Love Life & Terrorism

By Suboor Khan

Love life & Terrorism is the story of three young men. They are educated. They have girlfriends and they are living their life well but suddenly turns their life's way and They get caught in the quagmire of terrorism. Politics creates difficulties for them.   
On their journey, they recollect their pasts and their reasons for changing on their life. These three men fight the world and themselves for their beliefs. 
Were their reasons justified? Should the political system be blamed for such circumstance? Will three men be able to differentiate between love and revenge, Jihad and terrorism?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Suboor Khan
• Release date: Feb 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201847708

Book preview

LOVE  LIFE

&

TERRORISM

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1

There was silence in the forest. A cold wind blew. Wind’s natural music was spread everywhere. There was no one present for miles. The place was inhabited by wild animals before they were driven away by terrorists.

There was sky touching trees in the jungle. It was an uninhabited area. There was a river flowing nearby and the mountain jungles made is a perfect spot for terrorists to inhabit.

This training camp was situated at the center of the forest. They cut hundreds of trees to make a runway for a plane. The scenery of the place was beautiful yet tainted by the presence of these terrorists. This place was a part of Kashmir occupied by Pakistan. It was more commonly known as Azad Kashmir. Before partition, Indian freedom fighters hid in this forest but now it was used as a hiding spot for terrorists.

There was a 20-feet high wall built around the ground. The training camp had only one entrance gate. There was a 40-feet searching tower and check post outside the training camp. There were four guards present at the searching tower all the time. They followed an 8-hour shift every day. Their job was to keep their eyes peeled inside the training camp and on the road leading to it. The check post intercepted every vehicle which was then checked and scanned by the guards present there. They made an unmetalled road to access training camp in the jungle. 

There were some living rooms built on the grounds. The hall with 30 beds on the right side of the gate was used by trainees to sleep in. The other nearby rooms were used by the commander, trainers and instructors. At the end of the hallway, there was another huge hall. This one was used to offer Namaz (Muslim’s daily prayer) in. They also brought the newbies there to teach them the rules of their functioning and what their duty would be. They said that because life was bestowed on them by Allah, they should sacrifice their life in his wake. If they did that, they would receive admission in Jannat (Heaven).

It was 4 o’clock in the morning. A sharp sound woke up all the trainees. They rolled up their beds and got fresh there after they did wazu and offered a Tehjjud Namaz. After that was done, their physical training under an instructor commenced.

Namaz is one of the five pillars in the faith of Islam and an obligatory religious duty for every Muslim. The times are measured according to the movement of the sun. They are between dawn and sunrise (Fajar Namaz) after the sun has passed its zenith (Zuhar Namaz), when afternoon shadows lengthen (Asar Namaz), just after sunset (Magrib Namaz) and around nightfall (Isha Namaz). The five prayers are each assigned to certain prescribed times at which they must be performed.

Tahajjud Namaz also known as the night prayer, is a voluntary prayer performed by followers of Islam. It is not one of the five obligatory prayer required of all Muslims. 

In another hour and half, it was time for Fajar Namaz. Soon after offering prayers, they would sit in the hall to listen to a Maulana Zakir.

Maulana Zakir’s style of brainwashing the trainees was simple and spontaneous. He simply said that the way they killed and terrorized people was the way of Jihad and this was the only way leading to heaven. Little did those trainees know that Islam does not permit killing innocent people for no fault of theirs.

Because of this daily brainwashing session, the trainees had now become ready to sacrifise their lives in this so-called way of Jihad and the attainment of heaven. They no longer feared spilled blood or death.

The session with the Maulana Zakir ended within an hour. With the rise of the sun, all trainees had breakfast and relaxed on their two-hour break.

After the break, the trainees learned shooting and making bombs by the experts present till noon. After offering Zohar Namaz at 1:30 P.M., they went on a 3-hour lunch break followed by a resting period. After offering their Asar Namaz at 5 P.M., they played games like football, cricket or volleyball. This went on till sunset. After offering their Magrib Namaz at 7:30 P.M., they started a session of learning code language. An hour and half later, they offered Isha Namaz which is followed by dinner. 9:30 P.M. was bed time for all trainees.

************

Almost 30 terrorists made up a batch under the commander’s training. They were assigned a mission only after their training was complete. They had to learn how to shoot, code language, making explosives and go to hard physical training.

