The Tragedy Of Nadimarg Kashmir 2003 Poem by BAL KRISHAN PANDITA

Some elderly men in the village had said
Leave not your motherland, here you have land and bread
True there was chaos and violence in the region
But it was not a war of religion

So with this belief, they remained in the valley of terror
Where one night a knock made them shudder
Their windows and doors were shattered by desperadoes
Under a nearby chinar tree were made their altars

Men, women, children, helpless Pandits
Were set in a row by the ' freedom fighters'
From machine guns bullets were rained
On defenseless victims, who did nothing but prayed

Heart rending wails and screams filled the sky
Blood drained from the wounds, heart and thigh
Under the Chinar tree known for autumn leaves red
The earth was soaked in blood red

Twenty four corpses were laid in rows
White cloth covered their wound-splattered bodies and toes
On a pyre of flames were they laid
No commission, no enquiry, they let the matter fade.