Danish Iqbal There is a hole rather a bloody hole or let me speak more modestly, a cruel hole or a deathly opening which constantly throttles our happiness by draining it through itself. Such desperation we are having for joy that we fumble with happy creatures living in our Kashmir. We are off our spring, far away from bright sun light, lying in some forgotten world, where we have been decaying for our whole lives. A world which has been strangulated, kept hanging on noose, left to ooze blood out, forgotten to wither, supposed to burn up in long flames is what Kashmir is all about. At times, we wonder at all if we are really living or just dreaming in oblivion, just catering the formal stalwarts of the system or just reanimating our broken pieces to start a new life. Mr. Javed Shabnum, a trained hakim belonging to far flung area of ‘Kaapran’ Shopian, Kashmir has migrated to Srinagar(Capital City of Kashmir) in late 90s. He has a family of two wives and four children. Two daughters and a son from first wife and only one daughter Romana from the second wife. Like many others he did the migration for better facilities in city like good education and jobs but little did he know the city life would caught him to pay brutally. The hot, vulgar and smelly atmosphere of Srinagar will tyrannize his life forever not long after his settlement in uptown Bagh-i-Mehtab area but just ten years after, in may 2009. A tragedy which will catch him in between the death and life and option lies up to him what he chooses. Among two elder daughters Rahila and Rayeesa, Romana is the youngest and has a step sororal relation with them. Romana has also an elder step brother. Instead of this step-step fiasco they live in much healthy, lovely and caring atmosphere. Romana has born on 4th July 1991. In Srinagar, She is finding life very amazing. She has joined Convent School and involved in making her joyous school years. She is a ray of hope for her mother, whose only daughter she is. Finally one day, she does her matriculation and now is studying in class XI. She is a devout Muslim girl who offers five times Salah and is staunch believer of God. Often she prays to God about her well being of her parents and her bright future. But destiny has something else in store for her. In May 2009 she is crushed to death by two bloody gangsters on rejecting their relationship proposal. These two gangsters were later identified as Shoaib Daryeel of Nowhatta and Ubaid Ahmed Khan of Bulbagh, Barzullah. And so with her death, she shatters down the life of her parents forever and ever. In 2009, this murder case grabbed headlines for few days but then it was forgotten like hundreds of other such cases. At that time, only Srnagar Police chief Syed Aehfadul Mujtaba actively worked out this case. Although after two days her killers themselves came to police sadder Baghat, Srinagar as to show an act of heroism and then they were caught there. Now today after her four years, I visited her home located in Bagh-i- Mehatb, 4 Kilometers away from capital of Kashmir valley, Srinagar. Bagh-i- Mehatab is named after its owner Mehtab Singh, who was an Army officer in Kashmir during Dogra rule and whose garden it was. When I entered their home, an aged women waddled up and asked, ‘For what you have come?’, ‘I have came to see Hakim Sahab, I have to talk with him about Romana’, I answered. A wave of pain entered through this woman on hearing the name of Romana. Although she allowed me to go inside and stumbled out in Kashmiri, ‘Aasi sith govna saetha zulum’ (We have suffered most brutal injustice). I walked through their corridor and sat on a carpet on their floor and Hakim Sahab Came with his second wife(Romana’s mother). Then the silence followed and Romana’s mother Nayeema, narrated to me the whole story amidst sobs trembling down across her cheeks. It was 3rd May 2009 and as usual she had to leave home for private tuitions situated at posh airport road Parray Pora, Srinagar. She used to go with joy but on that fateful day she didn’t had any mood to venture out from her home. She had asked her elder sister that two bike borne youth are teasing her from past few days and threatening her of dire consequences if she will not accept their love proposal. After her little discussion with her elder sister Rayeesa Javed about it, she was advised not to stay at home but go and behave like a mature girl. She had intentionally not told about this matter to her parents because they think in Kashmir girls are bit shy and don’t consult their parents about these nasty things. Otherwise her father Mr. Hakeem Javed may have probably sought police protection for her. But it was in her destiny and who could have changed that. It was cloudy Sunday, rain had lashed throughout the night and in the morning it had stopped for a while. In this scenario, Romana left her home and told her mother that she will be back by noon. After then it was normal and as usual her mother was waiting for her return. Romana was her whole world, her heaven, her everything was in her only daughter Romana. Her husband has two wives and from the first one he has two daughters Raheela Javed and Rayeesa Javed and one son. And from the second wife(Romana’s mother) he was having only one daughter and so was she(Romana). When Romana left home on that day she was somehow missing her differently as they say Mother has connection with the heart to her children. Something inside her was happening as if she knew something untoward has to happen that day. Romana reached Baghat from where she along with her friend used to walk to Parray Pora. And on that day, they both were walking as usual on the side walk when two Alto borne youth approached them and began to pass vulgar comments on Romana but she avoided them and walked straight through. The two boys came again and offered her their mobile number on a piece of paper, which jilted Romana and she tore it into pieces with anger. Irritated by this they came in speed and crushed her. A weeping scream came out from Romana, she got lifted up by the strong blow of car and died on the spot and the two boys fled away from the spot. It was around 1 PM when she (Romana’s mother) received a phone call from Romana’s friend. Romana’s friend’s voice was frightening and still but somehow she told her that Romana has met with an accident and we have bought her here at Bone and Joint hospital Barzullah. The news shut out the light from her eyes, it throttled her legs, she was dumb, dumb struck by this news. Blindly she called her husband who has a medical clinic in Rambagh. She