Kashmir’s participation in the state civil services has remained phenomenally low, historically. This year of the 51 candidates, who cracked the examination, only 13 are from Kashmir. Interestingly, ten of them were taught and guided by a Trust that people rarely know, reports Sheikh  Saman

Irtiza Jeelani

This season, there were only 13 Kashmiris in the KAS list. Interestingly, 10 of them were from almost the same stable; the Initiative for Competition Promotion (ICP), a trust that a group of IAS-KAS group is running for the last few years.“These candidates were waiting for their results since 2014,” one ICP members said. “Of the 10 who finally made it, six were actually the residents at ICP and four were attending classes.”

Elated over the results, the key functionary of ICP said, since 2008, their intervention has paved way for the entry of nearly 275 candidates into the state’s elite police and civil service. “With least resources, we are doing our best,” he said. “These 10 candidates were from the group of 26 member batch.” This season, they have started extending certain basic help, like the mock interviews in Jammu, too. There have been around half a dozen candidates in whom ICP has immensely contributed in making it to all India services.

“The ICP runs on donations by people from different walks of life and they contribute smaller sums on monthly basis and that is the sole capital of the institute,” said Faizan Ali, ICP Administrator and one of the beneficiaries of the Institute. “That is how this institute has been surviving since 2008.”

It operates from a rented accommodation in Raj Bagh where it has two buildings, near Abdullah Bridge with monthly rent and other costs of nearly one lakh rupees. The buildings are hostels and also house the classrooms.

The entire ICP team is happy that they have helped retain Kashmir’s 25 percent of the state’s administrative services. “This is what we have been doing without shouting from the rooftops,” one manager said. “This is a service we have voluntarily opted for and we will continue this.”

One of the candidates is Irtiza Jeelani, a resident of Illahi Bagh in Srinagar, and a professional dentist. Daughter of a well-settled couple, both in government service, she and her brother are both in the medical profession. Her brother is currently pursuing his Anaesthesia masters from GMC, Srinagar.

Schooled at Mallinson Girl’s schools, Irtiza has been a topper throughout. She completed her BDS and it was during her internship that she decided to attempt KAS. She did it in her first attempt.

“Postponement of examinations because of September 2014 floods gave me more time to prepare for my examinations,” Irtiza said. “After qualifying mains, I joined ICP classes where they have standard mock test sessions and later on discussed each and every portion of it which really gave me an edge over everything and helped me a lot in finally making it.”

Sajad Ahmad

Among others, Irtiza credits Dr Fakhruddin, her fiancé, who recently made it to the IAS. “We studied together from the grass-root level, tried to clarify each and every concept with each other and acted as a backbone through highs and lows,” Irtiza said. “My in-laws were also very extremely encouraging.”

Humayun Muzamil is a Humhama resident who made it to KAS. A Burn Hall student, he did civil engineering from SSM, Parihaspora and eventually he was appointed in Tehsil Social Welfare Office. He was working and started preparing for the examination. His interests were generated from the mock interviews at ICP.

“In my opinion motivation is a very negative energy,” Humayun said. “Motivation is what can make you get started but this is not what can keep you going. It is routine that is more important and that is what worked for me.”

But motivation worked hugely in case of Sajad Ahmad, a resident of Sholipora (Budgam), who finally made it to KAS in the third attempt. Schooled from Islamic Educational Institute and Rural Mission Public School, Budgam, Sajad graduated from Government Degree College, Bemina and did his masters in biochemistry from the University of Kashmir. He eventually became a school teacher.

“I started preparing for KAS in 2011, and in 2012, I qualified for an interview but didn’t get through it and then in 2013, I reappeared in the examinations but failed,” Sajad said. “Finally in my 3rd attempt in 2014, I made it after taking Urdu as an optional subject,” Sajad said the ICP’s contribution in his career was the fantastic mock interviews they conducted.

Lateef is another KAS entrant. A resident of Dogripora, Awantipora. He belongs to a middle-class background whose schooling took place from Bijbihara. A forestry post-graduate from the SKUAST, he qualified NET/JRF in Sociology and then attempted KAS in 2013 but couldn’t make it. In the second attempt, he got the twentieth position.

