Kashmir’s success needs to be seen on larger canvas

Basit Bilal Khan. This young boy hailing from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district has achieved an extraordinary feat –  he scored 96 percent in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test. This extraordinary accomplishment becomes more extraordinary given the circumstances and surroundings of present day Kashmir where air is thick with tensions; some known and others unknown. These are uncertain times, to say the least. This uncertainty has been an accompanying phenomenon of the day-to-day lives of the people in Kashmir for over decades.

In these critical times, Basit’s hard work and the will to do something and deliver on that should send a message not only to his age-group within the Valley but also outside Kashmir, that the young boys and girls here have a unique inbuilt capacity to fight odds and break the stereotype image through which they are seen. Basit has broken his silence with his achievement, and there are many, many more, who have similar dreams.

   

To sum up his achievement as that of one individual’s feat is a very narrow picture on the canvas. Individual accomplishments also speak of the greater will to transform the landscape. That makes his achievement more extraordinary.

He, and many others, could have performed still better had the atmosphere been different from what it is in Kashmir today. The people outside the Valley, especially those who have developed a fixed image of Kashmir, in particular of south Kashmir, have no clue what the life is here, and what are the hardships that dot the place and trouble the people.

Kashmir is struggling with an image problem. There is a permanent fixture in the minds of many people across the country about Kashmir and its residents. That blurs their view about the inner beauty and values that have nourished sons and daughters of the soil. Basit is also son of the soil and he cannot be taken out of the frame as a stand alone case. He is to be recognized, not only as Basit Bilal Khan as an individual but as a representative of Kashmiri youth who value the familial love and bonds.  Their energies are devoted to constructive narrative. He is not alone. That is the real essence of the whole achievement of Basit that whole of Kashmir owned instantly. Those with a sense of understanding of Kashmir and its aspirational class can appreciate it better.

There are two striking things about Basit as I read about his profile and the words, which sounded quite natural, in Greater Kashmir, on Saturday (October 17, 2020) edition. He gave “credit to his success to Allah.” That means that it was Allah’s wish that he should succeed with his books, notebooks, pen and the goal he had set for himself. Kashmiri youth have constructive goals that are blessed by the Almighty.

Allah is supreme power in the universe. The power that guides the world that inspires good and pious lives. Allah’s blessings are for the success in life of the people. As they say “Allah’s blessings are permanent. Allah blesses those who have faith and pray for his blessings for the constructive purposes in life.

Second, he gave credit to his parents.  That, again, is what all religions tell children, to obey and respect their parents. All parents are well-wishers of their children. They pray for long life and success of their children, and children, in turn are obligated to respect their parents.

These values hold much more importance in Kashmir of today that is troubled and tormented by several things. This young boy has signified that the sufferings can be mitigated by the signatures of success. The success has a meaning, and it is vibrant and life giver and server, provided right path is chosen.

This is Kashmir’s story where the young boys and girls are writing their own future in keeping with their tradition of setting new benchmarks of success, despite all difficulties they have the urges and aspirations like the true competitors to excel.

More importantly, they are saying that Kashmir is a conflict zone, but everything is not all about the conflict here. The conflict has its own dimensions and this is not the time and space to discuss all this.

But it is an undeniable reality that the children of Kashmir are products of the tension-filled atmosphere. However, their success should make the country and the rest of the world look at them with different prism where the conflict zone children make genuine investment in the career-building, and that could become the mainstream theme provided the Kashmiri youth are given the right kind of opportunities. They are grappling with the excruciating pain of struggling for the 4 G internet speed. That can widen the arena of success.

The Indian nation needs to own Jammu and Kashmir in the similar manner as it does in the case of other parts of the country. This approach will yield gains to the country. If there are cries of the wounded souls, there are joys of the successful young boys and girls, too. These successes impulsively shape a narrative that helps Kashmir build a different and positive image. That is in the interest of the country as well. Course-correction is always a good thing

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