SRINAGAR, Jan 21: The people of Kashmir recalled the brutal killing of 50 civilians way back in 1990.
People who have been eyewitness to the incident or have survived it, still loom under the impact of the incident. However, those who only heard about the incident are not any less affected.
Fayaz Ahmad, a contractor who was then in his 30s, remembers the uneasy morning of January 21. He woke up to see curfewed Valley and thought of spending the day playing carom with his neighbours. After finishing his breakfast, he called on his neighbourhood friends to play carom.
“We are enjoying carom but there was something lingering on the mind too. We knew things were not doing well here. We wanted to forget about all this and have some good time,” Fayaz said who was accompanied by four of his friends.
As the sun began to set, the news of killings started flowing in.
“Someone from our neighborhood had got the news that security forces had killed civilians.”
Fayaz and his friends immediately quit their game, became uneasy and sad.
Ali Imtiyaz (name changed) was hardly 11 years old when the massacre took place. The only thing he remembers is that his father’s uncle was killed in the incident which made the family uneasy.
“I did not understand the massacre at all. I remember my father tell my uncles that their uncle was killed, in firing.”
To reach to the family of the deceased, Ali’s family struggled amid curfew.
“I and my other three cousins were left at the neighbours place while the family went for the funeral,” says Ali who was too engrossed in his childhood to seek further details.
Many people have lost the memory of the details of the day. Yet they remember, “many were killed by security forces on January 21.”
Shaista Ahmad, a doctor, does not remember anything about the day. Six year old then, she faintly remembers the curfewed streets.
“It was only after I grew up and understood Kashmir situation that I came to know of Gawkadal massacre. I have no memories of the day.”
A group of people said they only have few memories of know titbits about the incidents. Those who knew the real situation, maintain silence for fear of life.
“It is mainly after media started highlighting the incident in recent years, that we came to know what exactly happened,” they said.
Even as the population was enraged over the killing, they could not hold mass protests due to stringent curfew.
(Originally published in Kashmir Times on January 22, 2014)
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