After the Pride Month celebrations concluded at the end of June, and public relations driven glitzy corporate campaigns came to an abrupt end, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) community in India was pushed back into its dark reality. The community’s plight was exacerbated by the Covid-19 induced lockdown. In this piece, we try to highlight certain issues that remain inadequately addressed and in urgent need of a sustainable solution.

LGBTQIA+ persons in India

Multinational research firm Ipsos released report on LGBT+ Pride 2021 Global Survey conducted between April 23 and May 7, 2021. The survey was conducted as a 27-market survey conducted through interview on a sample of 500 individuals in India. The report shows that 3% of the Indian Population identify as homosexual (Including Gay and Lesbian), 9% identify as bisexual, 1% identify as pansexual and 2% identify as asexual. Totally, 17% identify as not heterosexual (excluding ‘do not know’, and ‘prefer not to answer’)[1]. It is however noteworthy that the people were interviewed online, and therefore the respondents are likely to be educated, and having at least a certain amount of financial power. Therefore, it is difficult to gauge the responses of people in the hinterland, those who lack internet access or the unlettered.

Connection with community cut off

Over time, members of LGBTQIA+ individuals have built spaces for themselves outside of their natal homes due to prejudice and abuse by family members. For some members of the queer community venturing outside of home and interacting as a collective is important for accessing safe space and even livelihood. However, the very nature of the Covid-19 lockdown restricts this access. The government’s negligible attempts at aiding the queer community have amplified the difficulties and abuse that they have had to face due to the pandemic.

Forced return to abusive biological families

Several individuals who are queer form a chosen family or a community space for themselves outside of home, be it in college, professional spaces or through support networks. A number of queer individuals who have been forced to return to their biological families have faced unprecedented abuse or discomfort due to the need to behave in a hetero-normative fashion in their homes.

At home, many individuals are unable to express their identity, use their preferred pronouns, prohibited from dressing according to their choice. The very existence of their identities is denied and even suppressed due to the prejudices of the natal families, this can cause dysphoria and grave mental distress. While there have been government initiated helplines for mental health during lockdown, no such helplines were formed to address the suffering of queer individuals. There are also queer individuals who have been unable to return to home because their home situations are extremely volatile or have been disowned by their families for being queer.

Impact on livelihood, and ability to access justice

For queer individuals who live on their own and have entered the workforce in India, there have been various difficulties. Several members of the transgender community in India rely on alms or professions such as sex work, which require social interaction. Moreover, as activist, professor and transman Bittu, points out, “Several transmen who work in itinerant forms of labour such as in roadside dhabas, trucking, driving cabs have also lost their sources of livelihood as these professions have been shut down during the lockdown.”

There is also disparity within the queer community. For instance in Lucknow there is a system of badhai which is earned by members of the Hijra community from public spaces. This system itself is unequal as 80% of their earnings have to go to the gurus of their gharana. “When individuals ventured out to earn badhai they were brutally beaten up by the police or asked for sexual favours,” Ritu a transwoman from Lucknow shared. She also pointed out that the distress caused by the pandemic has led to an increase in violence within the community itself. However, reporting any violence between members of the queer community to the police is difficult due to their prejudice. Ritu shared an instance when she went to the police in Balaganj thana in Lucknow with a queer friend to report abuse and the police officer derogatorily said, “The current times are so dismal that now we have to address cases of ‘these’ people.”

There have been various cases where the police have denied fair investigation into the violence against transgender individuals. For queer partners, reporting cases to the police, has always been a difficulty as their relationship and identity is denied at every level by their families, the society and even the officials.

Exclusion of transgender persons

A transwoman activist from Telangana, Rachana, highlighted, “The violence within the community and against the community is a result of the systematic exclusion and discrimination of transgender people, mainly that of welfare.” When the loss of welfare was emphasised by the pandemic, there was little questioning of the lack of access to welfare schemes such as ration cards, housing, pension, healthcare, monetary schemes that prevails within the trans community.

A major obstacle in accessing such schemes comes from the poor documentation of trasngender individuals in the population census. Even schemes rolled out by the government were quite discriminatory, and did not recognise the right to self identification. Rachana further added that the national portal that was introduced by the government to allow transgender individuals to register themsevles in order to avail schemes focused on the binary identification of male-female and required doctor’s certification for identification.

