Was the second Monday of December any different? Or did it have something new to offer? Well not for me, and I believe not for the millions of fellow Kashmiris, who live in Kashmir or like me, outside of it.
Most of us showed no shock, no surprise, just a little ‘I told you so’ or ‘what else did you expect?’ Because this is what was expected, nothing better, nothing newer.
Our homes were not chained this time. We were free to lodge protests. Did we take out grand protests? We did not.
But does it mean we have reconciled collectively? Are we reconciled to the fact that we no longer have a say in things that define our political future? Reconciled that we have lost our voice and our voice does not matter, that we have no representation in the world’s largest democracy? We certainly have reconciled to the fact that for the last four and half years, our downgraded erstwhile state and now a Union territory has had no elected assembly.
We are reconciled to the fact that the last elections happened in Jammu and Kashmir nearly a decade ago. This is the longest ever stretch. The last time it happened was at the peak of militancy, when 1987’s famously rigged elections were followed in 1996.
We are reconciled to the fact that we may not see a functional democracy in many more years to come. We are reconciled to the fact that people can lose their jobs on mere charges of abetment of terrorism, stone pelting or any other family member being involved – even though the charges would not be strong enough to try them in courts of law. Social media posts can open the doors to jail.
We are reconciled to the fact that every voice raised is ‘treachery’, every right asserted is ‘anti-national’.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here .
