Khalna
/ (ख़लना) /
Verb
Meaning:
Getting irritated
The Following is the timeline of a
standard Natural disaster in any part of India over the past so many years.
A
major Natural calamity à Floods/Landslides/Earthquakes in the
whole area à People caught in the waters/Land à Livestock dead; increase in the no. of
human casualties à Failure of local administration
despite Multiple warnings à Army relief sent à Safety of the tourists ensured first à Appeal for philanthropy from the
population à Few Voluntary donations à NGOs’ assistance à Emotional Outbursts à Water receding/ Stoppage of the
earthquake à People saved à Announcement of cash ‘prizes’
for the families of the deceased à Start of the rehabilitation program
for another few months. à Things back to normal.
Whereas the following is the timeline of the
recent Kashmir floods over the past two weeks. (Note that this also involves
participation from people of all religions/states/creeds working tirelessly from
behind their computer screens to contribute just filth).
A
major flood after 60 years à People
caught in the waters à Livestock dead; increase in the no. of
human casualties à Failure of local administration
despite Multiple warnings à Army relief sent à Glorification of the army by the media à Criticism of the army by the locals à Criticism of the Indian media by
Fanatics on one side à Criticism of the Fanatics on one side
by Fanatics on the other side à Glorification of Locals by other
Locals à Criticism of the other Locals by some
other Locals à Hate Messages from one side à Hate messages from the other side à Safety of the tourists ensured first à This spread by some as being a step to
deliberately sabotage Kashmir à Rumours flowing even more than the
waters of the flood à Blaming
India à Blaming Pakistan à Blaming the
Abdullahs à Blaming Modi à Blaming
Gilani à Innumerable Political Statements à Appeal
for philanthropy from the population à Wave of Unity à Voluntary Donations from all over
the world in both cash and kindà NGOs’
assistance à Water receding à Emotional Outbursts à People saved à Announcement of cash ‘prizes’ for the families of the deceased à Start of the rehabilitation
programme for another few months. à Things back to normal.
The Qur'an describes the Day of
Judgement/Resurrection (Qayamat) as follows:
'When
the Deafening Blast comes, that Day a man will flee from his brother and his
mother and his father, and his wife and his children: on that Day every man
among them will have concerns enough of his own.' The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 80,
Verses 33-37
Pretty
much spot on, I guess. This tragedy although was nowhere close, but the reaction of
the people involved was. The flood was a severe one. One of the worst in
Kashmir’s history. Not severity wise maybe, as we’ve had worse ones during the
Tsunami or the Uttarkashi floods etc. But the damage caused by the
unpreparedness of the authorities converted it into one of the most damaging
disasters of the decade. This could’ve been and was being dealt like every
other calamity. But then, the state of Jammu & Kashmir is a superstar. Like
Shah Rukh Khan, or maybe Narendra Modi. Love it or Hate it, but you cannot
ignore it. Each and every Indian/Pakistani has an opinion regardless of knowing
any fact. The ones who continuously suffer are the common people who’ve had
enough and are tired of this stardom which the higher authorities enjoy at
their expense. Throughout these few days, I think I’ve seen it all. The level
to which the people can stoop to spread hatred and negativity instead of
lending helping hands is appalling. The journalism throughout this incident has
seen so many shades of yellow that even Rakhi Sawant or KRK can be put to
shame.
But, when all
hope was destroyed; from the ashes, rose the phoenix in the form of the good
Samaritans. The Kashmiris from all over the world, came together to save their
motherland from the wrath of the floods and the fiends. From the clutches of
extreme evil, forces of even greater good have emerged and spread calm all
around. For every single person who has continuously exploited the hapless
locals for monetary gains, there have been at least 2 heroes as well. The army?
To a great extent, Yes. The locals? Definitely, as they were the ones who
coordinated the relief work in different areas. But the real paragons of virtue
were the countless people working behind the scenes to stop the madness from
spreading. My classmate, who single-handedly organised the collection drive
among 1000s of people even though his family was safe; the people in my hostel
who had no contact with their families stuck in the worst affected areas for 5
days, but who were still able to provide neutral and pragmatic inputs devoid of
hatred; the bunch of girls in my class who had no relation whatsoever with the
incident, but still donated insane amounts in cash and kind; the organisations
which volunteered and successfully transported the relief when the govt. failed;
and the Indigo Airlines who allowed 1000s of kgs of cargo to be sent to Kashmir
for free. – these were the real not-wanting-to-be-labelled heroes who were just
concerned about Human Life; and not Human Type.
The Water level is now under control
and rehabilitation might start in two weeks. So, the last two steps in the
timeline above will take some time. But believe me, the end result will be the
same. The situation over there unfortunately, will neither progress nor
regress. Lovers will love, haters will hate; all with the same intensity. The
John/Jane Doe will have lost a lot, and will have to start all over again, but
no one will care. Perhaps, the only thing we can do here is put all of this
behind us, help people move on with their lives, and hope that Kashmir rises
again, to be the heaven again, which it is always supposed to be.
P.S.
- Meanwhile in another world, the DUSU (Delhi University Student Union)
elections were held with pomp and fervour. As usual, a stunning victory was recorded
by #Seriously_no_one_cares.