A peasant’s son, Lateef sees his cousin, Manzoor Ahmad Khan, a zonal educational officer, as his inspiration. He was already a forester.

“I was a resident at ICP for 18 months. They provided me with a great environment which is really a bonus point for a student who wants to qualify KAS,” Lateef said. “Those who guided me throughout included Shahnawaz Sahab, Shah Faisal and Mir Sir.”

Lateef Ahmad

What makes ICP an interesting initiative is that the individuals behind it are the teachers too. Basically, an initiative of Abdul Gani Mir, an IPS officer, currently heading state police intelligence, he is supported by IAS’s 2010 topper Dr Shah Faisal, Waheed Ahmad Shah, KPS, Syed Shahnawaz, KAS, and Aziz Ahmad, KAS.

“We have evolved a model,” Shahnawaz said. “Initially, we taught the first batch and when some of them cracked the examination, they also pitched it and then the series of  next batches would contribute their bit.” In the last three years, the Residents at ICP would teach the newcomers and the process is still in place, he said.

The initiative was less expensive a few years back when the managers would hire a building deep inside, off track and it would not cost much. But for lack of access and supervision, they decided to get it closer to Lal Chowk and make it accessible to the students and the faculty. That has almost tripled the cost which, by no way, has crossed a million rupees a year, insiders said.

Humayun Muzamil

Initially, ICP would take less than 25 but now they go up to 30 and even more because it has adequate boarding and lodging facility. However, the lodging is for males only though females have been joining the classes and facing mock interviews in good numbers. It has a good library as well. In 2012, the ICP became a Trust.

Since the percentage of candidates getting into the KAS-KPS from Kashmir has remained historically low, ICP members say it is the lack of awareness and participation. In every examination, one member said, applications from Kashmir are normally one-third as two-thirds come from the Jammu region. “It is low participation from Kashmir and not the low success ratio,” Shahnawaz said. “Women participation is all the lower indicating a very low awareness level.”

A labourers son living in a backward, nondescript village, Muzaffar was earning as ReT and preparing for KAS, an examination he finally cracked in third chance, reports Sheikh Saman

Malik Muzaffar Ahmad

At almost 7:30 pm, Malik Muzaffar Ahmad, a resident of Brimer (Shangas) had just completed his Maghrib prayers that he received a call from his friend that changed his fate. He had made it to KAS.
Malik’s story is incredibly impeccable because he comes from highly conservative and apparently backward society where child marriage is normal and gender bias is routine. Malik had 35th rank. Born in a typical modest family, his father is a labourer. His mother is a homemaker. He is eldest of all his siblings, all girls. Two of his sisters are pursuing masters and the younger one is in 12th standard.

“I would say they are one of the best parents in the universe, who gave me absolute freedom and tried to fulfil all my requirements within their limitations,” said Malik.

He did his initial schooling from Government Middle School, Brimer then moved to Government High School, Utrasoo from where he appeared in class 10 examinations. He joined Government Higher Secondary School, Utrasoo and appeared in his class 12 examination with science as the main subject.

“After passing my 12 class examination, my circumstances lead me to quit my studies and opt for a job to support my family due to the poor financial conditions and it was because of this reason that I couldn’t continue my studies as a regular student,” Malik added.

Later on, he graduated in arts and did his post-graduation as a private student from the University of Kashmir in Sociology. He qualified UGC NET in 2012 and in next year he appeared in SET and qualified it.

“I started preparing for KAS in 2012 and it was in the same year that I attempted for KAS exams and qualified mains but wasn’t able to clear the interview,” Malik said. “But then in 2014, I again appeared in KAS and this time I wasn’t able to make it to the finals and lost with just 11 points,” he added.

Coming from a small hamlet, Malik is inspired and motivated by his maternal uncle who is a central government employee. Malik said that he is the one who inspired him to go all through the way and motivated him to achieve such great things in life. He chose sociology and Urdu as his optional subjects because sociology was his main subject in post graduation.

After achieving such feat, I want to inspire my people to move forward and motivate them to take KAS as a challenge. A lot of hard work is necessary. Good habits have to be developed. The ability to concentrate and to control the thoughts has to be strengthened. The work is difficult and endless. There are many walls that need to be scaled. “It is not an easy task. But not the impossible one,” he insists.

