News Kashmir Magazine

Salute to Sikh community
RAMEEZ MAKHDOOMI

Amid the heartrending scenes of wars in Middle East from Iraq, Syria to Yemen and Libya and Rohingya carnage by Burmese authorities to the pain of Kashmir one has seen humanity getting butchered to core in recent times, leaving this world nearly a meaningless place to exist.
In the ongoing upheaval since past few days Kashmiris are facing threatened but one community that has healed humanity is Sikhs , From discounts to free coaching and medical treatment offers, Kashmiri Muslims are showering their affection on “Sikh brethren for their bravery.”
Across all the social media platforms, the Sikh community is being applauded for sheltering and helping Kashmiri Muslims under attack from mobs in different parts following the deadly Pulwama bombing on February 14 that left 40 CRPF men dead. The community of Sikhs rose above religion and caste, by setting up free kitchens and accommodation in Gurudwaras for Kashmiri students and general public, after their dwellings were pelted by stones and hundreds of vehicles set ablaze.
A local Kashmiri trader stuck in Jammu had stated , “The Sikhs have made it easy, like always. They make us believe that humanity exists. Our vehicles were set ablaze and stones are thrown on our rented rooms after the Pulwama attack ,we had no food, no accommodation, our Sikh brothers came forward and arranged langar, open Gurduwaras for us

Humanity voices may be in minority currently But as it is said Every cloud has a silver lining same has been the case here too with Khalsa aid and Sikh community at forefront in these places rendering a helping hand to humanity and rendering valuable services to those in dire needs irrespective of their colour, creed or religion.
The Khalsa Aid working on the Sikh principle of “Recognise the whole human race as one” has warmed the human hearts with its great work.
In Iraq Yazidi villages had been occupied by extremist fanatics , grown men in their community killed, and older women bussed away to empty land; they were considered useless. Since 2016, Khalsa Aid had seen trickles of Yazidi girls and young women have managed to flee their captors and return to the local community. But most return in the clothes the extremists forced them to dress in. Shopping for new clothes was the last thing they could imagine, let alone afford.
So, Khalsa Aid decided to act with an innovative approach: to give each one a budget to pick exactly the outfits they wanted, after months or years of violent brutal oppression. “We wanted to give the girls the freedom of choosing the clothes themselves” – Kanwar, Khalsa Aid project coordinator had stated . Each trip also offers a social outlet for a group with whom psychological trauma is rife.
Be it Kashmir or Iraq, Yemen or Burma the Sikh community and Khalsa Aid have risen to the occasion to heal the wounds of suffering humanity . As a Kashmiri we are all indebted to the efforts put in by the Sikh community in ensuring the safe return of people of kashmir to their native land amid all challenges .

Make Pacification not conflagration
Showkat Ahmad Dar

“”War does not determine who is right -Only who is left””…..
Look around you. Observe the Globe you are Functioning in.
Can you feel the Pulsation of a thousand despondent hearts?
Can you discern the Trepidation for tomorrow in the looks of
people? Can you envisage the Yells of a thousand mothers
who are losing their children each day?
Now ask yourself, is this the place where you always wanted
to live? Is this the place where each child expects to grow up
when they open their impeccable eyes and see the world for
the first time? Are you able to look in the eyes of those
children without the feeling of penitence for this reality full of
evil, which they have to face? Is this what we have prepared
for them throughout centuries and years? We cannot deny the
simple truth that we were the ones who have been constantly
shaping this reality. But another simple truth is that it is not too
late to change something. We can make this world a better
place if we try. So why not to create good instead of evil? Why
not to make peace instead of war? Why not to spread love and
compassion instead of hate and arrogance? No one is born
with evil within. We are born, filled with love towards everyone
and everything around us. But instead of just following our
hearts full of light, we keep feeding ourselves with darkness
over and over again. When did we stop to judge people by
their personality and started to consider the color of their
skin? What urged us to acknowledge someone as an enemy
just because of the place they were born in? Isn’t Earth the
only place all of us were born in? Are the borders that
someone has drawn on the map powerful enough to build in
our souls the borders of prejudice, alienating us from each
other? Yes, they are! As long as we let them be. As long as we
teach our children to let them be powerful enough. When the
world and this life are nearly destroyed by the evil and hate we
spread, we would hardly care about the power we have
towards others. We would hardly care about the God others
are praying for, as long as those prayers can give us a hap to
survive. So why won’t we stop caring about it right now, at this
very moment? Why won’t we start making this world an out
shine place by creating peace and commiseration? And finally,
why won’t we earn the right to look at our children’s eyes with
the feeling of pride for the world we have built for them? Think
about these questions and, no doubt, you will find the
answers. Because the answers to those catechizes are
entombed deep inside each one of us. And we will find out
those answers as soon as we disband the dust of noxious and
distaste from our hearts…
“The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war”.

Showkat Ahmad Dar from Handwara is civil services aspirant with four post graduation to his credit.