These attempts by the government have been quite poor and at best superficial. In the first year of the lockdown, the government announced that they would provide a one time cash transfer of INR 1,500 and ration supplies. A trans woman activist, Meera Sangamitra said that according to their calculations “only 1% of the community received this transfer.” Although the estimated population of trangender community in India is 4.8 million, only 5,711 received cash transfer and and a mere 1,229 received ration supplies[2]. The idea of a direct cash transfer also makes little sense as a majority of the members of the community do not have bank accounts due to lack of documentation. This policy not only failed in implementation, but the fundamental thought behind the idea never took into account the situation of the transgender community in India in the first place.

Restricted access to healthcare

Access to adequate healthcare has always been difficult for LGBTQIA individuals, the advent of Covid-19 lockdown enhanced the problems. Loss of livelihood on one hand has limited options of nutritious sustenance hampering immunity of individuals during a pandemic. In hospitals transgender individuals often face discrimination which can create a mentally traumatic experience.

Rachana shared, “Several transgender individuals were turned away from hospitals on the claim that there was no space for them. Their symptoms were often dismissed as mild cough and fever.” She added, “While accessing healthcare several trans individuals are questioned about their chosen identity by doctors and medical professionals.” Ritu shared an experience of a transwoman friend who was told by a pharmacist in Lucknow, “There is already a shortage of medicine, let the common person survive, why do you need to live?”

Government apathy

The Central government has not taken any firm steps to lend support to the transgender community, although very few states such as West Bengal[3] have undertaken some policies, though even these are less than adequate. Additionally, the breakdown of the health infrastructure in the country has also made it difficult for some members of the transgender community to access their monthly hormone treatments[4]. These treatments are often important for individuals to deal with dysphoria which can cause grave mental stress, and regular access to doctors during their treatment is important for their health. Owing to the mental stress caused by the society, personal dysphoria and government’s insistence for surgery for identification several transgender individuals have gone to quack doctors to undergo surgery, Rachana added. Although this has been a prevalent practise in the Hijra community, it increased during Covid-19 when scheduled surgeries could not take place. These surgeries are then conducted in unhygienic conditions often leading to problems such as Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). Rushing for these surgeries is a direct result of social prejudice which forces individuals to fit into a binary to prove their existence.

These policies by the government, or lack thereof, are indicative of their own prejudice and how they seek to deny the very existence of a significantly marginalised community. Queer individuals are penalised for being queer. The dismissal of queer identities only increased during the lockdown. This has led to abuse, mental distress and even loss of life. The systemic denial of existence of queer identities can also be seen in the larger field of medical research, where there has been a marked absence of data[5] on how individuals undergoing hormone treatment will be affected by the vaccination.

It is easy to paint a pride flag onto an organisation’s logo, but addressing the difficulties of the community which were magnified during Covid-19 will require a larger structural change, including one of consciousness. A thorough understanding of the pre-existing situation is imperative. Simply painting rainbow flags in advertisements and superficial governmental policies do not save lives.

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Nuh, a district in Haryana in the region of Mewat organised a people’s conference for communal harmony and brotherhood on June 20, where several individuals from Mewat including ASHA workers, mid-day meal workers, officials, members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) as well as sanitation workers came together as citizens of India, to promote communal harmony. This was in wake of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sangh Parivar’s alleged attempts to create violent differences between different religious and caste groups, especially against Muslims and Dalits. Women, especially, joined the conference in large numbers. A visible demand and thought reverberating through the individuals who participated in the conference was that the rights granted by the Constitution of India should be equally granted to all, justice especially should be equally accessible to all.

The incident that prompted this conference was the brutal murder of a young man, Asif, allegedly by certain infamous hooligans from Nuh, who are notorious for committing ruthless acts of violence. A resident of Khera Khalilpur village, Asif had gone out to buy medicines with his brother when both of them were attacked. After thrashing them, assuming that Asif’s brother was dead, this band of vigilantes kidnapped Asif and then murdered him. After the incident, there were arrests of people including those responsible for this heinous act. But, true to their routine way of doing things, a Hindu Maha Panchayat was organised soon after on May 30 by members of the Sangh Parivar.