“For me it wasn’t a cakewalk, coming from a far-flung area with no proper roads is just so annoying in itself, it required immense self-confidence, combined with determination and perseverance to get to this place,” Malik admitted.

First graduate and post graduate from his family, Malik is working as a Rehbar-i-Taleem teacher in Government School, Brimer, Shangus. He couldn’t afford a full fledged coaching but somehow he got to know about ICP and appeared in mock interviews that really helped him grow but rest he did it without coaching. “I am also thankful to ICP, a voluntary organisation for their guidance for the interview,” Malik said. “Those mock interviews were the game-changers.”

J&K PSC, the supreme recruiting organisation, is in a mess. Candidates appearing in one paper are given question papers of another subject. This non-serious attitude of the Commission and the frequent flouting of set calendars is playing with the careers of aspiring candidates, reports Saima Bhat while explaining the happenings in administrative services examinations

Public Service Commission office in Srinagar.

Brimming with hope, Shaista Aziz, 28, was delighted to see her dream notified on newspapers. It was a Public Service Commission (PSC) notification of June 18, 2016, about J&K Combined Competitive examination, the KAS.

A resident of Hyderpora (Srinagar), Shaista had an additional reason to be happy. In April 2016, she got engaged to her cousin, Saqib Hamid, a 2011 batch KAS officer.

A banker and an MBA, Shaista was keen to qualify the state’s coveted examination even before Saqib had thought of it.

This time, there were more vacancies: 277 – 269 vacancies in Junior Scale Administrative Service, two in J&K Police Service (Gazetted) and six in J&K Accounts (Gazetted) Service. Before applying formally, she went to see her fiancée to discuss the strategy as the last date of submission of forms was July 22, 2016, and the scheduled date for conducting prelims was September 25, 2016, and mains in November, same year.

With few inputs about the preparation, Saqib suggested Shaista keep her cell phone off, even asked her to stop talking to him till the examination is over. Formalities over, she opted for Public Administration as a subject and intense preparations started.

Twenty-one months later, Shaista is the mother of a baby girl, Tamana, but the process of her dream exam is yet to get completed, courtesy PSC’s controversies and postponement and partly the Kashmir situation. In between Shaista lost the interest as being the mother emerged her primary responsibility.

In 2016, when the aspirants were preparing for the exam, the July turned things upside down after Burhan Wani’s killing.

With internet blockade, the unrest first hit the option of submitting the form as it had to be done online. The serious mismatch was reported between the aspirants applying from valley to that of the Jammu. “That time we had received only 4800 applications from Kashmir and 22000 from Jammu province,” an official of PSC said. Then, PSC announced that last date of submitting the form would be “15 days after the internet is restored.”

Finally, the preliminary examination was scheduled for February 19, 2017. But before the PSC could actually conduct the exam, there came another notice, “It is for the information of all eligible candidates who have applied for the posts under Combined Competitive Examination, 2016 in response to Notification No.PSC/Exm/2016/52 dated:18.06.2016 that the Preliminary Examination which was earlier scheduled for 19.02.2017 shall now be held on 12.03.2017 (Sunday) in two sessions.” The reason was to facilitate the similar examination notified in 2014. March 12, was Holi, a public holiday. Then, it was changed to Sunday, March 19.

In the preliminary exam, 36,681 candidates appeared and the results were declared over a month later on April 24, 2017, in which 6,925 candidates qualified for the next round, the mains. The mains were scheduled to happen on July 17, 2017. Seven months later, they are yet to take place.

In between postponements, Shaista married on April 02, 2017. With little Tamana around, she does study, but says the flame is gone. “See if it will take you many years for just one exam, how you can stay motivated,” she insists. “How does UPSC conduct such a huge exam on the exact date they announce months before and see the smooth scheme they implement?”

Lamenting her luck, she says when she entered the bank in 2013, she avoided lifting a slightly low-cost bank loan so that my exit would be easy”. But now, she owes the bank a million bucks loan. “ “Even if tomorrow I am selected, where from I will get the money to repay the bank,” She asks.

