`Eid Missing in Kashmir

By Farooq A Ganai, IOL Correspondent
SRINAGAR — For children across the world, `Eid Al-Fitr is the time of happiness, festivities and family gatherings, but not for Rabia, whose `Eid has become something of a misnomer since her father disappeared.

"For me `Eid has no importance," the young kid from Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administrated Kashmir, told IslamOnline.net.

Rabia’s father was taken by Indian security forces from their home when she was only five.

Since then, Rabia, who now lives with her grandmother after the death of her mother, has forgotten what `Eid is like.

"My biggest `Eid will be the day I will be in my father’s lap again."

`Eid Al-Fitr, one of the two main Islamic religious festivals together with `Eid Al-Adha, started in Kashmir on Monday, September 21.

But for many families, the joy of `Eid disappeared with the disappearance of their loved ones.

"Don’t ask me about `Eid," said Shameema, whose husband disappeared two years ago.

"I never celebrated it since my husband went missing."

Up to 10,000 Kashmiris have gone missing since 1989, mostly after being detained by Indian security forces who have broad powers of arrest.

At least 2,000 of the disappeared people were young married males, according to the independent Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP).

"`Eid is all about happiness but my heart is weeping all the time," said Maimoona, whose husband Akther Hussian disappeared from his tailoring shop in Srinagar 11 years ago.

"Believe me, I am half-dead and festivals like `Eid are meaningless for me."


Awaiting `Eid

For Parveena Ahanger, `Eid days pass by while her eyes are gazed at the door, praying for the return of her beloved son.

"I still prepare food and make cloths for my son and on `eid day I keep on waiting for his arrival," Ahanger, 75, told IOL.

"I keep doors open thinking he might come but every `eid my dreams are dashed to the ground," she somberly added.

Ahanger’s son, Javed, disappeared on August 18, 1990, when he was 16.

Since then, she has left no stone unturned in search of him.

Ahanger is not alone suffering to discover the fate of her son.

"I have not celebrated a single festival since my son disappeared from the custody of security forces," Muglai, 70, said.

Her son, Nazir, was also snatched from the heart of Srinagar, and since then she has not stopped searching for him.

"I went to every security agency and officers but no one could tell me where my son is," cried the elderly, who lives alone in a small house.

"I searched all the grave yards of the valley but could not find him and searched all the jails, but all in waste."

Muglai insists she will never lose hope and will continue her quest until being finally united with her son.

Ahanger, who dedicated her time for the cause of disappeared people, is no less resolved.

"We pray for the return of our loved ones."