This Hindu Maha Panchayat was called under the presiding presence of BJP members, including Suraj Pal Amu who was later ‘honoured’ by being given the media spokesmanship of the party. Amu has made several allegedly hateful comments against Muslims in the past. He is also the chief of Karni Sena, a Rajput interest group known to incite violence. Joining them were also the Loni BJP MLA and Naresh Kumar, one of the main accused in the vicious religiously instigated murder of Junaid, a 16-year-old boy. The purpose of the gathering was allegedly to destroy any semblance of communal harmony that has existed in Mewat. This select group of individuals from BJP, made several provoking statements in the panchayat. They not only claimed that any act of violence against Muslims ought to be condoned but also that those accused in Asif’s murder are innocent. According to what is by now characteristic of the ruling party’s functioning, they supported extra-constitutional violence against Muslims while making polarising statements. Individuals accused in Asif’s case were released soon after.

These actions, along with the rising communal hatred and violence in the country brought together individuals for the people’s conference on June 20. Although there were threats, including threats of violence allegedly by the members of the Sangh Parivar who visited villages to warn people against attending the conference, the turnout was overwhelming with more than 600 people. The conference was conducted by Ashraf from All India Lawyers’ Union, Subhash Lamba the state government employees’ leader, Shaheedana the Mewat Sabha President, Aryaveer, CITU leader Surinder Singh as well as Badal Saroj and Inderjit, leaders from the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS). Subhashini Ali, an ex MP from CPIM was the chief guest while Savita from AIDWA and Surekha from Asha workers’ union also played a crucial role in mobilisation and speaking at the conference. The individuals who participated in and organised this conference voiced that one of the biggest requirements for this country today is to fight against communalism.

The aim of the people’s conference in Nuh was to promote communal harmony while also demanding the arrest of all accused, and compensation for the families of the victims of communal vigilantism. The common consensus the collectives in the people’s conference demonstrated was that they wanted to show visible solidarity in the face of the growing communalism in India. They were clear that matters of law should be handled Constitutionally and not by self-proclaimed violent vigilantes. 

Related:

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मेरे दोस्त क्या आप आजकल अखबार पढ़ रहे हो? पढ़ना जरूरी है। आपको हमारी करतूतों के बारे में तो जानना ही चाहिए? हां, वैसे आजकल आप कर क्या रहे हैं? आपने हजारों कश्मीरियों की जान ले ली है। सिर्फ इसलिए कि वे आजादी चाहते हैं। कुछ लोग कहेंगे कि पाकिस्तान कश्मीर पर कब्जा करना चाहता है। कुछ कहेंगे भारत इस पर कब्जा बनाए रखना चाहता है। लेकिन हम यह भूल रहे हैं कि कश्मीरी न तो पाकिस्तानी हैं और न ही हिन्दुस्तानी। वे सिर्फ कश्मीरी हैं। वे कश्मीरी ही रहना चाहते हैं। न इससे ज्यादा और न इससे कम।

Image: Shuaib Masoodi / Indian Express
 
लेकिन हम क्या हैं? हम इंसान हैं और इंसान के तौर पर हम जो काम बेहतर तरीके से करते हैं, करना चाहिए। हमें बेकसूरों का कत्ल करना चाहिए। उसमें जो थोड़ी-बहुत सच्चाई बची है, उसे खत्म कर देना चाहिए। हमें उन्हें इंसान भी नहीं समझना चाहिए। हमारे लिए तो यह भारत और पाकिस्तान की लड़ाई है। … और इसके अलावा हर चीज बस एक तकनीकी मुद्दे के अलावा और कुछ भी नहीं है। बाकी हर चीज को नजरअंदाज कर दीजिये।
 
आपने बिल्कुल सही समझा? हमें उस 11 साल के बच्चे नासिर को भी नजरअंदाज कर देना चाहिए, जो पैलेट गन का शिकार होकर इस दुनिया से रुखसत हो गया। हमें इस बात को नजरअंदाज करना चाहिए उसके शरीर और चेहरे पर कितने लोगों के पैरों के निशान पड़े थे। हमें यह भी नजरअंदाज करना होगा कि उसके कान नीले पड़ गए थे। यह भी कि उसकी मुट्ठियां खुल नहीं सकती थीं क्योंकि उसकी उंगलियां बुरी तरह तोड़ दी गई थीं। यह भी कि जब उसकी बहन ने उसके सिर के पीछे हाथ लगाया तो यह खून से सन गया। हमें इस बात को भी नजरअंदाज करना होगा उसकी पीठ पैलेट गन के निशाने से बुलबुले वाली प्लास्टिक सीट की तरह लग रही थी। जैसे यह पीठ की चमड़ी न होकर निशाना लगाने की कोई दीवार हो।
 
