Like Martin Luther, we too have a dream. He dreamt of a nation where humans are respected irrespective of their colour. We dream of a valley where minds are respected irrespective of their ideology. We aspire to see the sun of freedom dawning on us and heralding a new era of tolerance. Where one may not like what you say, but he, may defend to the last drop of his blood your right of saying so. Having had this, we have the freedom at our doorsteps. The bird of conscience will then flutter with an ever new force and energy. Where we are not wronged just because we don’t nod a `yes’ to your `yes, copy a `no’ to your `no’. Where we are not listed amongst villains for the `crime’ of speaking our heart out. Where everyone has a right to express, no one to exploit. Where kings are accountable to subjects as children to their parents. Where rulers are ruled not by a power lust, but by an undying sense of responsibility towards their people. So where will the flower of freedom blossom from? If this be the truth, imagine how will the world be like. It won’t mean a license to pull down the crowns, but it will sure empower us to say that the emperor is naked. It will encourage us to confess that we need freedom not from our oppressor, but from our own selves.
For that to happen, what is needed. Needed is security to make fear evaporate from the landscape of freedom. Presence of security coupled with an absence of fear can do the needful. The former can lead us to the latter. This is not the question of empowering individuals, but that of invigorating the whole society. Individuals in isolation may dare to taste the forbidden, but society needs protection. Individuals may bear persecution, but society wants to be walled up against terror. There have been people in every phase of history to stand up and challenge all established structures of exploitation and corruption. Be that a form of contract based Christendom or a divinely sanctioned priesthood, be that politics or religion wherever power was misused it witnessed a backlash from a chosen class of people. But for that everybody aspired for security.
An urge to stand up and speak out is everywhere, but it finds an expression only at a great risk. Kashmir will be turned a real paradise when arguments are countered with arguments only. We want to see it a dreamland where battles are fought, lost and won on the table, not in the street.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 5 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 5 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 6 May 2012 00:00:00 IST