Zamir Ahmad
Public memory is supposed to be very short. Amnesia, seemingly, afflicts nations more severely than the individuals. But history, on the other hand, negates this notion often. The world history is replete with stories of adventure as well as misadventure of the people who were consistently subjugated by their masters. The revolutions that took place, along different time horizons, in different geographies, invariably found their genesis in miscarriage of justice and inequity perpetrated over prolonged tracts of time. Take for instance the Indian freedom struggle. Exploitation of people, marginalization of its legitimate representatives and vandalisation of its resources led India to first rise in an armed rebellion as early as in 1857 AD. It took another ninety years of continuous struggle for Indian subcontinent to see the dawn of freedom. Between the two, the road to independence had its own crests and troughs. So much so that Indian sepoys fought alongside the armies of Great Britain in the world wars. The brilliant minds of the nation were opting for Royal Civil Services in droves.
The elite were sending their children to Europe for higher studies. Assimilation was happening in all directions. Some streams of thought even ventured to anglicize the curriculum in order to curb being washed away from the shores of progress and development. One could have easily written the epitaph of the movement so many times during that period. But nature has its own repository where it not only hides its surprises but memories as well. Kashmir, for instance, has seen the worst of times and all possible forms of injustices during last so many centuries. Our collective behaviour has been altered by continual chains of tyranny spreading over aeons. Life still seems to be going on here. The famous Afghan saying immortalized by Khalid Hosseini, ‘Baley Zindagi Migzara’ (Yes, Life moves on) seems to be an apt articulation of our times and tribulations. Take for example the Shopian incident. One runs out of words to explain its horror. Its dreadfulness. But like many other such incidents it seems to have got buried under the debris of intrigue, state sponsored cover up, legal conundrums and of course time. That’s what happened to another horrific episode that shook our collective conscience last year.
The infamous sex scam. Institutionalised, nurtured and ultimately saved by the powers that be. Our helplessness lies exposed. Our desperation seeks justifications. Our cowardice looks for an alibi. Life moves on. But not really! History is a testimony to the fact that nations that are embroiled in strife, witnessing long histories of treason and gruesome experiments of directed thinking don’t forget things altogether. An invisible thread connects the generations to their tumultuous past.
The incidents may get blurred but the bruises somehow remain etched into the consciences. And time and over the urge to assert ones identity overcomes the fears of failure or the experiences of past. New blood boils in newer ways. Weapons of resistance change. Ideas become even more refined. The grindstones of time mill slow but grind very fine. Claiming restoration of normalcy without addressing the basic issues is thus at best an ostrichesque approach. For all the stakeholders!
