Arun Kumar, Prasenjeet Kumar
In the background of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan and the dreaded possibility of their moving to Kashmir, here are some excerpts from our book “Kashmir Thinks It’s Free (Jan. 2019)” that depict those exact spine-chilling scenarios.
Imran Kaloo couldn’t believe his eyes. He had only read about the ISIS in newspapers and watched videos on BBC and CNN. But that they could actually over-run his beloved Valley was beyond comprehension. How did this happen?
The Valley echoed with the sounds of rattling trucks and armoured vehicles. Men in black on top of vehicles, and trucks with fixed machine guns paraded throughout the city.
They were greeted deliriously-by men, women and even children. Teenage boys popped firecrackers on rooftops. And women sprinkled rice, shireen, and rose petals and sang Wanwun.
Imran’s colleagues in the police had pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State with alacrity. The IRK police was already under the command of the Kashmir Reserve Police Force, the force that had Punjabi speaking Pakistan army personnel dressed in police uniform. And now both served the ISIS.
The ISIS had also made it clear-the men who don’t join the ISIS were Islam’s enemy and had to be executed.
***
Then Aisha heard that the ISIS men had entered the Kashmir National Museum in Srinagar. With pick-axes in their hands, they hacked every ancient statue and turned them into rubble. Then they stole the coins to fund their jihad. Next, they ripped off the paintings from the walls, and shredded them with blades. And while doing all this they were screaming that this was a great victory for Islam and the end of Jahiliya (the age of ignorance and darkness).
Elsewhere, in the markets, booksellers elicited special treatment. Books, except for the Holy Quran, were thrown out and burnt in heaps. Most bookshops then just shut down.
The two famous hotels of Srinagar-Grand and Vivanta, known for their fabulous restaurants (Aisha’s birthday was celebrated in the Vivanta) were turned into residences for the mujaheedin who didn’t want to mix around with the namard (effeminate) Kashmiris. Fairview, the PM’s residence, was turned back in to the interrogation centre it once was in the 1990s.
And all the stadiums of Srinagar, including the Bakshi Stadium and the Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium were turned into execution grounds. Kashmiri Muslims thought history was repeating itself by putting them under the brutal Afghan rule. Once again.
***
“Is that a real football?”
Aisha and Imran were driving back after some grocery shopping when Aisha’s eyes fell on a group of youngsters playing football in a side lane. The guys were kicking a “ball” all over the place and running after it, gleefully showing their offensive and goal keeping skills. That was a little difficult as the “ball” was not bouncing much; as if it had no air inside it.
For some strange reason, Aisha couldn’t take her eyes off that funny football. That’s when she noticed that that the ball had eyes that were shut and curly hair … that was matted with blood. She could even see the portion of the neck where the thing had been cut off from the rest of it. No, no, no. It wasn’t a football. It was the severed head of a teenager.
“This fellow was executed this morning for trying to leave ISIS,” Imran said rather matter-of-fact. “In fact, yesterday, they executed as many as seventeen jihadis who had deserted them. Poor bastards … they had thrown stones at the Indian forces all their lives, so that they could usher in the Caliphate.”
Aisha shuddered involuntarily. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing or hearing. Didn’t these ISIS men call themselves the men of God? Didn’t their flag carry the seal of Prophet Muhammad? Hadn’t they come to Kashmir to restore the rule of Allah, the kind-and-merciful Supreme Power to who all Muslims bowed?
***
From their seats in the top right corner of the Bakshi stadium, it was difficult to make out what was happening in the middle. Giant screens were installed so that the audience could have a better view of the event. Just like in any sports event.
Suddenly, the cameras shifted focus, and there was on the screen the image of a burqa clad woman. She was on her knees. A bearded man in black was standing next to her with-with a loudspeaker in one hand and an AK-47 rifle in another.
Imran was about to speak when his voice was drowned by the man’s booming voice.
“This woman has admitted to having an illegitimate relationship with many men. What should be her punishment?”
Imran whispered in Aisha’s ears. “The man is not telling the whole truth. This girl was gang raped by four men a couple of days back.”
Aisha’s burqa clad face turned towards Imran. “Then why aren’t they punishing the rapists?”
Imran sighed. “The girl couldn’t prove she was raped … because as per the Sharia, she needed to produce four male witnesses. But she claimed there were none apart from these four rapists when she was raped in an isolated location.”
“So? DNA? Medical evidence?” Aisha’s voice sounded confused and bewildered.
“Sharia doesn’t require any medical tests to confirm rape. We tried hard to save the girl but couldn’t. Her only crime, I suppose, was that she complained to the police.
“Because the girl complained and couldn’t put forward any male witnesses, it was presumed she wasn’t raped. But at the same time, because she talked of rape, it was ‘established’ that she had confessed to having an illegitimate relationship with four men. In Islam, such women are guilty of adultery and have to be awarded the death penalty.”
Meanwhile, the roar became louder and louder. Death. Death. Death. Death … to the adulteress … to the temptress … to the black witch ….
The man pushed the barrel of the AK-47 deep into the woman’s head. Aisha prayed silently reciting the verses of the Holy Quran. She hoped for a miracle to happen. Someone … some super hero from a Bollywood movie, would jump in, she hoped, and stop the execution. Or, may be the gun would jam. Or, the executioner will show mercy and give the poor woman a chance to live.
The man pulled the trigger and the sound of gun fire echoed in the stadium. Startled pigeons flew away from the roof tops. And the girl’s body lay lifeless in a pool of blood.
The audience cheered and clapped loudly as if a cricketer had hit a sixer. The man spoke again, “This is what we do to women who enjoy sleeping with multiple men.” And the crowd cheered and shouted “Allah-hu-Akbar (God is great).”
She looked around and saw young boys hardly eight or nine-year-olds cheering with great pleasure. Their faces looked like they had just seen their favourite show on the television.
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