Kashmir Scan 05 | Page 25

Lolaab '.

It was in midsummer 1995 that a bomb had exploded in the heart district Kupwara ; many army personnel were badly injured and some even lost their lives . Investigations were going on and with every passing second , anger was clouding the judgment of Army men . Someone reported that a man from Gangabugh was seen with a remote control minutes before the blast . After a few days it was acknowledged that the so called ' remote control ' was actually a radio , but it was too late till then . The damage was already done ; many people injured and many more harassed . The story I pertain to marked an agonizing epoch in the history of Gangabugh , if there is any .

An army truck stopped in the outskirts of our village and scores of army men jumped out from it . Everyone was summoned out of their houses and assembled in a huge ground . Those who exhibited even a slightest hint of susceptibility were harshly dealt with .

A woman was asked about the whereabouts of her husband and when she refused to share any information , one army man grabbed her by scruff and dragged her from one end of the ground to the other . He slapped her many times before hitting her head against a wall . The women bled and writhed in pain , she kept on chanting , “ Khudayoo Bachao Khudayoo Bachao ”.

Men kept watching- as if their hands were tied with an invisible rope- while their wives , mothers and daughters were trampled over and their soul crushed . Women mourned as their sons , brothers and husbands were beaten up .

But even in all this pandemo- nium , there was serenity enveloped by love . People were mourning for one another . For some time , they had become selfless . They say the lan- guage of pain is universal and that scenario bared testimony to the very fact .

A brave man pushed one of the