With the holy month of Ramadan over Kashmir is back to its routine! We as a society seem to have short-memory as it takes us not time to shift gears and go back to our ‘routines’. The spiritual blanket that we wear during the holy month of Ramadhan is immediately taken off as the crescent is visible in the sky. One wonders how quickly we forget our pledges taken during the sleepless nights of Ramadhan. The Ramadhan special sermons in mosques across the valley stressed upon the need to be sensitive towards those who are less blessed financially. But these sermons seem to have no effect on people. Immediately after Eid, the same people were seen celebrating marriages of their kins in the most extravagant manner possible; as if trying to out-wit others in the race to be reckless.
In a place like Kashmir where almost every other household is marred by the scars of ongoing conflict; where death and destruction has not spared the most noblest and humble souls; where kids of school going age fill graveyards, one wonders how people can be unmindful and celebrate, that too extravagantly.
In last few years the marriage ceremonies in Kashmir have become grand to say the least. There are people who spend mindlessly on feasts just to reinforce their social-standings while being completely indifferent to the tragedies around them. How can a person be so insensitive towards his fellow citizens is beyond one’s imagination. There must be something rotten within the society that prevents such people from feeling the pain of those who have been devastated by the conflict.
It is not that conflict and the tragedies related to it are exclusive to a certain class of people in Kashmir. Everybody has suffered equally.
As the post-Ramadhan marriage season is on the peak in Valley, one can see heaps of food especially meat (Wazwaan) rotting either in dustbins or finding its way in the River Jhelum. The amount of food wasted and the money spent on it could have been utilised in a better way. It would have been great if each family, who spend lavishly on marriages, dedicate some money for the needy and destitute, rather than wasting it recklessly.
It is our moral duty to keep tab of people who have lost their bread-winners in conflict and help them get back on their feet. One cannot claim to be Muslim and be insensitive towards his/her neighbour, friend, fellow human being or fellow citizen.
It needs lot more than just throwing a spiritual blanket over our deeds in the holy month of Ramadhan to be a good human being and a Muslim. How can we justify dustbins filled with delicacies and empty bellies next door!
