, hearing about freedom from past generations, but never quite figuring out what it is.

Their resigned acceptance of their lot has always struck me as odd, in fact it angers me. I’ve always felt that they were giving up without a fight. Nothing comes easy ; and it would be especially difficult to reclaim a fertile land, a cash cow for nations, a vantage point for the various wars over the past sixty years. Sitting back and wallowing in the memories of the past only means that one does not create new experiences for the morrow.

After all, Article 370 does allow the natives to resettle in Kashmir even if the rest of India can not. Yes, you might call that a simplistic view ; there will be pain and suffering, but the axiom "No pain, no gain" was coined to illustrate exactly that scenario. The pilgrims will , of course, suffer (as path breakers often do). Great numbers may even die, but from their ashes will rise intrepid explorers, descendants that will build on the legacy of their ancestors and take the new world from height to height. In fact, one has to admire the men and women who landed in the untamed Americas for their guts and forbearance in the face of tremendous tribulations. It is the temerity and pioneering spirit of these men and women that set the foundations for the USA as the superpower it is today.

"Arise ô Kashmiris, remember that a nation requires warriors, to defend knowledge, to protect one's women and children, to guard one's borders from the enemy…", regain the land of your forefathers.

The Kashmiris, however, are busy bemoaning the fact that they’ve been displaced from their homeland, looking back at the past than forward to the future ; one does not see them chalking out a gameplan or even bringing their plight to the notice of the powers-that-be. Unfortunately, when you try to explain this state of affairs to them, though they nod and agree, you can see it in their eyes that they aren’t really taking it in ; they seem to have got so used to an easy life of taking charity and aid that even if it was handed to them on a platter, I wonder if they would measure up to the turmoil and hardship of rebuilding their lives in a land reeling from the aftermath of insurgency.

Throughout history, we’ve seen many displaced cultures ; some of them regain their land while others become minorities in their own home base.
The American Indians are a classic example ; a thriving civilization that got marginalized by invaders with guns, now reduced to living in reservations in a land of immigrants. One might compare them to the Indians (of South- East Asia), attacked by the same gun-toting marauders who entered in the guise of merchants. They even got lazy/ cowered for a couple of centuries (with the exception of a few incidents like the Revolt of 1857) but finally the people reached breaking point. A nation was formed from the plundered ruins, and it arose with one voice to claim its lost birthright and regain its tarnished pride.
The common thread I've observed in those who get their nations back is the determination they have and their unwavering focus on their aim. The Tibetans, for one, may not have got back their land ; but they do make their voices heard whether through the denizens of Hollywood (who seek the Dalai Lama's blessings) or during the Beijing Olympics.

Another fine example are the Jews who managed to carve out their own little bit of home from a territory that was openly hostile to them. Whether by hook or by crook, by sheer brute force or the support of the West (thanks to some prominent bankers from the community, for as we know money talks), they realized their ideal : their Promised Land. Just as importantly, they’ve hung on to their dream (over the past 60 years), through all adversities and still give their beloved neighbours one heck of a run for their money.

My viewpoint on this issue : Faint heart never won fair lady doesn’t just apply to human relationships, it has its role on the global stage. (Yes, clichés were invented because some situations just keep repeating themselves :P).


If you've set your heart on a certain aim , you must fight for it, give it your all, no holds barred, pursue your cause with a single - minded zeal . You don’t just sit around railing at fate for handing you such a rotten deal, for then all that happens is that a more worthy crusader, one who has more passion for the cause, walks off with both the laurels and the prize.