We have killed all of the children in the auditorium,” the militant, later identified by the military as Abuzar, told his handler. “What do we do now?”
“Wait for the army to arrive,” came the reply. “Kill them, and then blow yourself up!!
I read this account in an NDTV article concerning the communication between the terrorists who attacked the Army school at Pakistan and their commander.
I am not parent as of now. But I do come across hundreds of parents on a daily basis as I counsel students for their foreign education. The profession gives me the opportunity to understand the depth and beauty of a parental care and bond. When I witness the amount of pain and efforts that a parent takes to guarantee a better future for their children, it makes me realize that a child makes you selfless. A child makes you humane. A child develops in you the depth of love that you would otherwise never experience!
When I saw thousands of wailing parents outside the Army Public School, their loss, to me, immediately became personal. I just imagined a parent sitting in front of me, seeking my advice on their wards future studies coming to me with hopelessness and agony cast over their very being on account of their child being killed ruthlessly and senselessly by someone who intended to settle score with an institution and made their child a scapegoat in the process. This very thought sends chill down my spine! My soul shivers at the thought of any kind of harm happening to any of my students and I pray for their safety every minute!
When you destroy such tender daffodils, you are destroying every second of parental love, care and hope. When the commander said, “Blow yourself up to the crazed and psycho terrorist who perpetrated the ghastly act, in effect, he ordered to blow up the dreams and the very cause of existence of hundreds of innocent parents! He gave order to kill the dream, the future, and the hope of whatever that can be considered as humane.
Another question that haunts me is how anyone can be brainwashed to such an extent so as to kill ruthlessly and without any kind of guild and remorse. When you see a 5 year old child, all that a normal person can feel is tenderness, love and affection. I cannot even imagine slapping a 5 year old; let alone doing any other harm! Certainly, the degree of indoctrination and brainwashing has to be an extreme level. When these terrorist said “We have killed all the children”, it indicates that they were acting mechanically, as if they were just weeding out unwanted plants from a field. They acted like factory line workers who were just following orders. They were immune to any feelings that can be considered as remotely humane. They were just robots whose remote control was in the hand of a distant master. And they were emotionally manipulated and brainwashed to such an extent that they were ready to blow themselves up! To kill themselves as well! What is really saddening is that the terrorist themselves died under a deranged illusion that what they did was meaningful and holy! That what they did was justified in the name of revenge. I am wondering what if they would have survived? What if these terrorist would have lived to see the extent of damage they committed? Could they face the wailing mothers? Could they answer the questions of the parents who lost their kids? Could they look into the eye of a grandfather who lost his grandson without any sense of guilt? And this is what is really scary! From what I read about the religious fanaticism, the terrorist are brainwashed to such an extent their emotional intelligence is completely wiped off. Pains, tears and sorrow do not unnerve and move them because of the powerful effect of religious indoctrination.
To what end is the humanity moving forward? If we allow these religious fanatics to thrive, how will we answer our children? What are we doing to make their future secure and worthy? As of now, all that I can think is that we all are liable. We human beings are collective liable to ensure that we do not give our mothers the chance to grieve. Secularism and religious tolerance is not an option! It is the only way forward to ensure that our mothers do not shed uncalled for tears!
IT IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD! WE DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE!
I recall this particular song when I think of these poor innocent souls who died a meaningless death:
Gardisho mein rehati behati gujarati jindagiya hai kitani
Inamein se ek hai teri meri aakahi? Koi ek jaisi apani
Kar khuda khair kar, aisa anjaam kisi rooh ko na de kabhi yahaan
Gubja muskuraata ek waqt se pehale kyun chhod chala tera yeh jahaan
Ek lau iss tarah kyun bujhi mere maula, ek lau jindagi ki maula
Dhoop ke ujaale se, os ke pyaale se khushiya milein hamako
Jyaada maangahai kahaan, sarhade na ho jahaan duniya mile hamko
Kar khuda khair kar, usake armaan mein kyun bewajah ho koi kurbaan
Gubja muskuraata ek waqt se pehale kyun chhod chala tera yeh jahaan
Ek lau iss tarah kyun bujhi mere maula, ek lau jindagi ki maula –
Ek lau iss tarah kyun bujhi mere maula, ek lau jindagi ki maula
May their soul rest in peace! May good sense prevail! May humanity find the right direction! This is what I hope for! This is what I pray for! This is what I yearn for!