Why is the world not weeping over Kashmir's Alan Kurdi?

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That three-year-old Burhan Bashir Bhat's death is not even national news in India is extremely unfortunate

Daanish Bin Nabi 

The smallest coffins are the heaviest. Kashmir has felt this pain over and over again for 30 years.

Burhan Bashir Bhat is our Alan Kurdi (initially reported as Aylan Kurdi). Both aged three. Both died innocent, blameless, at the hands of a cruel world, not knowing why they were killed. The only difference: one was mourned with outrage globally. The latter is not known even within India. Killings like that of Burhan is this nation's big tragedy.But are we Kashmiris also to be blamed for our miseries and tragedies? I think we are. If we kept our quest for independence alive in our streets and cities, we have completely failed to keep this flame bright at the diplomatic and at international levels. 


While Palestinians are active on the streets, they have continued to push with strength at global diplomatic levels, as well like at the United Nations to spread the word on their cause. On the other hand, the cause of the Kashmiris seems to be a forgotten footnote of history at the UN since January 1948.

Records suggest that except the appearance of Sheikh Abdullah in February 1948 at the UN Security Council, there's no one from the Kashmiri leadership who has made any direct or proxy case at the UN. This is one of the reasons that while the world knows Alan Kurdi, no one knows Burhan Bashir.
The bone-chilling tragedies that Kashmir has seen since 1990s is scarcely known by the world, even the Indian media is unaware of the gashes Kashmir has suffered on her body. 

The killings by "unidentified gunmen", is a familiar pain for Kashmiris, but the recent spate of killings in north Kashmir is a new wound for us. Even those Kashmiris who are voluble about their "pro-freedom" stand are now apprehensive and confused.

The question is - whenever there is any activity related to killings, why does it always start from Sopore? Has India, Pakistan, Hurriyat or any other group made a bogeyman out of north Kashmir, especially Sopore, without sparing a thought for its impact on the people?

In Sopore, life is now a different ball game altogether. There is no civilian government present. It seems that the security forces are the only government agency that the residents of Sopore will see.

The unabated killings started within a month after Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar stated his position at a media event in New Delhi: "You have to neutralise the terrorist through the terrorist."

Since then, 11 people have been killed including a senior Hurriyat activist. The relatives of the victims, the opposition National Conference and also the Hurriyat sought to link the killings with Parrikar's remarks. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for these fatal attacks.

The latest blow to the festering wounds of Kashmiris has been the death of three-year-old Burhan, who succumbed to injuries on Saturday morning. "The death of a Syrian child, Alan Kurdi shook the whole world, and the killing of Burhan has left the entire Kashmir in mourning. Everybody is asking the same question, that for what crime was this three-year-old child killed," observed chairman Hurriyat (G) Syed Ali Geelani.

The tragedy is that while Alan Kurdi's drowning made Europe revise its migrant settlement policy, Kashmir may see many more Burhans in the times to come. This has been Kashmir's consistent experience. After all the condemnation and outrage, nothing concrete is done on ground to prevent the killings of the innocent and the blameless.The word "unidentified gunmen" has become a household term in Kashmir. North Kashmiris are now terrified by this term as much as they are by a draconian law like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA) or Public Safety Act (PSA).

Farah Wani aptly tweeted on the tragic killing of Burhan this way: "They sink there in water, here in blood and everywhere humanity dies." 

On humanitarian grounds, the incumbent chief minister must intervene and put a stop to these mysterious killings, or the situation may slip out control. The distrust in people runs deep - will Kashmir see more Burhans, or will the killings be stopped by the authorities?

As the word celebrates "Peace Day" this week, this very word - "peace" - is missing in the life of every Kashmiri. Kashmir has been in search of this elusive "peace" for close to 30 years now.

Restoring the trust of the people of Sopore through the civilian representatives must be the top priority of the government to heal these daily wounds.


Published in Daily O on September 21, 2015

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