Aniqa Farooqi
From centuries Kashmir is known for its scenic and mesmerising beauty which has left people from all walks of life spell bound. It is considered as one of the most attractive tourist destinations. Kashmir is also called the paradise on earth and is known for its snow clad mountains, green meadows, its mighty chinars, mughal gardens, and shrines of sufi saints. Kashmir has always proved to be a symbol of simplicity, beauty and pride.
But wait! Are these symbols a true representation of our state or are they a mere illusion. Well I think a mere illusion from past two decades we have been living under portentous situations. Be it the killings of our innocent youth, or be it the unpredictable curfews and crackdowns. All these obnoxious conditions have left deep scars in our minds and have made us emotionally, physically and psychologically contorted. Most of us have either been the survivors or the sufferers of these unpleasant situations as it has brought everyone under its dark shade.
But has someone ever thought of the gruesome effect of this conflict on children, I guess no. Childhood is considered as one of the most beautiful and precious phase in our life but in this lost paradise we have many stories of lost childhood.
Children all over the world enjoy their childhood to its fullest but here the story is different. Our children are mentally as well as emotionally disturbed because of the conflict they have witnessed. May be their concepts about the happenings in the past years are not clear but throughout they have been the worst victims at the hands of the conflict. The colours, the charm, and the liveliness that this beautiful phase of childhood carries with itself have all faded for our children.
Because of the unpleasant situations in the past we are still not fully developed and thus do not have much avenues for our children. They still have to wait for better opportunities to come in future as we don’t have a proper infrastructure for them in any field be it education or sports or any other activilty.
Thus,making them a group of couch potatoes.
They also lack exposure because we don’t poses well-developed platforms to nurture their talents and bring them under the spotlight thus keeping them and their talents confined to the state level only.
Because of our brutal past our children are still suffering. Although they belong to the 21st century but the kind of atmosphere that they are provided with is really not enough for their overall development. The circumstances under which they are being brought up will never let them forget of the conflict and its incurable wounds.
So it’s high time that we start thinking about the future of our children by providing them better opportunities in the years to come and making them efficient enough to deal with their psychological turmoil that they have been suffering because of the past experiences of violence and help them find their lost souls of childhood in this lost paradise.
Author can be reached at: aniqafarooqi95@gmail.com