Srinagar: Palhalan, nearly 30 km away from the Srinagar city on the
Srinagar-Baramulla national highway in Pattan constituency of Baramulla
district is a picturesque area having a cluster of villages and apple
orchards and serene atmosphere, cogent enough to draw one to poetry
praising nature for its creativity and piety. However, unfortunately the
fairy tale feeling vanishes off as soon as one enters a house or
interacts with any local of that area. The region has known nothing but
killings and mayhem. There will hardly be a family which must have not
suffered any loss in the form of their dear ones or property during the
ongoing struggle, for the last two decades. As such, on the account of
the ongoing and lingering Kashmir conflict humanity has been dealt hard
blows over here. One simply feels pathetic, miserable, gasped and
suffocated when one enters one of the worst pain stricken and browbeaten
area (Palhalan). Palhalan over past 25 years of the struggle against
oppressed occupation has seen the worst tragedies and has been reduced
to a concentration camp. With every family having lost a son, a father, a
brother, a sister, a daughter, a mother and what not. Getting beaten up
by the security agencies, being called for questioning, detaining
without reason, and much more by the security agencies is the order of
the day at Palhalan.
It is worth mentioning here that the recently martyred brave hero of
Kashmir (Mufti Hilal) also hailed from the same area. As soon as one
meets his family, one can’t do anything but burst into tears and cries,
such is the saga of pain and agony and it is not the only family nor is
the first one in the area, which has such deep gashes in the bosom.
Pertinently, J&K Police on its part had stated that Hilal Molvi
(Mufti Hilal) of LeT was martyred in an encounter with the police in
Narparistan (Fateh Kadal) area of old Srinagar city. But, as per the
family members the veracity of the police version about the encounter is
doubtful rather concocted and engineered. They also allege that it
actually was the torture and brutality of the security agencies that
forced Hilal into militancy.
Hilal’s father, Mr.Ali Mohammad Rather states in a painful note–“We
doubt the veracity of encounter as a dozen bullets were pumped in his
chest alone. During these months our house was continuously raided and
we were mentally harassed .My world has finished due to Hilal’s
martyrdom. Both me and his mother are in great distress.” Rather further
states that the torture and suppression forced his son into militancy.
“My son was a learned scholar and his only crime was that he dared to
tell the truth in the mosques and aware people about the great teachings
of Islam. He was a learned Mufti (Islamic Scholar) and had studied in
Gujarat and Deoband in this regard. The oppressive system in our part of
the world believes in silencing with the use of brute force those
voices which propagate the real teachings of our great religion ‘Islam’
and similarly Hilal was also harassed by security agencies for
propagating the truth,” states Ali Mohammad Rather.
On the other part his mother who always keeps shedding tears for his son
is in a state of deep shock. “My son believed in telling truth and has
been martyred for the same. His power of his knowledge irked the Indian
oppressors and they brutally silenced his truthful voice,” states his
mother.
According to his family, two Public Safety Acts were slapped on him
resulting in him being in prison for more than 21 months. His brother
and Uncle are also shattered and depressed to the core. They state that
with Hilal’s martyrdom their world has been shattered. His father sums
up the pain of Palhallan in these words- “Telling truth in Kashmir is a
grave crime and we the people of Palhallan are annihilated and killed
for telling and upholding the truth.”
Ground analysis suggests that suffocating scenario of Palhallan needs to be pondered upon in a thought provoking manner. (Kashmir Media Watch)
