We are being
told
that terrorism is on the wane
and that most local ‘boys’
have surrendered or been killed
and that all that is left
are the foreign mercenaries.
Frankly I never could tell
one from the other
for they all look alike
in their battle -dress swagger,
rough and tough and gruff,
bearing beards, guns and grenades.
And they all act alike,
be they our own Kashmiris,
Pakis, Arabs, Sudanese
or the battle-hardened Afghanis.
Even in death
when they get killed
in encounters or accidents
or in internecine wars
and are shown lined up like sausages
for the TV news-cast
or in the daily newspapers,
they all look alike-
dyed in the same colour
of their own blood
and the blood
of their innocent victims.