A national debate has broke out in in the country following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam. While some are associating terrorism with religion, many others maintain that terrorism shouldn’t be linked to any faith.
By New Delhi Post Desk
New Delhi: This discussion gained momentum after terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam specifically asked tourists their religion before shooting them.
A blood donation camp was organised in Karnal, Haryana on Thursday in memory of Navy officer Vinay Narwal, who was shot dead by terrorists on 22nd April. Speaking on the occasion, his wife Himanshi stated: “…We don’t want people going against Muslims or Kashmiris. We want peace and only peace. Of course, we want justice.”
While many on social media praised her statement, some under the breath criticised it. In response, a statement by Ashanya Dwivedi – wife of Kanpur businessman Shubham Dwivedi who was killed in the attack – is being widely shared. Speaking to a private channel, Ashanya emotionally remarked that had her husband been Muslim, he might still be alive.
A 32-second clip from the interview has gone viral, where Ashanya says:”It’s a reality, it’s a big slap on our faces when people say Hindus and Muslims are one. They’ve finished it – they’ve killed the Hindus and separated the Muslims. The Muslims have safely reached their homes. If we’d been Muslims, we would have been saved too. We’d be sitting at home now. I never believed in Hindu-Muslim division – Shubham had many Muslim friends, so did I among my students. But now I wonder… why didn’t we…?”
After 22nd April attack, Ashanya had told reporters how terrorists approached them asking about their religion. She initially thought it was a prank. “When they asked if we were Hindu or Muslim, I actually laughed and asked what was going on. When they repeated the question and I said we were Hindu, they immediately fired. Everything ended for me in that moment – Shubham’s face was covered in blood before I could comprehend what happened,” news agency PTI quoted her as saying.