……और हमारी सरकार कह रही है कि पैलेट गन नुकसानदेह नहीं है। इसलिए इससे मर्डर का सवाल ही नहीं उठता। नासिर की उम्र महज 11 साल थी। उस नन्ही जान ने ऐसा क्या जुर्म कर दिया था, जिससे उसे मौत दी दी गई। क्या उसने किसी की जान ले ली थी। बिल्कुल नहीं। जान तो हमने ली है। उसने जिंदगियां बरबाद की होंगी। नहीं, बिल्कुल नहीं। यह भी हमने किया है। उसने बड़ी बेरहमी से दूसरों को चोट पहुंचाई होगी। इसका भी जवाब नहीं में है। यह सारे काम तो हमने किए हैं।
 
बदकिस्मती यह है कि सिर्फ 11 साल का नासिर ही नहीं ( यहां मेरे ये शब्द भी कश्मीर के हालात को बयां नहीं कर पा रहे हैं) तमाम कश्मीरी जनता, नवजात से लेकर 90 साल के कब्र में पैर लटकाए बुजुर्ग, गर्भवती महिलाओं से लेकर विकलांगों और बेहतर भविष्य वाले जहीन बच्चे से लेकर तमाम औरत-मर्दों की जिंदगी उलट चुकी है। हमारे और आप जैसे बच्चों से लेकर बड़े लोगों यानी हमारे पैरेंट्स की जिंदगी पूरी तरह बदल गई है। इस कश्मीर में इन सारे लोगों की जिंदगी घिसट रही है। धरती की जन्नत मानी जाने वाली इस धरती पर रह रहे ये लोग बेकसूर हैं लेकिन धीरे-धीरे मर रहे हैं। देह से भले ही ये मौत की तरफ न बढ़ रहे हों लेकिन उनकी मानसिक मौत जारी है।
 
क्या आप खुद को एक सेकेंड के लिए इन हालातों में होने की कल्पना कर सकते हैं? क्या आप पैलेट गन की गोली से बच कर सुरक्षित घर लौटने या मारे जाने की कल्पना कर सकते हैं? क्या आप ऐसी स्थिति की कल्पना कर सकते हैं, जब आप जिधर देखें आपको बंदूक थामे सिपाही नजर आएं। क्या आप हर रात यह सोचते हुए बिस्तर में जा सकते हैं कि कल जिंदा बचूंगा या नहीं? क्या आप हर वक्त डर के साये में जी सकते हैं। 

यह डर आपको अंदर ही अंदर मार डालेगा। आपके दिमाग की नसों को खा जाएगा। आप जिंदा लाश बन जाएंगे। भय, सिहरन, झुरझरी और अवसाद आपको घेर लेगा। किसी के लिए यह दोजख साबित होगी। मेरे लिए? जी हां मेरे लिए भी।
 
ये कश्मीर के हालात नहीं हकीकत हैं। आपसे हजारों किलोमीटर दूर की एक हकीकत। जब आप अपने आरामदेह कंबलों में लिपटे हुए चाय की चुस्कियों के साथ टीवी देख रहे हों तो मुमकिन है कश्मीर में लोगों की लाशें मच्छरों की तरह गिर रही हों। उसी तरह जैसे मच्छर मारने की दवाई छिड़कने या लगाने पर झुंड दर झुंड ये मारे जाते हैं। इससे ज्यादा दुखद स्थिति और क्या हो सकती है….. और हम कहते हैं कि हम तो इंसान हैं।
 
यह सोचने वाली बात है। ऐसे हालात में कुछ न कुछ करने की जरूरत है। हम कुछ कर क्यों नहीं रहे हैं। हम न्यूजपेपर में कश्मीर के बारे में पढ़ते हैं और इसे कश्मीर मुद्दा कहते हैं। हमें लगता है हम जो पढ़ रहे हैं वही हो रहा है। मसलन –
 
एक शख्स की मौत…. कितना दुखद।
भारतीय सेना ने कार्रवाई की।… यही इस मर्ज की दवा है।
पाकिस्तानी सेना ने हमला किया।….. यह तो होना ही था।
लोगों की जिंदगियों पर कर्फ्यू लग चुका है।….. ठीक है, ऐसा होना लाजिमी है। 
 
