SRINAGAR, Aug 6:For the families who lost their loved ones to the scourge of terrorism in Kashmir, August 5 was more than just another day, it was the culmination of decades of waiting, hoping, and quietly enduring.
At the serene banks of Dal Lake, where the SKICC function hall bustled with emotion and remembrance, 158 families touched by tragedy finally received a long-awaited acknowledgment: job appointment letters, handed over by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha himself.
Among those present was AnjuReyaz, a resident of Anantnag, whose voice trembled as she remembered the day her father, a Special Police Officer, was killed in 1991.
“We have struggled a lot ever since. The day we were finally heard, we celebrated,” she said, her eyes brimming with a mix of joy and years of silent sorrow.
Anju was just six months old when her father was martyred. She spoke of a life shaped by loss, of growing up in a rented house, watching her mother take up menial jobs to make ends meet, and of carrying the weight of an absence she was too young to understand.
“My mother was left alone with me, a baby. She worked in other people’s homes so we could survive. We kept visiting offices,they told us ‘come tomorrow, come the day after.’ It never ended. Then LG Sinha sahib called us. He said our cases would be resolved in 30 days. Today, he fulfilled that promise.”
BismaMushtaq from Shopian echoed a similar pain. Her father was killed in 1996 — a loss that haunted her family for nearly three decades.
“My parents sacrificed their lives for this nation,” she said, standing tall with pride and grief intertwined. “For 29 years, we waited. Now, finally, we feel justice has been done.”
For Bisma, the loss extended beyond her parents. Her grandfather, who had long hoped for some recognition of the family’s pain, passed away during the long wait. “He would’ve been so proud today,” she whispered.
The sombre yet hopeful function was more than a government event. It was, for many, a closing chapter — not of grief, but of bureaucratic neglect and forgotten promises.
On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha interacted personally with the next of kin of terrorism victims and handed them government job appointment letters — a step many families see as both symbolic and substantial.
“These are not just appointments; they are acknowledgments of sacrifice,” said one official at the event. “No compensation can ever bring back a lost loved one, but dignity and recognition matter.”