One day, after completing the training of a batch, the commander called upon three trainees. Ziya Uddine, Azeem Ali and Ata-Ur-Rehman. Ziya was 22 years old with a 6-feet height and a fair complexion. Before being admitted to this camp, he lived in Mumbra – Thane, a suburb of Mumbai. He had joined this terrorist group a year ago. Azeem was a 30-year-old man with a height of 5 feet and 10 inches with a dusky complexion. He had come from Baroda, Gujarat. Ata-Ur-Rehman a.k.a Ata was almost 25 years old with a 5-feet and 8-inches height and fair complexion. He was from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

All three of them walked into the commander’s room. The commander was a retired military officer.

Come in, my boys, he said and hugged all three of them.

"Mere bachcho, Allah ne tumhe qubool kar liya" (my children Allah have chosen you) The confidence in his words made the three men believe that Allah had himself spoken in the commander’s ear. Of course, that was not true.

He then gave them all their mission. He opened India’s map on the table and with markings, explained how they had to implement the mission. On hearing the commander’s words, all three men got excited. Their brainwashed minds wanted to take revenge from India for some bullshit reason they had been fed by the Maulana. They memorised their mission like children memorising their school work just before an exam. Everything was fixed in their minds.

Do you have any doubts or questions? the commander asked in a thundering voice.

The three men looked at each other and said, no questions, sir! Their body language exuded a confidence that said they knew exactly what they had to do.

You three are my best students. That’s why you were chosen for this mission. Consider yourself very lucky. You are going to be sacrificing your live in the path of Allah, the commander said. He then handed over a picture of a man and said, "here is our inside man, Zulfikar Ali a.k.a Jullu. He will meet you in Delhi. Ziya, you already know him.

Yes. Ziya nodded.

He will help you in Delhi and your journey further. I hope you will support him, the commander said.

Yes, sir, said all three of them together. 

Good. Now, go and prepare for your journey

After exiting the commander’s room, they went to the hall all trainees slept in, packed all their necessary things. Within half an hour, a jeep came to pick them up. Three men already were  present in the jeep. One was driving, and the others sat in behind. Two men got off and went to meet commander in his room whereas driver was sat in the jeep. The commander guided two men. They returned and got in the jeep. Ziya sat next to driver, Ata and Azeem sat in the rear seat. The jeep started and steadily exited from the main gate of the training camp.

The road led into the thick jungle of the mountains. The calm cold winder gently blew, chilling all six people. While Ata and Azeem dozed off in the back seat, Ziya sat in the front seat and remembered his past.

2

Mumbai

Ziya was born in Bandra in Mumbai. His family lived in a slum in Bandra but shifted and settled in Mumbra, Thane near Mumbai. Ziya’s father had bought a 1BHK flat after selling his Bandra’s slum house. His father owned a shop which sold ladies clothes and fabrics. He was a hard worker. Ziya’s mother was a housewife and his younger sister Shaziya doing her B. Com degree and was a second-year student of Khalsa collage in Mumbra. Ziya was a graduate. On one side of Mumbra was sea and the other had a border of hills. It was 30 kilometers away from the city of Mumbai.

Ziya had a girlfriend, Naushin. She was in the same class as Shaziya, making them both friends.

Ziya had met Naushin a year ago through his sister. It was her first day in college while he was in his final year. The day marked the start of a new life for the 19-year-old Naushin.

She was very scared on the day because she had heard of ragging. When she along with other first year students, entered the college gates, rose petals were bestowed upon them. She was taken aback with surprise as she had been expecting ragging but instead she was greeted with rose petals! Her eyes gleamed at the sight and she sighed at the sight.

Ziya, being a final year student, took the decision to end ragging and promote anti-ragging. He wanted the first years to step into college with confidence in their pace, not fear. Hence the rose petals being bestowed by the seniors. All students assumed his words because he was a college leader.

I was fearing ragging but the campus atmosphere is completely different, Naushin said to Shaziya.

I told you, there would be no ragging because the new students’ union leader is not interested in ragging, Shaziya said.

Who is the union leader? Do you know him? Naushin asked with curiosity.

Yeah, I’ll take you to meet with him

Ziya was standing with his friends in a corner of campus when Shaziya and Naushin approached him.

"Bhaijaan," (elder brother) Shaziya called Ziya. He turned towards her. Naushin surprised hearing Bhaijaan, because she didn’t know that Ziya was brother of Shaziya.

She is my friend, Naushin, Shaziya introduced her. Ziya looked at Naushin.

Hey, Naushin said simply as she offered her hand to shake. Ziya happily shook her hand. Shaziya had told me a lot about you.

Naushin had a fair complexion, big brown eyes, pink lips like as rose petals, and waist-length black hair. She was pretty. She always had a beautiful smile on the lips.

