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Kashmir’s next generation deserves the truth, not distorted narratives. As the Valley steadily reclaims its identity as the Paradise on Earth through peace, development, and opportunity, we cannot afford to lose another generation to the same cycle of violence that scarred the past. Those who enabled or glorified the killing of innocent Kashmiris are not legends to be celebrated in our classrooms. They belong to history as perpetrators of tragedy, not as role models for our children.
For years, terrorism in Kashmir did not spread overnight. Rarely did an individual wake up one day and decide to join a terrorist organization. The path to violence was often gradual, marked by sustained indoctrination, radicalization, and ideological grooming. This raises an important question: how were vulnerable minds influenced in the first place? The channels of radicalization were diverse. In many instances, certain mosque pulpits were misused to glorify terrorism under the guise of religious duty, with a handful of clerics portraying violence as being sanctioned by Islam. Sections of the media and some newspapers amplified pro-separatist and pro-Pakistan narratives. Equally significant, though often overlooked, was the role of literature. Books carrying distorted historical narratives and extremist undertones found their way into classrooms, reaching students in both government and private schools.
A recent controversy in Jammu and Kashmir has once again brought this issue into sharp focus. A book titled Personalities and Legends of J&K, published under the Centrally funded Samagra Shiksha project, reproduced Pakistani narratives almost verbatim. The book included several separatist figures, such as JKLF co-founder Maqbool Bhat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masarat Alam, and Shabir Shah, among the region’s “legendary personalities.” More controversially, the book referred to Maqbool Bhat as “Shaheed” and described other separatist leaders as “freedom fighters.” Bhat had been executed in Delhi’s Tihar Jail in 1984 following his conviction for the murder of a Jammu and Kashmir Police (CID) officer, in the aftermath of the kidnapping and killing of Indian diplomat Ravindra Mhatre in Birmingham by the JKLF. The book also described Jammu and Kashmir as “Indian Occupied Kashmir” and “Indian Held Kashmir,” terminology widely associated with Pakistan’s official narrative. It was authored by two individuals, one from Kashmir and another from Jammu, and published by a Jammu-based publishing house before being procured and distributed under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.
A Common Kashmiri’s Thought
As a common Kashmiri, I support every lawful and necessary action against the authors, publishers, and all those involved in this episode. We have already witnessed the devastating consequences of glorifying terrorism through platforms that were meant to promote education, knowledge, and peace. If public schools, colleges, and universities are funded by Indian taxpayers, there is no justification for them to preserve or circulate material that promotes anti-India or separatist narratives. Every public library should undergo a transparent and objective review to ensure that educational spaces remain free from ideological propaganda. Pakistan and its deep state have consistently sought to ensure that another generation of Kashmiris romanticizes separatist figures, embraces violent ideologies, and sacrifices its future for a cause that has brought nothing but misery to the Valley. Public institutions exist to educate, inspire critical thinking, and prepare responsible citizens, not to legitimize narratives that undermine the very nation that funds them. Many of the individuals celebrated as “legends” in such literature have blood on their hands. Their families continue to lead comfortable lives, while my Amm Kaak’s son, a reference to the ordinary Kashmiri, lies buried in a graveyard after becoming another victim of the cycle of radicalization they helped create. It was never their children who paid the price; it was the children of ordinary families.
This is not an isolated incident. I remember asking my roommate for his Class 12 Political Science textbook and finding entire sections devoted to separatist politics in Jammu and Kashmir. In my view, the presentation went beyond academic discussion and bordered on glorification. Such narratives, when introduced to impressionable minds without adequate context, risk normalizing extremism. It is difficult to measure how many young Kashmiris were influenced by such ideas, but there is little doubt that many who eventually joined terrorist organizations could otherwise have become doctors, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs, or writers. Kashmir cannot afford to lose another generation. The time has come to confront radicalization at its roots rather than merely dealing with its consequences. Those found responsible in this case should be investigated thoroughly and prosecuted under the applicable laws. Books that glorify terrorism or propagate separatist propaganda have no place in our schools, colleges, libraries, or any institution entrusted with shaping young minds.
What’s at stake in these books isn’t, ultimately, censorship, or even competing political narratives. It is about setting out the values that will shape the next generation. Each society has a duty to see to it that its schools teach constitutional ideals, historical truth, intellectual integrity, and respect for human life. Young minds should be encouraged to question, analyze, and debate, but never conditioned to admire violence or those who sought to achieve political ends by the barrel of a gun. Today Kashmir is at a crossroads in its history. After decades of conflict, it has a chance to redefine itself through education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and democratic participation. That transformation can’t succeed when the institutions tasked with shaping young minds are susceptible to ideological infiltration. Remembering the past is not enough to honor the memory of every innocent life lost in the conflict. The best way is to ensure that future generations inherit classrooms that breed ambition, not alienation; books that nurture wisdom, not division; and an education that enables them to create a peaceful and prosperous Kashmir within the framework of the Constitution of India.
Email: soulofkashmir1@gmail.com
