It is a tragedy for Kashmiri youths that almost everyday they are targeted by either militants or security forces unmindful of their background. Not only this, many Muslim young girls were abducted and raped.
I am writing this article according to the statistics which shows the Kashmiri conflict has ‘approximately’ claimed 200,000 deaths of Kashmiris. What makes me even more worried is that the government has not kept an accurate record of the deaths and therefore, these numbers are just ‘approximate’.
It is understood that these numbers could be +/- 1000 lives, may be +/- 10,000 lives; no confirmation as the government did not feel it necessary to be bothered about keeping accurate records of this trivial detail of the conflict.
If we take the incidents that took place in Hyderabad i.e. bomb blasts in Makkah Masjid in 2007 and before that serial bomb blasts in Gokul Chaat and Lumbini Park into account, it could be said that in those days many Muslim youths were arrested for no fault of theirs and the pain they underwent after that, could be dexscribed by them only.
They were being labeled as traitors and subjected to third degree in cells. However, the Siasat Daily could not be a silent spectator and started its campaign to get all the arrested youths released as early as possible.
This battle was joined many activists who were associated with human rights organizations such as M/s Harsh Mandar, Shabnam Hashmi, Teesta Stelvad, Amrish Mishra, Dr. Rehana Sultana, Anuradha, Rama Malkote, Nirmala Gopalkrishnan, Suresh Khernar, Lateef Mohd. Khan, Major S G M Quadri and others. By their untiring efforts, all the arrested youths proved innocent and got released.
Moreover, some Muslim advocates of the city, by showing immense courage, fought the cases of these Muslim youths. Not only this, a case was filed in the court where Rs. 20 lakh each was claimed for the innocent youths for their rehabilitation. This is how M/s Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, managing director, Siasat, Teesta Stelvad, Harsh Mandar, Raheem Qureishi, president All India Majlis-e-Tamir-e- Millat were instrumental in doing so.
One more name is eminent in this long list and that is Junaid’s father Md. Fayyaz Khan who encouraged the youths to fight till they get justice and always be in the battle from the front.
Though all the youths are proved not guilty but the government is yet to tender it apology so far. The lesson of this story is to be learnt by Kashmiri youths by taking some hints from the Hyderabadis.
If they follow suit, it is still possible that the innocence of Kashmiri youths would also be proved. If the role played by Siasat in Hyderabad to assemble all the like minded people on a single platform in order to prove the arrested Muslim youths not guilty, can’t this role be played there in Kashmir by its leading newspaper ‘Aftaab’?
It doesn’t mean that I am trying to put words into its mouth, it’s a suggestion because media has a very strong lobby in India and the pressure of the media melts down the mountains, leave alone the bureaucracy. Any taker?