Dheeraj Kalgutkar

वो जो हरा भरा है वो जहां झील है तालाब है साफ़ पानी है, स्वच्छ नदी है पशु है, पेड़ है, इन्सान भी है वह कश्मीर है वह शांत है, वह नॉर्मल है कश्मीरी खुश है वे खुश है ये जानेबगैर कि ख़ुशी की बात क्या है। उनके न फोन चल रहे है ना वाट्सेप है, ना इन्टरनेट पर वे खुश है वे अपने परिवारवालों से बात नहीं कर पा रहे हैं वे ईद की रोज अपनों से गले नहीं मिल पा रहे है पर वे खुश है। उन्होंने अपने दरवाज़े बंद रखे है वे शायद हम से बात करना नहीं चाहते उन्होंने अपने घर के सामने सेक्यूरिटी लगाया है हर दस कश्मीरियों के लिए एक टीप-टाप कपड़े पहने बंदूकधारी है जो हर तरफ निगरानी रखे हुए हैं वे रोकते है हमे कश्मीरियों से बात करने से वे टोकते है उनके पोस्ट है हर पचास कदम पे वे बताते है आपको कौनसा रस्ता लेना है बिना आपसे पूछे कि आपको कहा जाना है गुलमर्ग कभी दायें आता है तो कभी बाये अस्पताल में एक छोटी लड़की आयी है उसके आँखों पर अभी पट्टी बंधी हुई है न जाने क्यूँ उसने अपने ही आँखों में पत्थर डाल लिए है बाकी कश्मीर में शांति है टीवीवाले कह रहे है अब कश्मीर उनका है किनका है? उनका है। वे कह रहे है कि अब वह यहां अपनी ज...

Yesterday, Indian Parliament headed by BJP which enjoys brute majority declared Article 370 which gave Kashmir special status in Indian union revoked, it bifurcated the Jammu and Kashmir state into two parts, and it also declared both the parts as Union Territories. The reason why they did this is one part of a debatable story; the manner in which they executed this is another. Kashmir was never a federal state like others. It was and continuous to be a military occupation (with increased troops now, one gunman to 10 civilians). But now it has lost even the facade of being an independent state. And we are told Kashmiris are real people. If they are real people like mainland Indians, why does military occupy civilian spaces there? When are we scrapping AFSPA? You have numbers now. You can do anything. Democracy, those who have read would know isn’t about numbers but doing what is right even when what you want to achieve is wrong in the eyes of the majority. It i...

Can I ask you something? Will you listen to me without any prejudice or malice or a quick label for me? Will you? I'm feared where we are heading. Are you? Just tell me what sort of protests are allowed? What pranks are allowed? Can I make fun of the ruling class? I ask this for I'm feared and worried. If a student leader in JNU can be arrested, I too can and you too. Everyone one of us is potentially at risk. Do you realize this? Do you realize where we are heading? Do you know what differentiates a India from Pakistan or Arab countries? Is whats happening today point to that difference or are we becoming one of them? Everyday someone or the other comes with, if you had done/said it there, they would have done like that! Now, have we scooped such low to compare ourselves with them? Are they our yardsticks now? I'm worried. I'm worried for you and me. I'm worried for this nation of ours! Leave everything aside, think. Think what is going wrong. JNU has always b...