KASHMIR: AZADI CAN WAIT- ARRESTING SOCIAL DEGENERATION CAN’T!
For long we have been told that all the ills which presently plague our society are the result of a ‘deep rooted conspiracy’ hatched by New Delhi against the people of Kashmir. The problem with those who tell us this is that they are so over obsessed with their sole quest for ‘azadi’ that they seem to have no inclination towards addressing the social and cultural ills which have permeated into our society. On the contrary, it appears that they probably find it more advantageous to let things be as they are so that they can capitalise on the same by coining emotive phrases to ‘expose’ New Delhi’s wily schemes against the Kashmiris like “cultural aggression” and “mutilating the Muslim identity” or the oft heard “conspiracy to alter demographic composition!”
Though most people are aware that militancy results in death, physical abuse and suffering for the common man, few realise the enormity of the psychological trauma which militancy spawns and the adverse effect it has on the human mind, giving rise to serious mental ailments like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Not many are aware that while scars of physical violence may heal with time, those which are psychological in nature can only be cured through specialised and prolonged medical attention with sustained support from the community. And fewer still realise the monumental threat which psychological ailments pose to our social order and cultural values.
The estimated number of people suffering from psychological disorders in J&K is alarming. In an well researched and illuminating article titled ‘Psychological Trauma- the Kashmir Scenario’, Dr Rita Pal, has cited Mustaq Margoob’s research paper published in the JK Practitioner in 2006 in which he had stated that the “nature of Kashmir conflict – sustained, unpredictable violence over a long period – has had a particularly bad effect on mental health in the region.” Dr Pal’s own research has revealed the enormity of the problem which can be gauged from the following:
· In 1989, the number of patients who visited the Government Psychiatric Hospital was 1700. However, in the year 2008 this figure reached approximately one lakh.
· A study conducted at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences revealed that by October 2011, approximately 55% of Kashmir’s population suffered from various psychiatric disorders and about 58% of the population had been through mental trauma which resulted in about 8,00,000 individuals suffering from PTSD.
· Sri Maharaja Hari Hospital in Srinagar, receives 150-200 patients per day, with the majority being young boys and girls.
· Research conducted in Kashmir orphanages showed that over 40% of all orphans between the ages of 5 -12 years suffered from PTSD.
· Psychiatric Diseases Hospital data shows that 15% of women suffer from stress and prolonged trauma and women account for 70 to 80% of the cases of acute depression, with 16% of them suffering from PTSD.
As a result of widespread psychological disorders, negative social trends are on the rise. Amongst the most worrisome are:
· Drug abuse, which according to a report published in DNA on 25 June 2010, quoted a study conducted by the United Nations Drug Control Programme in 2008 which reveals that there are approximately 70,000 drug addicts in Kashmir with 4,000 of them being women. The survey has also revealed that 65 to70% of college students were involved with drugs with a large proportion being females. 70% of the addicts are aged 18-35. In 2008, there were an estimated 2,00,000 opiate addicts in the Indian state of Kashmir.
· Domestic violence, marital discord and crimes against women are increasing at an alarming rate. According to an ANI report of 23 July 2012, data compiled by the Jammu and Kashmir Police Crime Branch reveals that in the past two years, 4066 cases of crimes against women have been registered. This includes 1797 cases of molestation, 187 rape cases, 1 gang rape, 1279 cases of kidnapping and abduction, 426 eve teasing cases, one case of dowry death, 177 cases of cruelty at the hands of husbands, 4 cases under Dowry Restraints Prohibition Act and 2 cases of suppression of immoral trafficking.
· Suicides are also on the rise and this is a matter of grave concern. According to a recently published newspaper report, the Sher-i- Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences had recorded 248 suicides in 2010 and this number swelled to over 1000 in 2011. In August this year alone, there were 20 cases of suicides and out of these 15 were females, mostly teenagers.
· AIDS too has raised its ugly face in Kashmir. Though officially J&K has 1812 detected HIV positive cases, doctors fear that the actual numbers may be far greater. According to project director of JKAPCS. Dr. Munir Masoodi, Head of Social and Preventive Medicine (SPM) department in Government Medical College Srinagar, “Three cases of HIV were reported from a professional college of Srinagar and two cases from an elite private school.” If the revelation that HIV positive cases have been detected in schools and colleges is disturbing, then the fact that school children who tested positive were in the tender age group of 14 -15, is indeed shocking! Another worrying trend is that the spread of HIV is now indigenous. According to Dr Salim Khan of Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at GMC Srinagar, “Earlier most of the cases used to be those people who had visited outside or had contact with outsiders in Kashmir, but now virus is very much in Kashmiri society and it is spreading.”
· Religious intolerance too is showing an increasing trend with recurring cases of desecration of the holy Quran and places of worship. The abortive attempt on the life of Peer Jalal-ud-din, a renowned religious personality, an assassination plot to kill Moulana Abdul Rashid Dawoodi Sahib unearthed by the police and the recent sectarian clash in Ganderbal which left one dead is an ominous signal reminding us that all is not well within our society!
Today, our very social order is on the verge of collapsing and the need of the hour is to institute remedial measures before it is too late. And it is here that Mirwaiz Umar Farookh deserves praise for convening a special session of Mutahida Majlis-i-Ulema to discuss this problem. During this meeting which was attended by prominent ulemas and imams of Kashmir, the Mirwaiz expressing his anguish said that, “In Kashmir, the situation has assumed a highly disturbing import. Apart from sectarian activism, our younger generation is exposed to several dangers, including waywardness, drug addiction, conversions, alcoholism and other social evils, which calls for an urgent response to save the youth.” That the Mirwaiz has accorded this critical issue the seriousness it deserves is indeed a very heartening development.
But the Mirwaiz alone can’t combat the host of unaddressed evils which have attacked our society. Leaders from all walks of life, irrespective of their ideological convictions, need to whole heartedly support the Mirwaz’s initiative as it is a genuine effort to emancipate our society which is afflicted with a life threatening malaise of multiple ills. There is no point in lamenting about the sorry state of affairs, blaming New Delhi for the same and thereafter conveniently forgetting about it. The struggle for the ‘right to self determination’ is no doubt to better the lot of the people, but it cannot be at the cost of social and cultural values. After all, what is the use of ‘azadi’, ‘autonomy’, ‘self rule’ or ‘merger’, if the people who are to ultimately benefit from it fail to appreciate the social and cultural rewards of the same since they are no more a civilized and cultured society?
niloofar.qureshi@yahoo.com
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