Few years back a ship collided in the territorial waters of Greece. Hundreds of its passengers died in the collision and few managed to swim to the safety. It was found that those sailing by the ship were Punjabi youth who had paid huge sums to some agent to facilitate their illegal entry into Europe. This is not a single instance of people risking their lives and spending huge sums of rupees for landing into Europe or any other Western country. Sometimes people use ordinary boats and other risky means of communication to sail through turbulent sea and reach these destinations. There have been instances of people having been dispatched alongwith cargo to US. The reason for this craze is a wish to enjoy better material life which people feel can be availed only in US and Europe. In our society we have people who can go to any extent for securing a foreign trip of a few days and boast about it for years. However there are others who swing against the current. They shun luxurious life of the West for their faith and emancipation of their people.
Among such souls was one Nadeem Khateeb, son of a retired Chief Engineer born in a well-off family. Like other boys of his age, Nadeem developed inclination towards joining militancy of Kashmir in early nineties. He resisted the temptation and decided to go for pilot training to Haryana. When he felt that the atmosphere in Harayana is not conducive to achievement of excellence, he proceeded to US. He mastered his subject so well that the institution in which he was receiving training, appointed him as an instructor. He was offered a handsome salary which was many times more than the salary of our ministers. He availed all the luxuries of American life but couldn’t forget his people suffering under alien occupation. He decided to discard the West along with its luxuries because he had experienced its darker sides in US. His exposure to materialistic society had invigorated his faith in Islam. He joined the ranks of militants and achieved martyrdom in the Gool area of Udhampur. His family came to know about his involvement and martyrdom only after twelve days of his expiry. They rushed to the place of his burial, exhumed the body. The body was fresh as if he had expired only few hours before. Hundreds of people witnessed it. They included even those who were involved in his killing. For killers it was a surprise because they anticipated that the body would be in a decomposed state. For people of his community however, it was nothing but reaffirmation of their faith that remains of martyrs do not decay because martyrs do not die.
Sacrifice of Nadeem Khateeb is sufficient to contradict the contention of those who say that people merely live for bread and butter in this world. If these needs of people get fulfilled, they don’t harbour any aspirations. For them, Kashmir problem is also manifestation of material deprivations. “If these deprivations are addressed people can be weaned away from the on going movement for secession”. Ghulam Nabi Azad ( Indian Minister) repeated the same view recently while commenting upon the issues relating to Kashmir autonomy. Material gains might have been prime consideration for Azad himself when he managed to secure a place in the Indian National Congress through his special relationship with Sanjay Gandhi but he shouldn’t estimate others through his own criteria of assessment. There are hundreds and thousands whose vision of the world transcends beyond material considerations. They live for a cause and embrace death for achievement of the same. These souls can’t be pacified through material inducements. Doles of some medicines and text books are unlikely to restore their confidence in the existing system. The only way out is resolution of the Kashmir problem, crying for a solution for last fifty seven years. This only will give a sense of achievement to the youth of Kashmir who otherwise nowadays seem to be determined to chase death instead of death chasing them. They do not come from deprived families, nor are having any deprivation syndrome but are the ones who can sacrifice anything for emancipation of the people of their community. Unprecedented coercion, harassment, torture and drives of annihilation have been tried for the last one decade. They too didn’t succeed to pacify the situation.
Source of sustenance of the movement is not the human body nor the material it avails but faith whose control is beyond the capacity of any ruthless force. Armies without faith and conviction become brute and oppressive only against innocents or those who are unable to offer any resistance but they become helpless pigmies against those who fight with determination. Recent attacks of militants have confirmed this. Only two to three militants sneak into an army camp, making hundreds of soldiers helpless. The army can’t do much except devastating its own buildings in front of determined fighters. When the superiority of numbers has been blunted by technology, devotion, conviction and faith remain the only valued assets in a battlefield. These assets are found only among those who believe in the life-here-after. It was firm faith in the life-here-after that created a devotion of the type that was demonstrated by Nadeem Khateeb. It was this unflinching, unshakable faith in the here-after that is reflected in his last letter to his parents.
“It’s important for all of us to remember that a life on earth is nothing but a test and a sowing ground and the life to come is eternal life and all our efforts should be for that life --- therefore we should prepare ourselves for the day when we will be asked what we did with our money, health, children, knowledge, time etc”.
The same spirit is revealed by these words.
