Kashmir for India – A poem by Tapaswinee Mitra

Here we present our case-
Kashmir for India:

Kashmiris are so beautiful,
like foreigners.
Like brand ambassadors of
a Fair and Lovely ad.
Fair like Shashi Kapoor and
lovely like Shammi.
The only 2 Kashmiris we know,
other than Pandit Nehru.

Kashmir is the perfect honeymoon
destination; Come and experience love
at the Dal lake; at the Switzerland of India
(without the armed neutrality).
Deluxe honeymoon packages,
especially for you.
Thank you, visit again
(when you feel safe)

Kashmir is a barrier,
protecting us from our dreaded
enemies; a shield we use to prevent direct
confrontations. Kashmiri bodies
dying for non-Kashmiri ones.
Fair and lovely babies
protecting dark and dusky ones.
Kashmiri lives sacrificed for Non-Kashmiri ones.

Here we rest our case-
Kashmir for India,
Not for Kashmiris.

Tapaswinee studies History at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. She is interested in Conflict Area Studies and wants to pursue research in that field.

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