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Journalism of Courage
The passengers gather expectantly along the track. Railway policemen take positions, shouting safety precautions before a whistle blows in from a distance. Everybody looks west. And then it comes. Painted in white and red, the Valley8217;s first train on its maiden journey from Srinagar to Anantnag, turns round the bend and pulls in at the station.
The sight of the train sets the crowd into motion. People rush inside the waiting train and it8217;s not long before it lets off a whistle and sets off again.
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flagged off Kashmir8217;s first-ever train on October 11, nobody expected the train to touch the hearts of so many people and so quickly become a part of the Valley8217;s everyday routine.
Passengers on the train look on at the sights that pass them by. But it is only when the snow capped peaks appear, emerging from their slumberous silhouettes into the morning light, that the train seems to have finally come home to Kashmir.
The experience is unencumbered by the reigning political turmoil in the Valley, visible even on the day the Prime Minister came to inaugurate the train. There is much good-humoured teasing and banter between the railway police personnel and the commuters.
8220;Look, we are your friends, we are here for your security. No stone-pelting with us,8221; says Head Constable R S Shukla to a group of youths standing in the aisle. 8220;Never. We have no issues with the train,8221; they reply promptly.
We reach the station at Awantipora at 8.10 am. Awantipora, an ancient township, was founded by the Hindu king Awantivarman in the ninth century. As the train pulls in, the station bursts into a roar. The crowd rushes inside the compartments, blocking the passage of travellers wanting to get off. 8220;People will take time to get used to the railway culture. We have a job on our hands,8221; Shukla says.
But surprisingly he is not too worried over the security angle. 8220;We are aware of the danger. But we shouldn8217;t forget that the targets of terror in the Valley have generally been security forces, not civilians,8221; says Shukla.
There is cheer all around and the mood is infectious. People are travelling without tickets but for once the ticket checker doesn8217;t seem to mind. 8220;These people are all without tickets,8221; says Devesh, before adding a word of caution to the day trippers: 8220;Remember, in future, you will be in trouble. So, always get tickets.8221;
The train in the Valley has a significance that is even deeper than that of the beginning of trade across the LoC from October 21. The train8217;s arrival has defied the collective cynicism of a people who believed that despite government claims, a train for the Valley, for which work started in 1998, was at least a generation away. The fact that the work on the Udhampur-Qazigund track 8212; which will connect the Valley with the rest of the country 8212; was abandoned recently added to the despair. That despair has now been dispelled.
The train is now a red-and-white eight-bogey reality, chugging along a distance of 68 km, four times a day. It has shortened distances and made travel economical. A mere Rs 11 for a one-hour journey from Srinagar to Anantnag. The deal is good and Razaq Dar from Arwani knows it. 8220;We pay less, reach early. What is more, the journey is comfortable,8221; he says, as we reach the Anantnag station at 8.40 am, one hour and five minutes after we left Srinagar.
A crowd is gathered on the station to welcome the first-ever train in town. Ten minutes later we head back to Srinagar.
It8217;s not just the passengers who are excited. For driver Joginder Kumar too this is a novel journey. For the past 39 years he has driven through the dusty plains of Punjab between Ludhiana, Amritsar and Hissar but Kashmir is different. 8220;All we hear about Kashmir is do with violence. So, I had some apprehensions before coming here. But this euphoria over the train has made things normal for me,8221; he says. It has also made him enjoy his new assignment. 8220;I am proud to drive the Valley8217;s first train. I would love to work here for a while,8221; says Kumar.
