Secularism shredded in Kashmir Valley

By Chitranjan Sawant

RAJNEESH SHARMA of Jammu and Ameena of Srinagar fell in love in the paradise on earth. They did not realise that the heaven would turn into hell for them if they stood firm in their resolve to wed.

Their love affair and courtship lasted for more than five years and the families of both the boy and the girl knew what was in the offing. So far so good. Both the man and the woman were adults and in the eye of law were competent to make a decision on a subject that affected their lives. They chose to get married.
 
One may wonder how they met and how did the love last for almost half a decade in the not so friendly environment of the Kashmir valley. Well, Rajneesh used to go to the Kashmir valley year after year on the holy pilgrimage to the cave of Lord Amarnath. That is where he met Ameena and they fell in love.
 
When the 25 year old, educated Ameena disclosed her desire to convert to the Hindu Dharma and marry her beau, hell broke loose in the Muslim society and opposition to the wedding became an Islamic issue. The girl eloped to Jammu.
 
Rajneesh and Ameena went to the Arya Samaj, Jammu and declared their intention to tie the knot. On conversion to the Vedic Dharma, Ameena became Aanchal and along with Rajneesh performed the havan, walked seven steps together in Saptpadi and took the vow to be together in life and death as husband and wife. Rajneesh’s father and the entire Sharma family along with friends, relatives and neighbourhood celebrated the Vedic wedding with feast, fun and frolic that it merited.
 
Back in Srinagar, Ameena’s father lodged an FIR with the Kashmir police that his minor daughter had been kidnapped by Rajneesh and forced to marry him. The complaint was against facts of the case. However, the communal overtones swayed the course of action and the Srinagar police went to Jammu and arrested Rajneesh.
 
They brought him to Srinagar, tortured him endlessly for days and beat him black and blue for no fault of his. The bride, Ameena, in Jammu supported her husband through thick and thin but it did not cut ice with the pre-conceived notions of authorities in Srinagar. Ameena’s brother turned out to be the villain of the piece, till Rajneesh died of wounds inflicted on him. Here was a case of custodial death.
 
When Rajneesh’s dead body was brought to Jammu, the news of his torture and custodial death spread like wild fire. Jammu city was on fire. The anger of the people burst out and the crowd thrashed senior administrative and police officers for the out and out partisan attitude of the administration. Now the people’s demand is: Order a CBI enquiry into the circumstances leading to the custodial death. The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered a magisterial probe but, everyone considers it an eyewash.
 
Surprisingly, the government leaders have not yet faced the people with a word of solace to comfort the grieving family. Neither the chief minister, leaders of opposition and others in the Kashmir valley have stepped forward. The story is different in Jammu, where the issue may assume political overtones. The communal divide is complete and secularism has been shredded by leaders, who profess it in public, but not in private.
 
The need of the hour is to take an impartial course of action and allow a central agency to investigate so that the guilty are brought to book. The law of the land should be allowed to take its own course.

Responses