Tauseef Sheikh, a resident of old Srinagar had finally his name in the selected list of candidates on April 24, 2017, after many failed attempts. A mason’s son, Tauseef, got himself locked in the room to see his dream come true. But the shock in the store was out on August 9, when PSC did the unprecedented. They issued a revised list in which 429 candidates were declared ineligible and replaced them with a fresh 429 candidates.

Those declared ineligible included Tauseef. Shattered, he had no source to know what actually had happened. He closed his books and joined a nearby private school to earn his livelihood.

What later came to the fore was that in the notification No PSC/Exam/2017/22 dated 23rd of April, 2017, the cut off was declared as 270.477 points and in the revised list vide notification No PSC/Exam/2017/44 dated 9th of August, 2017, the cut off was set at 277.275 points. This led to exclusion of 429 candidates who were declared eligible in the first merit list.

But unlike Tauseef, other aggrieved candidates knocked the door of the court and filed a petition No 1322/ 2017 against the PSC. The plea of the left out candidates was that “the Commission has violated the Supreme Court orders by updating the cut off in the merit list.”

The court on August 24, 2017, directed PSC to treat the writ petitions of the petitioners as representations and consider the same in accordance with the law within a period of four weeks, but commission instead issued a notification No PSC/Exam/2017/49 dated 25.08.2017 post, declaring 429 candidates ineligible for the main examination.

Keeping the fight in the court on, finally, the candidates had a respite on December 30, 2017, when High Court directed PSC to allow 429 dropped candidates to sit in Mains examination.

While disposing of a writ petition, Justice MK Hanjura said that the candidates figuring in the first list issued by the Commission and the candidates figuring in the revised list “shall be entitled and allowed to sit and participate in the main examination and they are permitted to apply online for the vacancies detailed above within the time to be fixed by the respondent Commission.”

PSC took the case to the division bench, filed a petition challenging the December 30, order issued by single bench (writ court) but the division bench comprising Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey upheld the earlier verdict and ruled, “PSC is directed to proceed in the matter in terms of writ court judgment.”

This came on February 08, but PSC had already announced a start date for Mains from February 15.

As Tauseef heard about the development, he had mixed feelings. Happy, he can sit for the exam, sad, because his momentum was lost the day PSC disqualified him.

Routinely caught in the controversies, this is not new to the PSC. In case of KAS-2014, there were worse instances of threatening the careers and leaving the aspirants in a lurch.

Notified in 2014, PSC delayed the preliminary exams by one year which was conducted in 2015. Though the results were declared in the same year, it too was challenged in the court of law on grounds of “discrepancies.”

Finally, the case was disposed off in November 2016, around two years after the date of notification and the Mains were conducted in February 2017.

Keeping the aspirants lingering, the PSC after many pulls and pressures declared results in December 2017, around ten months after the Mains exam.

“If a single exam by a prestigious agency takes three years, what bad is if flyover takes a decade,” says Abdul Hamid, a candidate who finally qualified KAS-2014.

Having a full-fledged PSCand still being unable to deliver in a transparent and efficient way is a serious concern, says a senior bureaucrat. “The commission cannot blame the court intervention because PSC gives a reason for candidates to go to the court,” he said.

File image of aspirants appearing in the competitive examination.

An insider in the Institute of Management, Public Administration and Rural Development, IMPARD, the premier training institute for the administrative services, said the last batch they trained was in 2014. “For last three years, we got no batch of administrative services. We were supposed to get the batch, whose results were declared in December 2016, but it is February already and we have not received anybody,” he said.

The official believes political-will is missing to take the prestigious PSC exams to the level of UPSC. The state has only adopted the syllabus of UPSC but not its calendar. “I am around 55 years old and since my childhood, I have never heard the IAS exams were not held on time. They too face litigations but they don’t make other students suffer,” the officer said. He calls it worst because the litigations in Jammu and Kashmir courts are not only for the final lists but even for the question papers which indicates there is definitely something wrong with the administrators.

Mention of UPSC brings smiles on the faces of aspirants. An undersecretary level officer feels following the syllabus of UPSC will have a positive impact in Kashmir. “It will multiply the chances of Kashmiri students to qualify IAS,” he said. “When the syllabus is same that means students will prefer to write in both exams which was not the case earlier. There was a hell of a difference between the two syllabi. It will create motivation and enrich the whole process.”

