Shefali Vaidya
Pune: The Islamic terrorist attack targeting Hindus in Pahalgam has left me extremely disturbed for the past few days. Last night I had a dream. I was standing in the lush green meadows of Pahalgam, and a cold gun barrel was pointed at my face. Beyond the barrel were cruel, frozen, cold eyes filled with extreme hatred.
I woke up at 2 am drenched in sweat. My heart was still racing and a single question lingered in my mind — what would I have done if something like this had happened to me? Would I have removed my bindi to save my life? Would I have renounced my faith and recited the kalma?
No one has taught us to face death with courage. We are ordinary people, not soldiers. The fear of death is a strong natural instinct.
Would I have behaved like that in Pahalgam that day, or would I have faced death with courage knowing death was inevitable? Or would I have been paralyzed, unable to decide what to do?
Honestly, I don’t know the answer to this question. I hope that if such a situation were to arise, I would be worthy of my freedom fighter father’s legacy, who took up arms for the country at the age of 21.
When we are safely asleep in our warm beds it is easy to talk about bravery. But the truth is none of us know how we would react in that moment.
Courage is a muscle we are unaware of until we are faced with a crisis. I cannot say for sure what I would have done if I were in Pahalgam that day.
But one thing I can say for sure is we Hindus have been living under the illusion such things will never happen to us. We think we will never have to choose between our faith and our lives.
We know millions of Hindus in India have had to make this choice at some point. We have read history, but we conveniently forget it because the truth is bitter.
This is our history, our present, and if we open our eyes wide, our future. This truth is a reality for the families of the 26 people who lost their lives in Pahalgam.
Please don’t be under any illusion — our enemies have no interest in secularism. For them, we are just ‘kafirs’, a target, a sacrifice, a ticket to heaven.
I pray to Goddess Durga when that moment comes, I will have the strength to face death with my head held high and eyes open.