The Blazing Desperation: When Fear Pushed a Father to the Brink in Kashmir

Imagine, if you will, the sheer, crushing weight of fear—the kind that gnaws at your insides, that makes you contemplate the unthinkable. That's what Mohammad Abdullah Ganai, a man from Chadoora, Budgam, was facing, or so it seemed, when he doused himself in petrol and lit a match. A horrifying spectacle, really, one that unfolded right there, in the open, capturing the raw, desperate anguish of a father.

His son, Irfan Ahmad Ganai, had been taken away. Not arrested, mind you, but 'called for questioning' by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. And in that particular corner of the world, those words, 'called for questioning,' often carry a chilling undertone, a promise of uncertainty, a void of silence. You could say, for Mohammad Abdullah, it was too much to bear. The worry, the powerlessness—it pushed him to the edge, and then, quite literally, over it.

The scene, as you might expect, was chaotic. Eyewitnesses recounted the horror, the immediate intervention of bystanders and local police who rushed to extinguish the flames. And honestly, it’s a miracle he survived, albeit with severe burn injuries. But the act itself? It wasn't just a personal tragedy; it ignited something else entirely. Protests erupted. The community, already on edge, rallied, blocking roads, demanding answers. They felt it, this collective frustration, this feeling that arbitrary detentions were, in truth, far too common.

And so, amid the smoke and the shouts, a narrative emerged: a plea, a desperate cry against perceived police harassment and heavy-handedness. The police, for their part, quickly stated that Irfan had been released after what they termed 'necessary questioning' concerning a 'militancy-related incident.' He was back home, yes, but the scars, both physical and psychological, from that day will undoubtedly linger. This incident, you see, it wasn't just about a father and his son; it was a stark, burning reminder of the fragile peace, the underlying tensions that constantly simmer beneath the surface in Kashmir.