The Sky is Pink actor Zaira Wasim, who originally hails from Kashmir, took to Instagram after a long time to write a note about how her hometown ‘continues to suffer’. She began by saying, “Kashmir continues to suffer and see- saw between hope and frustration। There’s a false and uneasy semblance of calmness in place of escalating despair and sorrow.”
She continues by asking a multitude of questions. “Why do we have to live in world where our lives and wills are controlled, dictated and bent? Why is it so easy to have our voices silenced? Why is it so easy to curtail our freedom of expression? Why aren’t we ever allowed to voice our opinions, let alone our disprovals to decisions that are made contrary to our wishes? Why is it that instead of trying to see the cause of our view, our view is just condemned ruthfully? What is so easy to curb our voices so severely? Why can we not live simple lives without always having to wrestle and remind the world of our existence. Why is that life of a Kashmiri is just about experiencing a lifetime of crisis, blockade and disturbance so abundantly that it has taken away the recognition of normalcy and harmony from the hearts and minds?”
Zaira also warned that the rosy picture that the media has been painting about the reality of Kashmir is not to be believed. “Do not believe the unfair representation of the facts and details or the rosy hue that the media has cast on the reality of the situation. Ask questions, re-examine the biased assumptions. Ask questions. For our voices have been silenced- and for how long....none of us really know!”
For nearly six months, the Indian government had shut down Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir - the longest shutdown in the world. The blockade began on the night of 4 August. The next day, the government scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 and split the state into two Union Territories.
Earlier, Zaira had taken to social media to assure fellow Kashmiris that “this too shall pass.”
On 30 June last year, Zaira had announced her "disassociation" from the field of acting, stating that she was not happy with the line of work as it interfered with her faith and religion. In a detailed text note on her Instagram page, which she later shared across all social media platforms, the Kashmiri-born star who debuted only 5 years ago in the Aamir Khan starrer Dangal said she realised "though I may fit here perfectly, I do not belong here".
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