She congratulated Ziya for the anti – ragging campaign. Ziya felt attracted to her from their first meeting itself! Her smile captivated to Ziya. He had lost his heart in the first meeting with her.  

It was an ordinary day, something that would have been forgotten by Ziya had it been anyone but her. As he shook her hand, she smiled and looked into her striking emerald eyes, he knew in a single breath that he could spend his whole life looking into her eyes and getting lost in them. She seemed that good, that perfect to him. It was love at first sight. He thought, if he were a king, he would have sacrificed his whole kingdom on her one smile. 

There were two kinds of pretty girls in Mumbra. One were the modern girls who wore jeans, shorts or skirts, had short hair and didn’t cover their face. They didn’t wear burkha. The other were the traditional girls who wore salwar-kameez and covered their faces with a veil. Naushin was the second type of girl.

They met the following day, and the day after that and soon they became inseparable. Every day, he would finish his Juma Namaz Darool Falah masque as quickly as possible and ran to a waterfall at hill where she would be waiting for him.

*********

It was 26th January. Republic day in India.

Ziya woke up early in the morning. He drank a glass of hot tea while reading the newspaper. He then showered, wore a white kurta and pajama and a Khadi sleeveless vest, put on sunglasses and walked off to college. He looked like a real politician. After celebrating Republic Day in college with great enthusiasm, he planned to have a bike rally in the area.

Almost 100 college boys took part in the bike rally that started from the college gate to Mumbra railway station. The bikes had India’s flag stuck on the front. Patriotic songs played during the rally that was being led by Ziya. The enthusiasm could be felt in the air, it was that palpable.

The people stood on both sides of the road to see the rally. People welcomed the rally with flowers at many places. Naushin and Shaziya too came to see the rally. They, along with their friends, threw flowers on the bikers. Naushin threw most of her flowers on Ziya with enthusiasm. 

The local MLA, Sanjay Chawrekar had organized a small gathering near the Mumbra Station. Ziya and all other bikers joined that gathering. The MLA hoisted the national flag, distributed laddus in public and gave a small speech about the significance of the day.

3 

Ziya was an adorable, amiable, mellifluous, captivating and a charming boy. Naushin was a frequent visitor at Shaziya’s home to meet her because they were classmates. After falling in love with her, Ziya asked her to be his girlfriend. Though she didn’t give him an answer at first, she gradually started to like and then love him. One day, she accepted Ziya’s proposal.

Their love story was on a full-out bloom.

Naushin sat on the ground with her feet straight. Ziya laid down with his head on her thighs. They often met and stayed like this on a secluded hill. The place served as a place to give solace to lovers. Generally, the mornings and evenings on this hill saw couples who would walk up together and spend some time together at the waterfall. Naushin and Ziya did the same.

Naushin was dressed in a blue-coloured salwar, a white-blue printed kurta and a white duptta. Her hair was loose, falling on her shoulders, the wind rushing through it.

"Kya khabar thi ke mere dil mei utar jaoge

Ek din tum meri dhadkan se guzar jaoge."

( I don’t know, you will come in my heart

One day you will pass my heartbeat)

Ziya rubbed his hand on her cheek. She smiled. He played with the hair falling on her face.

"Tumko malum hai chahat mei asar hota hai

Tum mere pyaar mei dhal jao sawar jaoge."

(You know Love is affective

You sink in my love, will be decorate)

Ziya presented his poetry to Naushin.

"Shayar sahib, do you plan to just recite poetry all your life or actually do some work?" Naushin said.

What do you mean? Ziya looked into her eyes.

What do you want to be? Like really? She looked at his face.

I want to be a poet, film lyrics writer and a screen writer. He didn’t lie. He expressed his heart’s voice.

She laughed out loud. Her laughter caused giggles to erupt from his mouth but then he asked, why are you laughing? I’ll become a poet who is fun but also brings a change in the society. He got up and stared her.

Poetry is good, but we can’t survive our whole lives with only poetry, you will have to do something more. Now, she was serious.

What do you want to say? Please say it clearly.

How long will we meet in hiding? You should focus on your future, Naushin said. She worried. Her concerns were justified because her family was searching for a boy for her marriage. Her father wanted to marry her off after her graduation.

"This is my last year of post-graduation. I will find job soon, and by the way, Abbu told me that I should help in his fabrics shop but I’m not interested in that," Ziya explained her.

"You should join your Abbu’s shop," she advised him.

I’m not interested. Ziya again laid down on her tigh.

What’s wrong in a fabric’s shop? Naushin asked.

"I don’t want to live in Mumbra. If I attend to Abbu’s shop, I will have to live here, and I don’t want to do that. I would like to get a