Unholy Jihad: A True Story from Kashmir by Raina SM Colonel Ajay

Author:Raina SM, Colonel Ajay [Raina SM, Colonel Ajay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sabre & Quill
Published: 2022-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTY-FOUR

Tral

Shakru is enjoying his newfound power in his part of Tral. Many have seen the change and have found such a change as a step towards self-destruction. But no one dares to say a word either to him or his family. His family, on the other hand, has no reasons to crib. Within a couple of months of Shakru’s arrival from PoJK, all their liabilities have been cleared — the daughter has been married off, and loans have been settled without any need to pay a penny. The status of a poor carpenter’s family stands elevated beyond all their expectations.

The annual urs (religious congregation) at dargah at Tral is starting in two days’ time. Even though the holy site is located within the area of responsibility of Irfan, Shafi Patwari, on the advice of the Master, has instructed all his company commanders to pitch in with the manpower required for the conduct of the event. Not known to others, Master wants to showcase jihadis under his control to pilgrims who are expected from far and wide, including some foreign lands. JKP, the force traditionally responsible for smooth conduct, i.e., crowd control and overall discipline, has lost its credibility, and youngsters have no regard for the men in khakis.

The celebrations finally begin well, with almost fifty thousand people offering their respects and venerations at the shrine. There is a fair presence of Kashmiri non-resident Indians who have come from lands as far and varied as the USA, Australia, England and Gulf. Evenings and nighttime have been reserved for the singing of qawwalis and other devotional music. Many kiosks and stalls selling sweets and eatables line the approach lanes and streets leading to the shrine. There is a festive mood all around with music creating crescendo every now and then and the crowd getting feverish out of dedication for the great soul whom they worship and revere with utmost sincerity and absolute faith.

Shakru and a dozen of his boys have been given the responsibility of ensuring the smooth flow of human traffic along the lane that connects Tehsildar’s office with the shrine. He has deployed his boys intelligently, creating picquets between the point from where the lane takes off towards the shrine and the shrine itself. He is standing next to the gate that leads into the courtyard of the shrine from that direction. The shrine is well lit and visibility over the courtyard is good. The policeman on duty, on spotting Shakru, has suddenly got animated and has started doing his bit.

Shakru, more out of reverence than anything else, slings his AK on his shoulder with his phiran covering his upper body and the weapon. Behind Shakru, under a giant walnut tree, is a block of toilets meant for ladies. As the crowd shuttles in and out, some ladies keep on coming out of the gate to pay a visit to the loo. With only three toilet seats in as many cubicles, there is a mismatch between demand and supply. Some

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.