“I am in very good health and tremendous spirit, and why should not I be, after all Allah has guided me on the greatest road – the road of Allah’s forgiveness and the greatest rewards. Infact while cruising through this road, I pity those who take us as crazy people and believe that we have spoiled our careers. Who’ll tell these foolish and short-sighted people, that we might have spoiled our careers but the day of judgment will prove our great success”.
What will you call it? A sense of deprivation or a sense of devotion to a cause?
Among such souls was one Nadeem Khateeb, son of a retired Chief Engineer born in a well-off family. Like other boys of his age, Nadeem developed inclination towards joining militancy of Kashmir in early nineties. He resisted the temptation and decided to go for pilot training to Haryana. When he felt that the atmosphere in Harayana is not conducive to achievement of excellence, he proceeded to US. He mastered his subject so well that the institution in which he was receiving training, appointed him as an instructor. He was offered a handsome salary which was many times more than the salary of our ministers. He availed all the luxuries of American life but couldn’t forget his people suffering under alien occupation. He decided to discard the West along with its luxuries because he had experienced its darker sides in US. His exposure to materialistic society had invigorated his faith in Islam. He joined the ranks of militants and achieved martyrdom in the Gool area of Udhampur. His family came to know about his involvement and martyrdom only after twelve days of his expiry. They rushed to the place of his burial, exhumed the body. The body was fresh as if he had expired only few hours before. Hundreds of people witnessed it. They included even those who were involved in his killing. For killers it was a surprise because they anticipated that the body would be in a decomposed state. For people of his community however, it was nothing but reaffirmation of their faith that remains of martyrs do not decay because martyrs do not die.
Sacrifice of Nadeem Khateeb is sufficient to contradict the contention of those who say that people merely live for bread and butter in this world. If these needs of people get fulfilled, they don’t harbour any aspirations. For them, Kashmir problem is also manifestation of material deprivations. “If these deprivations are addressed people can be weaned away from the on going movement for secession”. Ghulam Nabi Azad ( Indian Minister) repeated the same view recently while commenting upon the issues relating to Kashmir autonomy. Material gains might have been prime consideration for Azad himself when he managed to secure a place in the Indian National Congress through his special relationship with Sanjay Gandhi but he shouldn’t estimate others through his own criteria of assessment. There are hundreds and thousands whose vision of the world transcends beyond material considerations. They live for a cause and embrace death for achievement of the same. These souls can’t be pacified through material inducements. Doles of some medicines and text books are unlikely to restore their confidence in the existing system. The only way out is resolution of the Kashmir problem, crying for a solution for last fifty seven years. This only will give a sense of achievement to the youth of Kashmir who otherwise nowadays seem to be determined to chase death instead of death chasing them. They do not come from deprived families, nor are having any deprivation syndrome but are the ones who can sacrifice anything for emancipation of the people of their community. Unprecedented coercion, harassment, torture and drives of annihilation have been tried for the last one decade. They too didn’t succeed to pacify the situation.
Source of sustenance of the movement is not the human body nor the material it avails but faith whose control is beyond the capacity of any ruthless force. Armies without faith and conviction become brute and oppressive only against innocents or those who are unable to offer any resistance but they become helpless pigmies against those who fight with determination. Recent attacks of militants have confirmed this. Only two to three militants sneak into an army camp, making hundreds of soldiers helpless. The army can’t do much except devastating its own buildings in front of determined fighters. When the superiority of numbers has been blunted by technology, devotion, conviction and faith remain the only valued assets in a battlefield. These assets are found only among those who believe in the life-here-after. It was firm faith in the life-here-after that created a devotion of the type that was demonstrated by Nadeem Khateeb. It was this unflinching, unshakable faith in the here-after that is reflected in his last letter to his parents.
“It’s important for all of us to remember that a life on earth is nothing but a test and a sowing ground and the life to come is eternal life and all our efforts should be for that life --- therefore we should prepare ourselves for the day when we will be asked what we did with our money, health, children, knowledge, time etc”.
The same spirit is revealed by these words.
“I am in very good health and tremendous spirit, and why should not I be, after all Allah has guided me on the greatest road – the road of Allah’s forgiveness and the greatest rewards. Infact while cruising through this road, I pity those who take us as crazy people and believe that we have spoiled our careers. Who’ll tell these foolish and short-sighted people, that we might have spoiled our careers but the day of judgment will prove our great success”.
What will you call it? A sense of deprivation or a sense of devotion to a cause?
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