Kashmir continues to seesaw between hope, frustration: Zaira Wasim

Srinagar: Six months after the abrogation of Article 370, National Award winning actor Zaira Wasim broke her silence saying there is a false and uneasy semblance of calmness in place of escalating despair and sorrow.

Zaira, who quit acting in July last year saying it interfered with her faith, took to social media and wrote a long post to express her feeling about Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370.

“Kashmir continues to suffer and seesaw between hope and frustration. There is a false and uneasy semblance of calmness in place of escalating despair and sorrow. Kashmiris continue to exist and suffer in a world where it is so easy to place restrictions on our liberty”, she wrote.

Zaira, who debuted in Aamir Khan’s Dangal, asked why 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.

“Why do we have to live in a 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 disapproval, 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 ruthlessly? What is so easy to curb our voices so severely? Why can’t we live simple lives without always having to wrestle and remind the world of our existence?” she asked.

The National Award winning actor said hundreds of questions are unanswered which has left them bewildered and frustrated. “But our frustrations find no outlet. The authority doesn’t make the slightest effort to put a stop to our doubts and speculations but stubbornly tend to go their own way to confine our existence mired in a confused, conflicted and a paralyzed world”, she said.

The Sky Is Pink actor asked the world not to believe the unfair representation of the facts and details or the rosy hue that the media has cast on the reality of the situation.

“What has altered your acceptance of the misery and oppression we’re being subjected to? 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,” she said.

Last year, Dangal girl shocked the showbiz when she quit acting, saying that it "threatened" her relationship with religion.

"As I had just started to explore and make sense of the things to which I dedicated my time, efforts and emotions and tried to grab hold of a new lifestyle, it was only for me to realize that though I may fit here perfectly, I do not belong here," she wrote last year while announcing her decision to say goodbye to Bollywood.