"Whence do we come? What are we? Where are we going?"

          Crimes against humanity, as per the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, are “particularly odious offences in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings.” According to this definition, inhumane acts such as torture, rape, political and racial persecution are not considered crimes against humanity unless they are part of a government’s deliberate effort to suppress civilian populations. History is clearly stained with these crimes; however, even today in the twenty-first century, governments in every corner of the world continue to exploit strategies involving the execution of these crimes as a means to control the aspirations of those who have been denied rights to their own land and independence. In the case of Kashmir, it is critical to ask, what impact do these adverse political and social conditions, crimes and all, impart on the Kashmiri people?

          The late French painter and sculptor, Paul Gauguin, is referred to in the influential and popular comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes by the American cartoonist Bill Watterson. Contextualized, Calvin is seen walking past his mother, protesting “Paul Gauguin once said, ‘Whence do we come? What are we? Where are we going?” A few panels over, Calvin returns and inquires, “Who the heck is Paul Gauguin anyway?”  

          Undeniably, the comic strip is humorous, but at the same time, it may shed some important light on the struggles of the human condition. Do Kashmiris, who have a history discolored by a denial of rights to their own terrain and freedom, at times, ask themselves:

“Whence do we come? What are we? Where are we going?”

          How, exactly, do Kashmiris recognize their current situation? What are their views on the conditions of their present lives? Ingrained in the times of yore, determined for the security of affluence in future, they stay restless, as the world is an enterprise connecting those who are alive, those who are deceased and those who must still be born. It may be practical to contextualize the standardized feelings with which the Kashmiris are preoccupied and what expectations they relish for the future considering the deplorable human rights infringements they suffer on a daily basis.

          The Kashmiri people bear the distress with the expectation that there are better days in store. In the turbulent history of Kashmir, its picturesque splendor decoyed even the unworldly to invest in Kashmir, and yet, the political turmoil it is witnessing today has not only pervaded those qualities but also hindered any efforts toward progress.

          If the Kashmiri people have not yet done so, it is likely that one day, much like the adventurous six-year-old Calvin, they may have some questions, and global actors, intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations endeavoring toward further development in this beautiful land must bear in mind that too extensive of a sacrifice may, unsuspectingly, create a stone of the heart.