Entries From a Diary- December 31, 2019

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Today is the last day of the year 2019. It's coming to a close. My entries will change a little from tomorrow. 2019 will become 2020 and will remain so for the coming 365 days. But, no, it’s going to be a leap year with 366 days.

My daily Bible reading has taken me out of Egypt. It did today. Passover just passed over, but I need to understand the yeastless bread symbolism. Israelites are told to observe this as a ritual from 14th to 21st of Avi, a 7-day observance period in the first month of the Israelite year.

I'm yet to make any resolution for 2020. What should be my New Year’s resolution? Perhaps I first need to get myself an attractively bound diary. The present one doesn’t do. I've heard that a beautiful diary and a high-quality fountain pen help and inspire you to write more and write more beautifully. I may not afford the fountain pen yet, but I think I should get a diary.

As to the year 2019, it leaves me with a package of memories. In the year I became a law graduate, completing three and a half years’ worth study and exams. The year 2019 didn’t bring as much on my personal level as it did on political level for my homeland. But the latter naturally had an effect upon each individual living here. The special status of J&K was taken away. Its political map was redrawn. It hadn’t been done since 1846 I believe. But this time they broke it into twain.

On August 5, 2019, Amit Shah, the Home Minster of India, introduced a Bill in Lok Sabha, the Lower House of the Indian parliament. Its aim was to do away with Article 370 along with 35A of the Indian Constitution. It only took few days for the Bill to become a full-fledged Act (The Jammu and Organization Act, 2019). The Indian state kept a special date for its implementation: October 31, 2019 and called it a National Unity Day for obvious reasons.

Some events in history are watersheds. I believe August 05, 2019 makred one. We cannot predict yet how it might unfold over the years, but it has left its imprints in the air.

Remeber, we ‘had acceded’. Now we ‘were merged’. Not only the voice of the verbs has changed, but the act and its nature itself.

Oct 26, 1947 - Oct 31, 2019.

Ubaidullah Pandit
(31-December-2019)

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