DNA Special: What is happening in Afghanistan once happened in Kashmir

Today is World Photography Day. We take pictures so that memories can be preserved, memorable moments can be captured, and those stories can be told that words cannot. So today we will compare Afghanistan and Kashmir and tell the people of Kashmir how lucky they are to live in India.

In 1990, when Islamic fundamentalists forced Kashmiri Pandits to flee from Kashmir, they were presented with three options. First, they accept Islam. Second, leave Kashmir. Third, be ready to die.

After 31 years, the Taliban have also placed these three conditions before the people of Afghanistan. First, - accept Sharia law. Second, leave Afghanistan and run away. Third, be ready to die.

According to different estimates, in the year 1990, 5 to 7 lakh Kashmiri Pandits left their homes and became refugees in other parts of the country including Jammu. That is, 5 to 7 lakh citizens of the country had to become refugees in their own country. Similarly, today about 2.5 million Afghan citizens are a refuge in different parts of the world.

In the 1980s, extremism started dominating in Kashmir and soon the region became a laboratory of radical Islam. But before that, the situation in Kashmir was not like this. Films were also shot there, women could go out of the house without fear and there were many schools, colleges and universities for their studies. Before 1980, Afghanistan used to be something similar, where women had the freedom to read and write and wear clothes of their choice. But in the 1980s, when fundamentalists pushed Kashmir into the dark side, Afghanistan became embroiled in a civil war. And then by 1990, Kashmir became a stronghold of terrorists, while the Taliban emerged in Afghanistan.

In fact, in the late 1970s, there was a revolution in the name of Islam in Iran. The rulers there also fled the country, and religious leaders who believed in the fundamentalist ideology of Islam became the Supreme Leader of Iran. Earlier, Iran was also very modern and women had all kinds of freedom there too. That is, the 1980s witnessed the propagation and spread of radical Islamic ideology in a large part of Asia.

Today, just as the citizens of Afghanistan are running away from their country by risking their lives, in the same way in 1990, Kashmiri Pandits had to flee from Kashmir. Some time ago, Zee News spoke to Kashmiri Pandits who witnessed the violence of 1990 and now settled in different parts of the world including India. And recently, we also talked to many people who came from Afghanistan. If you listen to the pain of these people, you will come to know that when fundamentalism dominates in any country or any state, then the coming generations get punished for it for decades.

But thankfully, India never allowed foreign forces to enter Kashmir and not only controlled terrorism on its own, but today, citizens living in any part of the country can not only roam Kashmir without any fear but can also buy land, study and live in Kashmir. If India had asked other countries to find a solution to Kashmir, it may be that the condition of Kashmir would have become like Afghanistan, from where other countries would have gone. Then Kashmir would have been occupied by the fundamentalists and the same pictures would come from Kashmir as are coming from Kabul.