For lack of fulfilling the prerequisites
Decades passed without a referendum
Turning the paradise on earth
Into a turbulent long drawn conundrum

With roots emanating in gory partition riots
And in disposition of self-governing princely province
Sharing borders with either side of ethnic divide
By eventually acceding to India, trust the Maharaja did evince

Mired in hostilities over disputed border
Trysts with liberation and attempts to infiltrate,
The valley became the epicentre over which
The westerly nation dared to confront the Indian state

Trounced in the conflicts, not once but thrice
The neighbour, vowed to bleed us by a thousand cuts
Realising, in conventional warfare they weren’t a match
Asymmetric plans with expendable actors they hatched

Having to flee in wake of insurgency
Kashmir was now bereft of the pundits
Bilaterally the issue had be resolved, but
The talks failed despite several summits

The territory bears the ongoing scourge of terror
Tacitly as a state policy, exported from across the border
Human rights excesses and muscular domestic policy, some argue
While others blame the secessionist for the disorder

Ceasefire violations, bomb blasts, siege of the Taj
Even attack on the parliament, we did sustain
It was massacre of forty paramilitary personnel at Pulwama
That breached the threshold of tolerance and constraint

To avenge the dastardly attack, denouncing passive stance
The air force jets flew past the line of control
Pounding Jaish’s terror camp in a pre-emptive strike
Conveying a shift in paradigm for the nation to extol

Aiming to target military establishments, and a logistics installation
Counter retaliation was overt and in broad daylight
Though thwarted by vigilant Indian air force, but not before
Both countries lost fighter jets in an ensuing dog-fight

Conceding their intent was an act of aggression
That our bravado in carrying tactical strike could not deter
Questions were raised over our defence preparedness
In de-escalating and ceding the initiative forever