The abandoned ‘Kashmiriyat’

BY MIR AALIYA MANZOOR

Let’s not deny the truth we know that Kashmir has always been in the limelight of our country, be it in political, cultural, religious or the economical frames of reference.

The word, ‘Kashmir’, basically derived from a Sanskrit word ‘Kashmira’, which refers to the land desiccated from water. Water, one such vital thing that promises necessary existence of all that exist and may in future. Water, which is transparent, odourless, and of which approximately 70% of earth’s surface is covered with, of which approximately 60% of human body is composed of, and what not.

Water, although delicate yet truly resilient and powerful enough to tear down an extensively enormous mountain. That existing entity which knows no boundaries, no hindrances, no signs and symbols and so forms its own way to pass and tackle every single rock that comes its way. We, the Kashmiris, we were meant to preserve all such attributes that give us a recognition. We were supposed to flourish and excel in highly innovative ways, apart from all the curbs and brakes.

Though, one can never probably sum up the characteristics that we were supposed to carry throughout, yet the word Kashmiriyat brings forward the very sensational essence of being a true human.

To have a quick glance at our ancestral generations, we find simplicity, bravery, poetry, innocence, skilfulness, sophistry, empathy, contentment, tranquillity, morality, ethics, politeness, piousness and wholesomeness, which ultimately becomes a synopsis of HUMANITY in real.

The modesty that prevailed back then had a divine light within that radiated every soul and conceived the grace. How come do we forget that it is also called as ‘Pir Vaer’-a valley of Pirs (or saints). The concept of Sufism that is now entertained globally had its origin from our valley.

The handworks, be it on garments or the skills of making ‘kangri’ in order to defeat chills, still gives me a sense of distinctive thoughtfulness and originality. There was decency in the eyes, gratitude in hearts, remembrance of Allah on lips, mindfulness in brains and radiance on the skin. Where did all of that go?

With the influence of westernization or the western revolution, we gave upon our traits or the courtesy, or you name it. At present, if we look at our current scenario, all we collect is drug addiction, scams, corruption, insurrection, robbery, molestations, humility, vulgarity, and what not. In every way, we have forgotten the essence of having Kashmiriyat inside, to be natural, sensitive and empathetic. Marriages no longer last forever, divorces are common, besides lavish weddings customary. Among all above, drug addiction and molestations top the list.

There are definitely causes like unemployment, failures, abuses and many more to all this but one can never justify the tackling of rough side of life using deadly techniques. Life is never meant to be a cushiony bed, we ought to lift ourselves with realistic measures when we hit the rock bottom. We are more caught up in gathering than sharing.

No wonder that the literacy rate is increasing, yet the biggest scams and corruption are already abundant over here. The more knowledgeable people are getting, the more they tend to wrongdoings. Well, I am not generalizing the things but it’s just that in most of the cases, we find the corruption done by people at top positions.

Besides that, with the impact of technology, we tend to misuse the gadgets. What was created to make lives easy is now the reason that people are trapped in punishing situations. Yeah, the smartphone. Indeed, it is an asset, but the overuse of mobile phones by children as well as youth is leading to an unbearable outcome.

If in a more appropriate way, I would say that the right use of mobile phone at the right time in a right proportion is what it was meant to be. Meanwhile, the non-finishing queue of social media is extensively magnetic that children hardly find focussed when left without it. Parents need to invest more in such a challenging environment to keep children safe and healthy.

Molestations, rapes and innocent killings are also getting common day-by-day, and this actually is an alarming situation for what we are heading to. I believe, our educational systems need to introduce literature that impacts on the ability of a child to step on the right track, which no other book can do but the learnings of Quran.

Schools tend to focus more on materialism rather than moral and ethical values. I feel the requirement of high emotional intelligence to be developed in children from young age so that they actually become righteous in life. There is the need of balancing of moral and ethical values equally with the modernization.

The change in our behaviour is quite observable. We hardly interact with our neighbours. How often do we celebrate each other’s success? How often do we get to check on needy ones? How often do we stand for the right? How often do we prioritize morality over materialism? I guess, we rarely do. Well, these are few special instances, we diplomatically walk on many without even recognizing them.

One more important fact that the mother tongue which is being forgotten is our biggest concern. Parents at present are more concerned in feeding their kids with English language, which gradually buries our own precious mother tongue. We ought to safeguard our legacy else we are gonna finish.

I believe, the true ideology behind the word Kashmiriyat is generosity, sincerity and tenderness. It teaches us to live for others, to spread love, to offer a helping hand, and to survive the worst.

As I started with the characteristics of water, means we belong to that portion of land that descended out from water. So in order to do some justice to our patrimony, we essentially get to push ourselves towards philanthropy and humanitarianism.

It is totally our responsibility to maintain the dignity and do some justice to our heritage. Can we join hands and make sure not to offend our Kashmiriyat? Let’s bring out our true humanity and respect our people, and make lives easy for one another. Let’s stay like water, transparent, delicate, yet powerful.

Author is research scholar, Mathematics, LPU Punjab. She can be reached at: miraaliya212@gmail.com

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.

The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.