The Memories Still Haunt me

The Milli Gazette

Published Online: Mar 19, 2015

Print Issue: 16-31 March 2015

The memories still haunt me. Haunt me to the extent that, I avoid visiting my place that frequently says Mujahid.

Born in a small village Mahra, in Poonch district of Kashmir he was orphaned in his childhood. He is the 9th child of his parents. Mahra is possibly the most backward village in the most backward district of the “Paradise on Earth”.  He says he opened his eyes in a family which suffered acute destitution. “When I came to my senses, I saw poverty and destitution hovering over the family like anything.” His parents worked as labourers and had a small farming. The struggle for survival of the family was further threatened by the violence of ninety’s all around the valley.

He was brought up in Poonch by his brothers. He treats his elder brothers like his father, as he mentions in his book, “The Paradise Unseen". He wrote this book for promotion of Ecotourism in Pir Panjal, a neglected region. To be able to reach maximum people, and for the sake of region, he happily bore the burden of everything, and even made available book online free of cost. He wrote the book just after completing his Masters in Geography.

He has done B.Ed from AMU. He qualified NET (National Eligibility Test) three times. He even became a teacher at a Government High School in Poonch. But he left it to study further. Mujahid I. Mughal is 25 now. He is a pursing PhD at the Department of Geography in Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.

He regards Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as his role model. He dreams of making a University like AMU, in Pir Panjal.

He writes frequently on issues concerning the society for national and international publications and websites.

He loves reading and writing poetry. His poetry revolves around communal harmony, environment, poverty, brotherhood etc. Faiz Ahmad Faiz is an inspiration to him.

He is working on the Kashmir Conflict and tries to help the victims of the Conflict. He runs an NGO called, Payaam-The Message.