I was grieved to learn about sudden passing away of veteran author-journalist, Humra Qureshi. Her death is a loss to world of positive journalism & also to those marginalised people whose voice she raised & represented. Humra had a curious but unknown Kashmir connection. It didn’t arise from any incidence of marriage or birth or any kinship. It came to her, as if naturally. She was a comforter of suffering section of Kashmiri society & would go through sleepless nights mourning their loss. She was so much wedded & dedicated to Kashmir that at times she would lose all rationality to look beyond it. Her bond with people in distress was both emotional & perhaps convictional giving impression as if she was rooted in Kashmir in her past life.
Humra would frequently travel to Kashmir in those turmoil days unmindful of risk involved & overcoming her financial difficulties only to share the grief & loss of affected people & distribute whatever little she could arrange amongst orphanages & homeless. One day she was closely frisked at Srinagar Airport & was ordered to down her pants to check the bulging object inside. She kept her cool, took out her PAD, placed it on the shoulder of security official much to his embarrassment. This incident was later recorded by her in her book on Kashmir.
Humra Qureshi was no run of the mill journalist. For her journalism was a noble profession to render public service & not any instrument of propaganda or exploitation. She practised it honestly, fairly, fearlessly & ethically also. She was a finder of truth and no money, political or muscle power, would influence or deter her from telling the truth.
Humra zealously guarded her dignity & self respect defying all temptation & pressure. No editorial pressure or any overtures at work place would prevent her from calling spade a spade. She was repulsive to any extraneous influence & would rather quit the job in a prestigious newspaper than give in or give up.
Humra was celebrity Author Khushwant Singh’s favourite professional friend. When Khushwant was the Editor & she a reporter aspirant, her interview ended on an unpleasant note. She walked out of Khushwant office not to return next day. Later Khushwant persuaded her to return to join the job. Both became close friends & professional partners thereafter. Their jointly authored last book (Good, Bad & the ridiculous) was done when Khushwant was on his sick bed. Incidentally Humra was his only female friend who kept him company till he breathed his last.
Humrah Qureshi was honest to the core both in her professional discharge of duties & her personal dealings. When her marriage with a high ranking officer was on rocks, she was advised to soldier on for the sake of her two children. But she would not listen. She turned down all offers to receive her due on the break up & accepted only the money she had contributed to (husband’s) kitty in happy days. She received it to break the wedlock & to walk out from her husband’s official residence at Bharti Nagar. After she quit, she was offered all help by her friends but she rejected it all. Post her marital breakup, she started living a modest life on her own & carried on her campaign against excesses & injustice.
Expediency both in professional & personal life was unknown to her & she never lowered her guard to compromise on her dignity, self respect & self esteem. Humra was a loner & given her health condition & her single living it was always worrisome that she may die a death which nobody would come to know. Luckily her children-photo journalist Mustafa & London settled Sarah had come in to be at her bedside at the time of her death.
Temperamental & emotional Humra Qureshi lived by her convictions & sacrificed a lot to stand by her principles. She could have lived in luxury but she preferred to live life on her own terms. What a noble soul she was, rare to find in present day times. May God rest her soul in peace. (RIP)
