Each and every human being should celebrate the carnival of life with full vigour whilst facing all the struggles and challenges of life with patience and endurance. Everyday when  we  see  the  rising  sun,  we  feel  blessed  and  thank  God  for  one  more  day  to experience  his  beautiful  creation.  But  today  when  the  materialistic  ambitions  and global desires have taken center stage, we all get so encompassed in the peripheral aspects of life that we tend to forget the momentousness of life itself. Life is indeed a present  but  it  comes  with  a  responsibility  to  give  utmost  respect  to  nature’s  most marvelous creation.  
Recently an article by a Delhi University professor in ‘The Wire’ left me flabbergasted when  he  announced  that  “~_the  government’s  self-congratulatory  claim  of  good governance in Kashmir pertains to simply having ensured that there are no bodies on the ground_~”. Are we just bodies that are free to be sacrificed for adding gravity and numbers to a movement? It is really pitiable that these intellectuals consider our life, more so of a commoner, so trivial, so inconsequential. Today when the valley is going through one of the most difficult situation, undoubtedly, we are compelled to undergo lot of hardships but we are grateful to God that we are safe amidst such volatile and vulnerable circumstances and let me make it very clear to everyone that we love our lives and do not accept anyone else’s definition of our life rather we define ourselves.
 As citizens of a democracy we have a constitutional right to criticise or question the decisions of government. In fact we are free to register both our assent or dissent in a peaceful way. And it is the duty of the government to provide proper redressal of our grievances. But simultaneously we should also apprehend that the first and foremost priority of any State is to safeguard the lives of its citizens.  
 Each and every life is precious and worth living and can’t be compromised at any cost. And we all are well aware of the fact that hundreds of lives have been lost in valley in past on account of protests and retaliation. The leaders and activists who are the front runner of all such protests never take responsibility for any death but shift the whole blame  on  the  forces  and  administration.  Now  when  the  State  is  answerable  and accountable for the loss of lives of its people then of course  the State has a right to take preventive and precautionary measures to protect them too. Decisions taken by the government on Article 370, whether right or wrong, legal or illegal, constitutional or unconstitutional, are open to debate at appropriate platforms but presently the major concern is to avoid any loss of life in lieu of the anticipated repercussion.  
We are facing total clampdown in  valley for about one month now and the  biggest bottleneck is blockage of all means of communication. But whether we accept it or not,
we all know that if all the communication channels would not have been blocked then the valley would have once again witnessed the unfortunate loss like that during the protests against the death of Burhan Wani. How is government expected to shut down the communication of terrorists with the extremist leaders without controlling means of communication?  How  is  government  expected  to  control  the  spreading  of  hate mongering  on  social  media  without  curtailing  the  internet  services?  It  is  very convenient to raise fingers on the intentions of State but very difficult to appreciate their concerns and apprehensions.  
After one month of stringent restrictions, there have been five casualties, that too either by  stone  pelters  or  by  militants ,  and if  we  find  it  difficult  to show  some  respect  to security forces for not resorting to any gun fight or for being concerned about the safety of our lives then at least we should restrain ourselves from blemishing the forces with derogatory adjectives based on conjectures and surmises. We may or may not accede to  the  government’s  decision  but  right  now  we  should  not  fall  prey  either  to  the provocative narratives of foreign media who don’t have slightest idea of ground reality or to the prodding of various forces to ignite violence. Simultaneously we need not pay heed to the cross border farcical rant for Kashmiris rights and well being.  
What we need is some patience and perseverance at our end, at least we can try to give an opportunity to State to prove its trust worthiness. Sometimes the best thing we can do is not overthink, not obsess; just breathe and have faith that all will work out for  the  best.  There  is  always  a  silver  tint  even  in  the  clouds  of  uncertainty,  just remember that the best view comes after the hardest climb.