जी नहीं। यह बिल्कुल लाजिम नहीं है। हम इंसानों की बात कर रहे हैं। हम उन लोगों की बात कर रहे हैं जो घायल हो रहे हैं, कत्ल किए जा रहे हैं पीटे जा रहे हैं। हम जिंदा की इंसानों की बात कर रहे हैं। क्या हम ऐसा नहीं कर रहे हैं।
 
हम सिर्फ इन चीजों को तथ्य या घटनाएं कह कर खारिज नहीं कर सकते। कश्मीर के लोग अच्छी जिंदगी के हकदार हैं। एक बेहतरीन जिंदगी के हकदार। और कुछ नहीं कर सकते तो उनके प्रति संवेदनशील तो हो सकते हैं। क्या आप ऐसा करेंगे। अगर नहीं कर सकते हैं तो कुछ और करिये।
 
मैं दरख्वास्त करती हूं। कुछ भी करिये, वहां के लोगों और हालातों को खारिज मत कीजिये। अगर आप इसके बारे में सोच रहे हैं तो कम से कम इन हालातों की चर्चा तो कीजिये। इससे एक अच्छी तस्वीर बन सकती है। भले ही आपको लगे कि ऐसा संभव नहीं है।
 
इसे पढ़ने के बाद हो सकता है आप सोचेंगे और फिर भूल जाएंगे। लेकिन क्या यह भूलने वाली बात है। मुझे नहीं लगता कि यह चीज कभी दिमाग से हटेगी। इस त्रासदी की इबारतें उन हजारों कश्मीरियों के दिमाग में तब तक उभरी रहेंगे जब तक वे जिंदा रहेंगे। हां, उनके लिए जिंदा रहना भी तो एक नेमत ही है।
 
कश्मीरियों के लिए खून, गोलिया, लाशें और खौफ जिंदगी का हिस्सा बनता जा रहा है। यह डरावना सपना है। सपना भी नहीं हकीकत है। हमारी और हमारी तरह ही ये हालात भी वहां की तरह हकीकत हैं।

आप सांस में हवा लेते हैं। लेकिन मौत ही उनकी सांसें हैं। आप खाना खाते हैं, कश्मीर आदमियों को खाता है। आप पानी में नहाते हैं। कश्मीर में लोग खून में नहा रहे हैं।
 
फिर भी हमारी सोच अभी तक कश्मीर नाम के जन्नत पर अटकी है। यहां भारतीय अपनी कहानी कहते हैं और पाकिस्तानी अपनी सोच बयां करते हैं।… और मीडिया पाठकों और दर्शकों को ये दोनों नजरिया बेचता है। हमारे और आपके जैसे पाठकों को।
 
पाठकों को अब यह समझना होगा यह कश्मीर का मामला भारत बनाम पाकिस्तान नहीं है। यह हमारे ( हम सभी) बनाम बेकसूर कश्मीरियों का मामला है। वो कश्मीरी जो जिंदगी के लिए लड़ रहे हैं। जो सिर्फ जिंदा रहने, सांस लेने के लिए जूझ रहे हैं।

क्या इसे ही जम्हूरियत कहते हैं। क्या यही उदारवाद है। क्या इसे ही समाजवाद और जीने का हक कहते हैं।
 
अगर ऐसा हो तो लानत है हम पर। शर्म आनी चाहिए हमें खुद पर।

मैं दरख्वास्त करती हैं। प्लीज इन हत्याओं को रोकिए। चाहे आप चुपचाप ये हत्याएं क्यों न कर रहे हों। कश्मीर को पाकिस्तान , भारत या किसी दूसरे देश के नागरिक की तरह न देखें। उन्हें एक इंसान के तौर पर देखें। सोचिए। वो एक अच्छी जिंदगी के हकदार हैं। एक बेहतर जिंदगी के।
 
(आनंदी पांडे 11वीं क्लास में पढ़ती हैं और लखनऊ के स्टडी हॉल की स्टूडेंट हैं।)

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Have you been reading the newspaper, my friend?
Yes? You must know what we are doing, right?
 
Killing thousands of Kashmiri civilians, who just want to be free? Some would argue and blame Pakistan for occupying Kashmir. Some would do the same for India. But we’re forgetting Kashmiris are neither Indian nor Pakistani. They are Kashmiris. They want to be just that. Nothing less, nothing more.
 
