WE THE PEOPLE
Despite being abode of spiritual saints, moral and ethical values are on fast decline in Kashmir valley
Hence conscientious citizens urge religious Scholars, Preachers, NGOs and Intellectuals to launch crusade against all social evils
By: M Shirjeel
Srinagar: A casual study of humans living on this planet reveals that more than one million people are murdered every year and more than two million people commit suicides. More than five million people die of sex related diseases and more than 100 million suffer from sex transmitted diseases. More than 2.2 million die of alcohol related problems and more than 5 million die of smoking related problems. More than 70 million children are not allowed to take birth and are aborted and hundreds of millions indulge in gambling. Besides 500 million are now using Internet alone for gambling. More than 1.2 million of children are exploited annually in prostitution and other sex trades and more than 800 million-watch pornography. Millions of homes are broken every year and drug addiction is also persistent and tens of millions of people are addicted of harmful drugs
Islam does not rule the current world with the result that chaos prevails, as is evident from the figures cited above. Muslims of the current world have adopted Islam partially. This partial application has deprived them of the peace in its entirety. Jammu and Kashmir State is no exception, where majority of people have forgotten saints like Shahi Hamdan(RA), Sheikh-ul-Alam(RA) and other Reshis/Munies, who had propagated and presented Islam in its proper perspective. Their teachings stand ignored as is evident from horrible tales of juvenile delinquents, who commit crimes of heinous nature, which cast dark shadows on our future generations. The youths of today are the citizens of tomorrow and as such they should be capable of shouldering responsibilities with high sense of dedication and devotion. Hence they need to be educated and trained in such a manner that they play their role well.and not get swayed away by materialistic considerations.
Be it drugs addiction, moral turpitude, dowry demands or revolt against elders, all these put together have wrought havoc and tarnished our traditional values. The social scientists attribute it to lack of religious and moral education while economists call it the fallout of economic disparities. Whatever the cause, one thing is clear that narcotics and other evils have taken strong roots at the global level and such phenomena has to be co-related with the situation prevailing in Kashmir Valley today.
“ Our youths have been going astray and are not guided and governed by religious and moral teachings. Islam being a scientific religion has much to offer to all, irrespective of age and sex. The parents have been sending their children to English Medium Schools where no religious lessons are imparted to the wards. The same wards have lot of amenities available in their houses and are thus totally unaware of the problems, which their elders used to face when they were in teens. Most of the houses are having modern gadgets and most sophisticated means of communication, which have contributed largely towards degradation of moral values today. When parents and their children watch movies of obscene nature under the same roof, the result can be well imagined than described. Moreover, free sale of narcotics and other drugs have spoiled the youth beyond description. Many cases of killings in families are reported daily which shows the level of decline in moral and religious values in Kashmir Valley. The exposure of sex scandal involving many high profile personalities is enough to establish that we have touched the abysmal depths of immorality”, said a group of keen Watchers of Kashmir Valley.
Therefore, it is the most appropriate occasion for the religious Scholars, Preachers, NGOs and Intellectuals to launch a crusade against all social evils, which have pushed our society to the brink of a precipice. The prevailing scenario is quite grim and needs joint strategy to educate our youth so that they become good citizens tomorrow. We have already lost much time and as such launching a crusade against such crimes is need of the hour. Whether this is done remains to be seen!
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