BY DR.ABDUL AHAD
In Luton animals are treated with absolute kindness. During my trip a teenager was jailed for 8 weeks and banned from keeping animals for ten years after he was caught on camera brutally kicking and punching a seven month old bitch. What a contrast? Back home in Kashmir blood of innocent youth spilt on the streets and lanes, through genocide perpetrated on daily basis for political reasons, doesn’t evoke even lip sympathy, not to talk of any concerted response from any quarter. While ambling down its meticulous and hassle free pathways we are least troubled by the idea of being cheated by brutish pickpockets; they aren’t t found there. Nor do we see rowdies teasing girls; or little children struggling for meals.
A few weeks’ time was reasonably good enough for me to be familiar with Luton and know its people; its history and its culture. And more so when I was invited by the Kashmir Centre to participate in seminars and interact with its senior citizens and budding youth through discourses, lectures and also to attend Luton Mella: an annual carnival, showcasing rich pageant of interesting events, mesmeric performances and sparkling assortment of arts, crafts and trade items. For this I am deeply beholden to the organizers’ of two decades old Kashmir Centre, who not only made my sojourn comfortable but also inspired me a lot with their emotional involvement in building bridges between communities and taking their integration with the indigenous English a step forward, besides bringing Kashmir’s distinct heritage closer to town; nay to the entire Kingdom of Great Britain?
Luton is a flourishing township; an English Borough of great historical significance which was, till recently, an important industrial and trade centre, conspicuously known for manufacture and marketing of highly famed Bedford trucks’ and much sought after hats, And right now it is an abode of about 1.85 lakh people of Asian, African, European, Polish and British origins who, despite their diverse mores, are welded together so closely that they look more and more Lutonians than anything else’. Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Whites and Blacks” all add to refurbishing its social ecology with their respective cultural mooring; enabling it to take on the mantle of developing requisite linkages among the communities and, thereby, making it more than inspiring and impressive. The composite character of this ethos; its pluralism; its elasticity; its cohesiveness: all are worth emulating. It doesn’t let wicked bigotry, ugly intolerance or a divisive politicking vitiate the social harmony of the town, and instead strongly promotes mutual respect, civilizational consensus, conciliation, peace and concord among the communities.
To the home-grown, Luton is, thus, a region where blending of diverse, multiple identities takes place unrestrictedly to reinforce its all comprehensive identity -the British identity-without losing their essence and colour. And to those who have settled here or work or study here it is a place of promise and hope; a place where humans ate weighed up in boxes not of birth, race and religion but of worth, merit and comprehension. All take pride in its milieu which is increasingly characterized by its openhearted and open-mindedness; its transparency; its forbearance. It fails them not on any account, nor pushes anybody into the spot of bother in respect of justice, job and education. It reaches out to everyone through a Borough Council that holds a pivotal position in managing local affairs. People have full faith in its members, comprising both Muslims and non-Muslims who dare not discard the feelings, interests and aspirations of those who vote them to power. It is their deep realization of the power of ballot, the supremacy of people, their rights, their voice and their role that makes the Councillors stubbornly wedded to their obligations; the rich pickings of power do not lure them into doing what is perceived as undemocratic and unfair.
They can’t, thus, even dream of inciting their voters to repeat the gory chapter of the history of the town which serves to them as a deterrent against pursuing what doesn’t fall within the ambit of social justice and honesty. The present Council Hall is a living memorial of yester year’s public disquiet and virulent protests against unscrupulous and unctuous Councillors. It was rebuilt in 1936 at the site of original Victorian Town Hall that had been set on fire by the local crowd that had come out on the streets ostensibly to greet the victorious soldiers of World War 1919 but in actuality to register their anger against unwanted and anti-people policies of the local authorities of the time. This anecdote is reminiscent of mob frenzy that was in no way different from the ones we come across, not very infrequently, in our part of the world which is increasingly infested with goons who rule the roost to rob us blind in the name of democracy.
The present author gained a lot of information about the Council and its working from its Deputy Executive, Mr. John and Councillor Qurban Hussian. They were kind enough to spare their precious time and facilitate my visit to the historical building and a display of various trophies and plaques marking achievements and distinctions of the Council.
It was qute heart-warming to note that in Luton animals feel as safe as humans. They are treated with absolute kindness and care. And if anybody does let abuse infringe their rights he is taken to task under law of the land.During my trip a teenager was jailed for 8 weeks and banned from keeping animals for ten years after he was caught on camera brutally kicking and punching a seven month old bitch.
What a contrast? Back home in Kashmir blood of innocent youth spilt unendingly on the streets and lanes, through genocide perpetrated on daily basis for political reasons, doesn’t evoke even lip sympathy, not to talk of any concerted response from any quarter
To be in Luton was altogether different from home. It was indeed quite an experience to cruise around its streets and suburbs and feast my eyes on the architectural wonder, artistic grandeur and technical superiority of its buildings, heritage sites, cultural centres, worship places, malls, shops and institutes dotting the town. They are so imaginatively arrayed that amidst incredibly dazzling alleys and blessings of modern technology they give a warm, effervescent feeling of yore and quickly recreate the glorious ambience of Victorian era before our eyes Luton is noticeably free from the noise and chaos that exasperates us frequently on the roads and by lanes back home in Asia; especially in India and Pakistan. There is no rattle of trucks to unnerve you; no street dogs to Scare you, no stray bulls to fret you; no beggars to pester you; no hawkers to bother you, no handcarts to obstruct your way and; no power cuts to annoy you.
While ambling down its meticulous and hassle free pathways we are least troubled by the idea of being cheated by brutish pickpockets; they aren’t found there. Nor do we see rowdies teasing girls; or little children struggling for meals But we are all the time disturbed by the smoke of cigarettes consumed by all and sundry, old and young, men and women, outside the malls and near the shops and other public places in open defiance of law. And after 7 pm we are saddened to notice drunkards causing nuisance and thwarting your movements on the roads and in the streets.
Dr. Abdul Ahad is a well-known historian of Kashmir. He presents a perspective on the Kashmir issue and talks about Kashmir’s history and individuality and personality.
