Opinion | From Stones to Schools: How Separatism in Kashmir Is Losing Relevance-One Generation Lost, Another Awakening

For several decades, hartals, shutdowns, and protest calendars have remained a part of Kashmir’s daily life. While Kashmir’s politics remained on top of every news headline, there was a “silent victim” that hurt most. That victim was school education. The school remained closed; exams remained postponed; and studies remained irregular. This was not only affecting studies; it led to an end to childhoods, careers, and young lives losing their zest and vigors. Today, with schools again becoming a top concern and normalcy being established, it is clear that Hurriyat became irrelevant because it lost a lot through its political struggles but because society, especially youngsters, could not afford it anymore.

In any conflict-ridden society, educational institutions are usually the first to be shut down. In Kashmir, hartals ensured that schools were shut for weeks and in some cases, months. The educational calendar was irrelevant. Teachers found it difficult to cover the curriculum, students prepared for exams with uncertainty, and parents worried for weeks.

Education requires consistency. Learning cannot flourish in an unpredictable environment. Students cannot be assured whether the next day would be a school day or not. This has led to a situation where schooling is fractured over the years. Education is now a mere formality rather than a building block.

Education in Kashmir had been lost not as an interrupted phenomenon but as a structural one. Learning is a cumulative process; gaps in learning during early years affect learning in later years. Many children in Kashmir had passed over into advanced classes without grasping foundational knowledge in math, science, or English. This imbalance persisted with them even in higher education. Many students were not ready for national competitions. Some of them quit while others opted for lower career paths. The problem was not seen but was long-term. Futures were altered silently. Although the political discourse talked of resisting, the children suffered in terms of lost skills.

Schools are more than learning institutions; they are grounds for childhood. Playgrounds, assembly sessions, debates, sports, and camaraderie create memories that define emotional development. In Kashmir, the intermittent closing down denied children these opportunities.

Rather than enjoying a light and easy childhood, they have spent their childhoods in silence and indoors among anxious and tensed-up people. Events like festivals, school outings, and other activities are no longer a part of childhood. Even curiosity is replaced with caution during childhood.

This presented psychological ramifications for children who grew up way too quickly in environments of uncertainty while being denied their need for safe structured spaces. Psychological ramifications of the loss of childhood are some of the most underreported but most painful effects of extended school closures.

Education is the foundation up on which various professions are built. Because of the instability of education in Kashmir, professional lives suffered. Since entrance examinations require continuous preparation and confidence, which could not be achieved owing to shutdowns, the impact of education has been the loss of professional opportunities.

As a consequence, the number of Kashmiri students in leading institutions diminished. Youth hovered between unemployment and underemployment. It was not due to lack of intellect but because of the interrupted education. The aspirations to become doctors, engineers, researchers, and teachers diminished with a whispered silence. Ironically, the leadership that claimed to speak on behalf of the young did not ensure their future in this profession.

Youth is supposed to be an age of energy, ambition, and innovation. In Kashmir, disruptions piled up, replacing youthfulness with fatigue. Instead of being ahead, students were constantly trying to catch up. Expectations were deferred, and motivation ran out. In place of innovation and discovery, young men were burdened with academic deficits. This loss of optimism has shaken belief in politics, and in progress.

Why Hurriyat Lost Relevance

Hurriyat has lost its relevance as the present generation has understood its real needs. Today’s Youth want development, Career opportunities, and a secure Future. There was no roadmap in the endless shutdowns for education, jobs, or development.

This was evident in the last decade. If we take stock, there are obvious positive developments that have happened. Schools are operating with greater regularity, there are regular exams, and academic calendars are getting back on track. This is in addition to parents giving greater importance to uninterrupted learning than political considerations.

The students are preparing for various entrance exams, exploring various career options, and dreaming beyond geographical constraints. Learning has ceased to be a choice for them—instead, it is the need.

The business and job environment has also changed. The markets are open, the workday is respected, and young people are increasingly interested in business, skills occupations, and professional development. Economic life will no longer be deliberately surrendered to shut-down politics that bring no benefit.

Students are the best representation of this change. Having experienced the cost of disruption, they are committed to not repeating the past. They crave open classrooms, the incentive of merit rewarded, and futures shaped not by doubt but by ability. Hurriyet could not adjust to this reality. It gave a sacrifice but no solutions; it caused disruption but no directions. The relevance automatically diminished as people opting for progress abandoned it.

Opening schools and getting back into routines mean there is a social awakening. This is the end of political ideas but the start of common sense. The people of Kashmir, including their youth, have realized that there isn’t any reason good enough to compromise with education.

But the transition from hartals to schools is nothing short of symbolic. In fact, it is the manifestation of a society opting to acquire knowledge instead of confronting loss. They are choosing to pursue careers instead of witnessing the chaos surrounding them. The saga of Kashmir’s schools is a learning experience embodied in lost years and a renewed determination. The deprivation of learning experiences; childhood; livelihoods; and youthfulness has brought irrevocable scars. However, the current trend of moving towards stability signifies a renewed phase of recovery. Hurriyat became irrelevant not because of force but because of shifting priorities. As Kashmir bolsters its schools, its students, and its career paths, the valley makes clear what its future truly means: the future is made not in closed classrooms but in open doors.

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