Sarla Bhat, a young woman from Anantnag in Kashmir, embodied the spirit of service. Born into a Kashmiri Pandit family, she chose nursing as her path, driven by a deep empathy and a desire to heal. Her dedication was evident in her daily routine at the prestigious Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar. Her patients found comfort in her gentle touch and calming presence. Sarla wasn’t just performing a job; she was God’s noblest profession of healing souls.
In a tragic twist of fate, Sarla Bhat, a young woman brimming with compassion and dedication, found herself serving a community grappling with a far deeper illness than the physical ailments she so diligently treated. The very society she sought to heal, a place once known for its warmth and tolerance, had become consumed by a dark tide of violence, intolerance and religious fanaticism. This descent into extremism stripped away the humanity of its people, leaving behind a community capable of turning on one of its own, a protector and healer, with such shocking brutality.
The Abduction of Sarla Bhat
On April 14th, 1990 Sarla Bhat’s life took an unimaginable turn. She was dragged out of her hostel room by radical Jihadis from the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). For four endless days, the 25-year-old was held captive and subjected to horrific gang-rapes by her captors.
The Killing of Salra Bhat
Sarla Bhat’s battered body was found dumped in downtown Srinagar on April 19th. It bore bullet wounds,
signs of brutal torture, and a chilling handwritten note labelling her a”police informant”. The innocent nurse had paid the ultimate price, branded a traitor based on unsubstantiated allegations that she had informed authorities about militants being treated at the hospital.
The Societal Betrayal
Even in death, Sarla was denied dignity. When her grieving father Shambu Nath Bhat attempted her cremation in Anantnag, he was threatened by terrorists who ordered locals to stay away. “As we rushed through the rites, two youths instructed us to stop and go back,” recounts the family’s neighbour Indu Bushan Zutshi in his memoir. “They said Sarla was an informer and militants didn’t want anyone to cremate her.”
A Horrific Pattern repeated- Girija Tickoo
Sarla’s killing laid bare the depravity of terrorists. But it was not an isolated incident of violence against Kashmiri Pandits. Just a couple of months later , Girija Tickoo, was brutally raped and murdered. She was cut into pieces in a mechanical saw, while she was alive.
These heinous crimes were meant to drive Hindus out of the Valley through fear and intimidation. The government remained worryingly silent, doing little to reassure the minority community or rein in the militants. Thousands of Kashmiri Pandits like the Bhats were left with no choice but to abandon their ancestral homes and flee to refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi.
A bleak Search for Justice
Over three decades later, the perpetrators of the horrific crimes against Sarla Bhat and Girija Tickoo remain at large and unpunished. Their families’ desperate pleas for justice have fallen on deaf ears in successive regimes. The sacrifices of these innocent daughters of Kashmir have been forgotten by all but those closest to them.
Yet, their stories must be retold and remembered, for they are grim reminders of how hate and intolerance can take root, poisoning entire societies. Sarla Bhat lived to give life, but was brutally murdered for her identity and false accusations. Her tragedy, and that of countless other victims, should shake the collective conscience and strengthen our resolve to uphold human dignity above all else.
As the world watches Kashmir’s turmoil even today with confusion and concern, the callous killing of this selfless nurse serves as a powerful lesson – that until humanity overrides hatred, peace will remain elusive. Sarla’s life may have been snuffed out cruelly, but her memory must burn bright as a beacon against injustice everywhere.
