A lingered state of despair

Hope is what makes the human society face even the most tough situations. If it dies, that is the danger greater than the greatest. Loss of hope is accompanied by loss of decency, and humanity. That brings nihilism to the core. The kind of situation developing, not just in Kashmir, but in the region, sometimes compels one to think this way. Though we hang on to the thread of hope, it seems to snaps again and again, generating a condition of despair. Unfortunately, the region is taken over by a sad series of events, and some unwanted processes. And on global level the politics is no indication of peaceful future. We are living continually under the shadow of a major catastrophe. Everything seems to be failing in such crisis. The case in the Indian subcontinent is particularity disturbing. From events at the level of domestic politics, to the actions of the institutions of the state, everything goes onto to suggest that we are fast heading towards some disaster. For the state of Jammu and Kashmir things are even more worrying as the pressure of all this finally travels to this place, ultimately faced by the people of this state. It is not just these past some years, it has actually been decades now. We are grappling with multiple sources of violence. One shock is followed by another, and then another. Killings, mourning, political challenges, constitutional complexities; all this a sad reminder of where waht our situation actually is. It goes on to suggest that we are living in dangerous times. As a society we are now so used to it that event after event we leave it behind only to presume that things would someday return to normal. This unending spiral of tragedy must not be the fate of a people. In this time of shock one can only pray, though in a lingered state of despair, may the wheel of justice and mercy move. What is needed at the level of political leadership, across countries, across ideologies, across national and sub-national divisions, is that human wellbeing is given centrality, and politics of extremes is shunned.