Careers Blasted In Kulgam

Zahoor Indrabi

The families of seven youth killed in a blast in Laroo Village of Kulgam district though in a state of shock are yet to see anyone coming to them for bringing them out of shock and heal their fresh wounds. The families are not only shocked over the death but see at the challenges which would come their way in the years to come as most of the youth killed in the blast were the only bread earner of their families. Out of seven civilian killed in the blast five youth were planning to ink their destiny in different careers but none would imagine that these slain careerists will be hit to death by a blast near a gunfight site in the vicinity of their homes . The Kashmir Magazine Special Correspondent in South Kashmir reached out to the families of the slain youth to know all about the challenges they think will come their way after the tragic deaths. Though Home Minister Rajnath Singh has announced ex gratia relief of Rs 5 lakh to each one of the families of blast victims but they show no interest in responding to the condolence statements of political leaders and announcements of cash relief by the public functionaries of the state or the central government. The families of slain youth narrate the tales of pain and agony as detailed below:

Narrating the woeful tail of his 13 year old son Uzair Ahmad Dar a class 8 student, Mushtaq Ahmad Dar resident of Gausia colony Kulgam said that his slain son would never move out from his home whenever reports of an encounter or stone throwing were attracting youth to come out in anger and fight pitched battles with the government forces. With tears in his eyes Mushtaq Ahmad Dar said, “he was my only son, my only hope who never tended to be violent but always chose to live in peace but a blast that shook entire Kulgam took away his life when he was planning to bring tea for the family members who were out in the paddy fields to collect the crops. As we heard the sound of an explosion we rushed to the spot and found 13 year old Uzair lying in a pool of blood.

Another blast victim is 18 year old Talib Maqbool Laway son Maqbool Laway resident of Laroo Kulgam a BA 1st year student who had already lost his father at the age of 3 years and his death has left his widow mother and a sole sister in a state of helplessness and shock. Having lost the only hope after the death of Maqbool Laway, the widowed mother and the only sister of Talib Maqbool Laway says “he was preparing to take last paper of BA 1st year and used to earn for our daily expenses by doing part time jobs privately but the blast has taken our only hope and we are in a state of helplessness having no source of income as we live in a one room small hutment.”
“A youth struggling for feeding his widow mother and a minor sister can’t never think about joining militancy or resorting to stone pelting which would take away his life”, they lamented.

A bright student owing allegiance to very poor family but known for his bright academic record was another blast victim. Mohammad Mukeen Bhat son of Hafizullah Bhat resident of Laroo Kulgam had to take 12 class examinations few days later but explosion took away his life and shattered the dreams of his family. Boasting of achieving distinction in class 10 examination two years back, the young Mukeen aspired to be a professor but the blast has shattered his dreams of becoming a professor and left the family in a state of shock. Hafizullah Bhat living in a state of shock told The Kashmir Magazine correspondent, “no bigger a loss than losing a son who aspired to be a professor can be for his parents and other family members.”

Another victim is a Kashmir University entrant Irshad Ahmad Padder son of Syedullah Padder resident of Shorat Kulgam. He had been cleared for admission in the PG department of history at Kashmir University but unfortunately went to the gunfight site in a procession and died in the explosion. Son of a labourer Irshad had aspired to become a state level sports person but the explosion brought to tragic end his journey both as a sports person and as well as a University student.

Another blast victim Mansoor Ahmad Dar son of Ghulam Mohammad Dar resident Bohgund Kulgam was the only bread earner of his family as his father is a handicapped person. Mansoor used to work as a cable operator to feed his family and one year old son and was planning to take a recruitment test for a job in the fire and emergency services of the Jammu and Kashmir government. Rayies Ahmad, a friend of Mansoor said “Mansoor’s death has taken away the only bread earner of the family and orphaned his one year old son. The family, I believe, won’t recover from the loss it has suffered in the blast.”

Aqib Gulzar Sheikh another blast victim was running a readymade garments outlet at Kulgam and Anantnag but the day when blast shook Kulgam area he proceeded to the blast site where he was killed in explosion. Talking to The Kashmir Magazine his brother Saleem Ahmad said “he had established a business for meeting the daily expenses of our family and his death has thrown up a huge challenge for us to run the business which he had established after years of tireless hard work.

Another blast victim was a driver who used to feed a huge family comprising father, mother, four sisters and three brothers. One of his brothers said “he used to drive a passenger bus to meet his daily expenses but his demise has taken away a bread earner from our family leaving us in a state of shock and helplessness.

The local population is Kulgam is aghast over the drum beating of the government on announcements of the cash relief to the families of the slain youth who are yet to receive even Rs one lakh ex-gratia relief announced by the Jammu & Kashmir Government apart from the cash relief announced by the Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his recent visit to Srinagar.
Locals say “People in government shed tears to ward off public condemnation over the civilian killings but don’t do anything to bring the slain youth out of the trauma and pain. Mainstream politicians condemned killings but don’t try to reach out to the families of slain youth to mitigate their sufferings and heal their wounds. Distressing it is that no mainstream politician demand a probe which unravel the causes of the blast.”