The truth is that most people who write
or comment about Kashmir have never been there. Srinagar is hardly Kashmir. A
sprawling, urban mess, Srinagar has greyness written all over it. For a keen
Kashmir watcher like me, going to Srinagar doesn’t qualify.
That is what makes Bhaavna Arora so
different. She has been to South Kashmir, walked on the roads, smelt the
anxiety, the fear, the longing and the expectation of the people. She has sat
on the floor of a martyr’s house and cried with his family. From Army officers
to taxi drivers, from local policemen to the ordinary Kashmiri, everyone has been
part of her journey. This book is about that journey.
Bhaavna called me one fine evening,
telling me that she wanted to write a book on Lt. Ummer Fayaz. I was puzzled.
Why would someone want to write about a Kashmiri army officer who was murdered
in cold blood in Kashmir? But write she did.
UNDAUNTED is not just a book about Lt.
Ummer Fayaz. It is a book about the Indian Army. It is a book about the people
of Kashmir. It is a book about the love and heartbreak of a family. And it is a
book about heroes.
When was it ever easy for a Kashmiri to
wear a uniform? Recently, there has been a spate of killings of unarmed
Kashmiri army men and policemen. They are seen as legitimate targets; such is
the level of radicalization in the Kashmir Valley. It is in this environment
that Ummer Fayaz decided to join the Armed Forces. Initially an Air Force
candidate, he settled for the Indian Army after a small medical issue. His
parents were so proud. The entire community looked up to him.
Bhaavna writes like she is silently
watching young Ummer going to the market with his little sister, celebrating
with the family, laughing and crying with them and when calamity strikes,
grieving with them. The book is full of incidents about Ummer and others who
were either a part of his life or enabled the writing of this book. Everything
finds mentions. Nothing is left out. I couldn’t help but smile when Bhaavna
writes about her first ride on a Tatra. It made me remember mine.
When young Ummer is returning from
school one day, he refuses to be frisked at an Army check post. Things get a
little heated and the soldier slaps him and then takes him inside the Army
camp. There he meets a kind and gentle officer. The officer speaks to Ummer
with respect and explains that there is information about terrorists moving
around and that’s why the frisking is required. Ummer agrees to have his
schoolbag checked. This incident leaves a lasting impression in young Umar’s
mind. He tells the officer “I want to become like you”. While leaving, he sees
the officer’s name plate. Ata Hasnain. Umar doesn’t forget and when the time is
right, he starts preparing for the National Defence Academy exams.
There is another interesting incident
from NDA. During the cross-country run, Ummer and Majid, another cadet, didn’t
want to run as they were observing Roza. The officer asked them, “And where in
the Holy Quran does it say to abandon your duties while observing Roza?”
So, Ummer and Majid ran. In spite of
cramps and dehydration, they ran. They ran with such spirit that both managed
to come in the second enclosure, out of a total of six. This speaks volumes
about the spirit of Umar.
This book is not just a compilation of
facts. It makes you laugh and cry. You feel the cramps in your legs when Ummer
runs during Roza. You feel the guilt of Tahzun when she cries, thinking that
she could have saved Umar if she had picked up his calls. You want to hold Lt
Col Inderjeet Singh’s hand when he shaves off his head, in a typical Hindu
mourning ritual, when he hears of Ummer’s death and then asks his wife Rajni to
perform all the rituals that are performed when a member of the family dies.
Bhaavna has walked with each of these people. As I said before, she has
laughed, cried, celebrated and grieved with each one of them, especially
Ummer’s family.
While this book, every now and then,
touches upon the cauldron that the Kashmir Valley has become, it is also a
paean to the DNA of the Indian Army…its ethos, its traditions and its
values. Ummer had never offered namaz in
a masjid in the NDA, but when his friends and family in Kashmir tell him that
the Indian Army is against their religion, Umar requests officers at NDA that
all Muslim cadets be allowed to offer Namaz on Fridays. Umar has suddenly not
found religion. His loyalty to the Indian Army is such that he goes out of his
way to tell people back home that in the Indian Army, there is space for all
faiths. His request for Friday namaz is granted. He becomes the Namaz leader in
NDA.
In this book, Ummer seems statesman
like. He sees a larger role for himself in the context of Kashmir. When his
fellow cadets tell him that both Burhan Wani and he were slapped by security
forces, but Umar chose to fight for India, unlike Burhan who became a
terrorist, Umar realizes that he could shape the life of other Kashmiri young
men.
Lt. Ummer Fayaz of 2nd Battalion, The
Rajputana Rifles was brutally murdered on 9 May 2017, while he was unarmed and
on leave to attend his cousin sister’s marriage. His relationship with the
Indian Army continued even after his death. They avenged him on 1 April 2018.
This book is also a plea for hope.
Without stating the obvious, it is a cry for Kashmir, a prayer for young
Kashmiris to take a deep look at who their heroes should be. It is Kashmir’s
young who will decide what of the future of Kashmir will be like.
Thank you Bhaavna, for taking me on this
magnificent journey of courage, hope, love, longing and fire.
Walk with Ummer here
https://amzn.to/2EuHdbv
Major Gaurav Arya
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