But what about us? We are humans and we must do what humans do the best. We must be selfish. We must kill innocents. We must take away whatever integrity they have. We must not even consider them ‘humans’. Right now for us this is a war between India and Pakistan.  Not a war for the freedom of Kashmir as a whole, but between India and Pakistan. Everything else is just….a technicality. Ignore it.
 
You get that right? Apparently we need to ignore the small 11 year-old boy, Nasir being killed by pellets. We need to ignore that he was killed. We need to ignore that his body was stepped on by hundreds, leaving footprints, even on his face. We need to ignore that his ears had turned blue. Or, that his fists couldn’t open because his fingers were so terribly broken. Also, that when his sister touched the back his head, her hand was covered with blood. We need to ignore that his back was marred in such a way that it looked like a bubble wrap sheet and not actually human skin?
 
And our government tells us pellets are harmless, by the way. That they cannot murder.
He was just an 11 year-old boy for God’s sake! What had he done to deserve this? He must have killed. Oh no! Wait, that’s us. He must have destroyed lives. No, no wait again, that’s still us. He must have at least brutally hit another human being? Wait a minute, that is still US!
 
What is even more unfortunate is that it isn’t just an 11 year-old Nasir. (Somehow even that word undermines the situation.) Scores of innocent Kashmiri civilians, from infants to a 90-year old, almost already-dying elders. From pregnant women to people with disabilities. From brilliant kids who could have had a bright future, to men and women whose lives have been drastically altered. From children like you and I, to adults like our parents. They all are there. Innocent but dying. If not physically, then mentally dying.
 
Can you imagine yourself in that situation for just a second? Can you imagine not being able to go out of your homes without the fear of being hit by pellets? Or killed? Can you imagine only seeing army men with guns wherever you turn?  Can you imagine going to bed not knowing if you’ll be alive tomorrow? Can you imagine living constantly in fear?
 
A fear that could kill you from the inside, rotting your brain till it has no life left. 
It makes you shudder and shiver with paranoia, disgust and what not, doesn’t it? Me too my friend, me too.
 
Now, know that this isn’t a situation, but reality. A reality happening a few thousand miles away from you. While you are sitting in your warm cosy blankets, drinking coffee and watching television, they are dropping dead like mosquitos after you apply a mosquito repellent.
 
Sad. Really, sad. And we call ourselves humans.
 
It is something to think about. Something to do something about. Why are we not doing anything? We read about Kashmir in the newspaper. We call it the ‘Kashmir issue’.  We read about what is happening as facts.
 
‘A person was killed.’ How tragic.
‘Indian military took an action.’ Way to go.
‘Pakistani military took an action.’ Okay, expected.
‘A curfew was imposed onto the people’s life.’ Alright. Understandable.
 
NO! It’s not just understandable. We are talking about actual human lives aren’t we? We are talking about civilians being injured, killed, and beaten aren’t we? We are talking about living beings aren’t we?
 
How can we just dismiss this as a ‘fact’? Or an ‘event’? They deserve better. Much better.
Be empathetic at least, you can do that right?
If not that do anything.
I beg of you, do not dismiss it.
Even if you think about it, talk about it, it could help. You never know.
 
We read and then think, this will be over eventually. Honestly, I don’t think this will ever be over. This will be engraved in the minds of thousands of Kashmiris for as long as they live. That is, if they survive.
 
When we will recount our childhood to our kids or our grandkids, we’ll most probably be telling them of what toys we played with or how we lied to our parents. Things that are normal to us.
 
Them? They will be speechless. Because to them what’s normal is blood, bullets, dead bodies and fear. No child deserves to even listen of such a nightmare, let alone live it.
 
However, it is not a nightmare. It is a hell on earth, my friend. As real as you are.
You breathe air, it breathes death. You eat food, it eats humans. You bathe in water, it bathes in blood.
 
But we are still stuck in this heaven where Indians create their own version, Pakistanis create their own version, and the media sells it to its readers. Readers like you and I.
 
Readers who need to understand, it’s not India versus Pakistan. It’s innocent Kashmiris against all of us, fighting for life. Human beings fighting for another second, simply to breathe.
 
This is what we call democracy? Liberalism? Socialism? Right to life?
Shame on us.
 
Please, I beg, stop killing. Even if you are silently killing by dismissing their reality.
Just think, not as an Indian or a Pakistani or a citizen from any other nation, but as a human. Think.
They deserve better. Much better.
 
 
(Anandi Pandey is a Class XI student studying at Study Hall, Lucknow)
 

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