Silence, Oh People of Kashmir

POETRY FORMAT, 13 Apr 2020

Dr. M. Ashaq Raza – TRANSCEND Media Service

Silence oh! People of Kashmir

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

Politicians, lawyers, teachers, saints and sages

Traders, tourists, journalists and pilgrimages

Peasants, tenants, boatmen and fruit-sellers

Carpenters, blacksmiths, barbers and cobblers

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

Mothers, sisters, wives and aunts

Lovers, beloved, rubies and gallants

Fathers, brothers, husbands and sons

And oh crying, innocent new ones

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

Apple, almond, nuts, saffron and peas

Parrot, sparrow, nightingales and bees

Lotus, lily, rose and marigold

To all these, the gardener told

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

Fox, jackals, lions and bears

Cow, buffalo, horse and dears

Shrubs, herbs, flowers and thorns

And oh dear creeping earhworms

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

Gulmarg, Pehalgam, Tangmarg and Patnitop

Dal, Wulhar, Chashma Shahi and Nishat

Autumn, summer, spring and winters

Lingua franka and oh cute visitors

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

Sun, sky, moon and mountains

Rivers, valleys, deserts and plains

Villages, cities, jungles and towns

Noon, evenings, nights and dawns

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

Arts, science, sports and literature

Dying culture and idle agriculture

Mosque, temple, church and shrine

And oh others concerns of the divine

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

OIC, NATO, HRCs, United Nations and Amnesty

And the so-called comprehensive test ban treaty

Prithvi, Ghouri, launchers and mortar guns

And whispered the priding nuclear bombs

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

 

Murder, abduct, kidnap, torture and rape

Burning homes, edifice and the ransack

Cries of widows and orphans’ slaughters

And oh, weeping valley’s daughters

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

No claim, no blame, no court, no police station

Everywhere a jungle rule, everywhere war situation

Everyone a militant, everyone a messenger

Spared not even the common passenger

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

Indians said, we are pro-Pak militants

Pakistanis declared us as Indian agents

Raved the conscience, violence, violence

Interjected we of fool! Silence, silence

Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

 

A confusion, a dilemma on us, you imposed

Difficult to decide, who be supported or opposed

Afraid are we, from our own shadows

Shut the doors and close the windows

And Silence …………

It’s Indian Army, Silence

These’re pro-Pak militants, Silence

 

A Madrasi and an Afghani

Oh brothers of the Tyranny

Don’t hell our heaven

With thy stupid AK-47

You too have families

Mothers, sisters, wives and babies

If murdered, assaulted, kidnapped or gangraped

Humiliated, blood bathed, photographed, outraged

Tell then about your thought

And think why Kashmiris fought

Though, independence not a joke

But it’s impossible to revoke

Param-vir-chakra and Nishan-e-Haider

Given on genocide or human murder

Oh! Blind masters of the nuclear race

Hates the humanity, your ugly face

Oh foolish sons of one motherland

Don’t be so mad on a piece of land

Stop this massacre and bloodshed episodes

Let’s prevail peace, let linger heavenly abodes

Go back to you home

And let rest this doom

_______________________________________

The poem depicts the situation in Kashmir in early 1990s and does not necessarily reflect current opinion of Poet.

Dr. M. Ashaq Raza is a peace worker and human rights activist based in Jammu, India.


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