BIKERS CLUB FEB 2019 ISSUE | Page 28

CURRENT AFFAIRS WILL INDIA STRIKE BACK ON PAKISTAN ? A soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldiers who suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.. But seems like only the prayers of the wealthy are being heard who wants a chaotic, confused, hell bent and haywire state which they could reap benefits from. Don't you'll think that the water has finally gone above our head. We as a country are so proud of our rich diversity and this very diversity is being used against us. The very ethos of vote-bank politics is to create that clear line of distinction even in the greyest of areas. The recent suicide attack in which about 40 CRPF personnel were killed when a convoy in which they were travelling was attacked on the Srinagar- Jammu highway in Pulwama district. This bombing in Awantipor's Lethopora area in pulwama district also left eight troops critically injured and was the deadliest attack in terms of causalities. Even though Pakistan follows the basic doctrine of bleeding India to death through insurgencies and terrorism, the state of Pakistan too condemned this act. Our current Home Minister, Rajnath Singh mentioned that the attack was carried out by a Pakistan-backed and Pakistan- based terrorist outfit known as JeM. Lives have been lost, lives of the people who protect the rich diversity of this nation. These are the people who find solace in themselves because of which we today are on the verge of narcissism and happy about it. Every life counts, so questions have to be raised but the blame game too needs to end. We have not become intolerant to gospel truths and tolerant to terrorism, have we? I think it's time we stood against the external and internal elements which time and again try to remind us that we belong to some region, cast, sect or ethnicity before INDIA. I also think it's time we started asking the right questions. The highway is patrolled by the J&K police, Army and the CRPF and the highway was closed until a day before of the blast due to snow. then how did an SUV with about 100 kgs of explosive come and attack a 70 vehicle convoy. The suicide bomber is an Indian Kashmiri, what led him commit this heinous crime? According to police data JeM has recruited about 60 locals last year while other non state entities like Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) has recruited about 100 plus locals last year. What is causing these locals to go against largest army of the world? Is the Armed Forces Special Powers Act indirectly supporting human rights violation in the Kashmir valley region? Is it the Chinese hegemony or the western influence and funding creating this turmoil in our soil? Should we be changing our international relations with certain nations or should be just give a free pass to the army to clean the mess up? And finally, considering this to be an general election year, it is going to be important for the government to strike a goal, especially after conceding one. What would they give priority to, redemption for Kashmir or revenge for India, or are these both the same? By Advait Nambiar