We all take pride in calling ourselves Kashmiris. This is rightly so, for the place has a cultural history of more than two thousand years. An abode of knowledge and learning since ancient times, Kashmiris over the course of centuries have manifested ingenuity and excellence in innumerable domains of knowledge and learning. Great treatises on Hindu philosophy have been composed by natives of the land. Similarly Buddhism achieved great heights in Kashmir; many believe the Mahayana school of thought actually originated in Kashmir during fourth Buddhist council. After the mass conversion of people to Islam, Persian and Arabic scholarship achieved great prominence. Kashmir produced equals of Shiarazi and Hafiz.
A society whose cultural fabric is produced by such glorious threads of learning and knowledge should indeed be aware of its moorings. This heritage should indeed be passed on to all the generations to come.
But unfortunately, even though talking about this great cultural past is our favourite pastime, the collective conscience of so called Kashmiri society is denigrated to the lowest of the lowest. The conscience that simultaneously falsely gives us the Kashmiri character has collapsed beyond repair. The kind of moral corruption that has infested this character has lead to the poisoning of its very roots that surely will lead to its death. We may speak Kashmiri and eat wazwan for a long time to come but the land will be bereft of those values and ideals it had inherited.
Take the case of indecent and obscene behaviours that is rampant in our public domains. This immorality in the public parks, public transport, colleges and universities, tuition centres has surpassed all its limits. Young couples without any regard to the norms of decency can be seen engaged in indecent behaviours. Our public domains in past would be under the watchful eyes of social control. The social institution of control in Kashmir was intolerable to such activities. The learning centres of the past used to be khankahs, revered at par with the adjoining mosques. The irony of the situation is that most of us turn a blind eye to these activities. The boyfriend-girlfriend culture that our younger generations have lately found will further deteriorate the already weakened social control the society had evolved since hundreds of years. This is not to put a question mark on the freedom of our younger generations, especially women. But we should understand that the place is not part of western world, where such system evolved as part of their overall evolution into what they are. This indifference is a direct reflection of the society falling apart.
The kind of freedom the younger generations are being given will take death of morality. It is not that we should choke our younger generation by putting them under constant surveillance. But too much of freedom and no check can be detrimental for the whole society. Ones person freedom ends at the point where it starts hurting others!
