Mothers of the disappeared

Mother of four ‘martyrs’ left at fate’s mercy
Rising Kashmir Sept 19

Rashid Paul
Srinagar Sep 16: Hajra, a 75-year-old widow of Wangam, Bandipore who lost her four sons to the ongoing armed rebellion is struggling to make her living.
She is admitted in a city hospital with nobody around to attend to her.
The lady had only succour left in her husband, Ghulam Mohammed Sofi, who also died in January this year due to multiple organ failure.
“We were bakers and enjoyed a contended life till 1996 when army killed my son Muhammed Rafi,” Hajra told Rising Kashmir.
To avenge the killing of his brother, Hajra’s eldest son Nazir went for arms training across the border and returned with a militant outfit.
“The army started hounding us. They picked up my other son Bashir.
It was snowing when a contingent of 14 RR, the counter insurgency wing of the Army lifted him from the bakery shop and asked him to provide the whereabouts of his militant brother,” she said.
“We approached the nearest army camp who agreed to allow us to meet him. But later the RR personnel claimed that Bashir escaped from the camp,” she added.
Hajra does not trust the army claims and insists that her “non-combatant” son was killed during torture.
“Some Gujjar tribesmen later informed me that a body was burnt to ashes in the nearby forests immediately after the arrest of my son,” she added.
The elderly woman alleges that she had to sell off her precious households for persuading the police officials to file a First Information Report. However as per her the exercise proved futile as no investigation was carried into the disappearance of Bashir.
Nazir who had pledged to avenge the killers of his brother was eliminated in an encounter with Army two years after the custodial disappearance of his brother. The former had four children.
Ultimately the fourth son of the bakers, Ajaz was overwhelmed by the killing of his elders and opted for militant struggle. He was killed in a combat operation at Kreeri, Pattan five years ago.
“I am unfortunate not even to have a last glimpse of my son as he had already been laid to rest when I heard of his death,” she said.
Hajra is acrimonious of the politicians, both pro-India and separatists.
“They have cashed in on the blood of our youngsters. None of them bothered to ameliorate our sufferings although lot of money was brought into Kashmir in our name,” she said.