told him, “Romana has suffered a minor injury in tuitions and has been shifted to B&J Hospital” and continued her talk, “You get there and I will arrange to come myself”. Her Husband dropped the phone call and rushed towards the hospital. Meanwhile she too arrived. The first sight her parents got was that of old, broken ambulance in which Romana was put by hospital authorities to ferry her to SKIMS as she was too serious to be treated at Barzullah. Without asking anything her parents got into the ambulance and it left at snails speed because it was old, dented and wrenched. In the ambulance , Romana was not making any movement and the staff who was accompanying her believed she was unconscious but her father Hakeem Javed knew her daughter has passed away. Her father believes the drive towards SKIMS was useless as she had already passed away and it was true because on reaching the hospital the doctors declared her brought dead. After then she was brought to her Bagh-I –Mehtaab residence. Her mother was wailing all through the journey from SKIMS to home. She had gone mad; she was not listening to anybody but just beating her chest, mourning her angelic child’s death in this way. When the car with Romana’s body arrived, folks of people had already gathered from the locale and were consoling the family in their own ways. Romana’s two step sisters and one brother were crying in pain over the death of their youngest sibling. The family was shell shocked at that moment. The most pathetic scenes where when her body was got out from the carrier to their home for last rites. Romana was washed by some religious women, her own mother could not dare to do that as she was wailing like a newly gotten orphan. Everybody wept when the fair white body of hers was wrapped in white cloth placed in a coffin with sprayed rose water. She was bid a tearful adieu by everyone. When her coffin was driven out, her mother yelled Romana, “Have you left, have you left?’’, she was just crying unendingly to wait for her answer but to no avail, the people who were shouldering her had slipped her away but her mother was wailing like a mad dove at the entry of their home. Finally, her body reached the grave yard. Her father who’s walk was supported by two men was silent. It was apparent grief is running down deep inside his soul. For one it was devastating experience to see such a young girl being buried in a deep, dark grave and left there between moist clay and yellow bricks. Just before she was laid to rest inside, a man entered a grave and slept like a corpse. He was checking if the grave was alright. Then he came out and lifted the body of Romana along with other men to it put inside. ‘The feet would go down first’, somebody told them and indeed her feet went first followed by tall legs and then body and finally head. Somebody again went inside and made a pillow of silt, as the head should remain a bit heightened from the rest of the body. And so in this way a young, beautiful teen, an energetic, vibrant of her colors, breathtaking of her voice was buried in a six feet rectangular grave. A place which eats a human being and the biggest trauma it makes is about forgetting of its victim. Death is more terrible when it lets off our memories of a died one as if a died never existed at all. Since the death of Romana the house hold has lost its happiness. Now Romana’s elder sister and brother are getting married this year but they are totally lost in sorrow and waiting for justice. At that time, the case was filed by police by the then SHO Baghat Sadder, Mr. Feroz Qadri and the case is going on. Romana’s parents are very thankful to Advocate Abdul Aziz Teli who has worked tirelessly for their cause. The two killers are imprisoned in central jail. ‘These two killers were actually professional killers who used to tease many girls and were involved in many immoral activities. Their fathers must be ashamed to face public platforms as their sons are notorious killers’ says Nayeema, amidst sobs. She says, ‘My whole world was my Romana and they snatched her from me and they should face now the consequences’. At the time of her murder, it was widely condoled from all sections. Top separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mohammad Yasin Malik, Nayeem Khan, condoled Romana’s murder. Hurriyat G even issued press statements about it. The chairperson of Dukhtaran-i- Millat, Syed Asiya Andrabi personally visited their residence. The death was condoled by senior journalist, activists, Govt. officials also. Many write-ups also appeared in local dailies about it and the case remained hot for some time. Mr. Hakim Javed Shabnum though complains that no condolatory message was received from the state chief Minister who advocates strongly the rights of women. He wants to ask HCM, Mr. Omar Abdullah that if he talks much about the empowerment of women in media, their security and many more things then why he is not personally looking at this case. Mr. Javed believes his daughter Romana can’t come again, she can’t rise from the grave as we all buried her by our own hands and therefore he is not crusading against that. He says that he is fighting now for the thousands of other girls who live by this threat. When asked about the punishment to the killers, he says, ‘I don’t want the killers of my beloved daughter should be hanged but they should be punished with life time imprisonment so that they can understand what the pain of losing a beloved is’. Jamiat-i- Ahlihadees organized a seminar on Romana just days after her murder. Prominent Islamic luminaries spoke on the occasion including the then president of JeAH Moulana Showkat Shah. Journalist Syed Shujaat Bukhaari, Justice B.A. Kirmani also highlighted the cause for women empowerment in the seminar. A protest rally was also organized by Salfia Muslim Institute leaded by school captain Syed Aneesa who argued with the Srinagar SSP on the matter. Romana’s room has been kept exactly in that form. Her clothes are still in her wardrobe, her comb, even her books, school bag and the glass of water is still there. Her mother does not allow anybody to touch her clothes instead she kisses them twice a day. I wonder about the people in Kashmir who claim much about the sacred versions of Islam on one side and on the other they rape, kill, molest, do corruption and everything which is against religion. Perhaps all of us lie in an organized madness in which we dance and talk as whole.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 03:43:27 +0000
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