The delayed recruitments by the PSC have already created a void in the administration. There are more positions than officers.

A Tehsildar was given additional five more charges. “It is same with many others senior officers. It has not only overburdened us but the common people are suffering when we cant give them time and do our work,” an officer admitted.

Meanwhile, the state government has also stopped induction of KAS officer to IAS list. And with the recent retirement of at least five IAS officers and 11 J&K cadre top bureaucrats already on central deputation, the Jammu and Kashmir government is facing a severe shortage of IAS officers. With the result, the serving officials have been burdened with dual charge or in some cases the work of more than two departments.

“The state is facing a severe shortage of IAS officers. As of now, the fixed strength of IAS officials in the state is 137 against the availability of 84 officers,” says an insider. And in view of the shortage of bureaucrats, the state government is now considering to raise the issue with the Centre for amendment in service rules of IAS officers in the state.

“Presently, an IAS officer is posted as secretary only if he has 13 years of service. But the government is considering to appoint an IAS officer as secretary of 2009 batch even if he or she has nine years of services,” an official said.

This is enough to hurt the aspirant whose mother’s role has overtaken her KAS dreams. “It is shame that from last four years, the PSC has failed to conduct this exam properly.”

Despite repeated calls, the chairperson of the PSC did not attend the calls.

UPSC 2017, the results of which were out last week, recorded the lowest ever performance of J&K in recent years. The consolation was Haseeb who made it in the third attempt at rank 36, reports Tahir Bhat

Fazlul Haseeb

April 28, is a landmark day for Fazlul Haseeb. This day, he cracked UPSC examination and led the 15 J&K candidates at rank 36. A resident of Sopore, Haseeb will celebrate this day forever.

Haseeb had failed in two earlier attempts. In 2015, he passed the preliminary but failed in main. A year later, he failed again. In the third, he topped the candidates from J&K.

The idea of getting into civil services wasn’t a sudden decision. Haseeb had been groomed to get into the civil service and the idea was fed to him since childhood. In fact, it was his father, who kept guiding him and inspiring him to join the services. Haseeb is the son of Dr Farooq A Peer, currently Director (Academics) at State Board of School Education. His mother Shabeena Parveen is a school teacher.

Haseeb did his schooling from Burn Hall Public School in Srinagar. He went to Model Institute of Engineering and Technology (MIET), Jammu in 2010, for Bachelors of Technology (B Tech) in Electronic and Communication.

By this time, he had become a voracious reader of books, newspapers and journals, though objective was to stay updated.

After completing his BTech, Haseeb did not join a job. Instead, he started preparing for the IAS. He shifted to Delhi for coaching.

Preparation period was not too easy. Initially, he faced problems on many fronts. But once he got familiar, things started getting easy. He was coaching in Jamia Hamdard which runs special coaching classes for the civil service aspirants.

Haseeb, first time appeared in IAS in 2015, but could only make it to the mains. And in second attempt in 2016, he again failed.

“It was the second chance that I felt genuinely discouraged because I had prepared myself,” Haseeb said. “It took my parents a lot of time to motivate me again.”

His efforts finally paid but took four years in a row. “My parents had faith in me though I was personally dithering,” Haseeb said. His strength came from taking less preparation pressure. “I lived in a cocoon but I still had my circuit.”

Haseeb believes that the preparation for UPSC must be a consistent process and the aspirants need to remain dedicated as he himself started preparing soon after his twelfth.

With an engineering background, Haseeb made a decision about the choice of his optional subject and picked Urdu literature. Family apart, Haseeb credits his vast friend circle – Iqbal, Umar, Zubair, Attar, Saqib, Kaiser, Tafazul and Mudasir Gul – for their consistent support and encouragement. His cousins Dr Rukhsar shah and Umar Manzoor, a telecom engineer, wee his huge support. Once tired, he would fly down to Srinagar and take rest.

For all these years, Haseeb has been following developments related to the UPSC. He knows that 2018 (UPSC 2017) has been one of the least performances for Jammu and Kashmir. There are quite a few in the first 100.

“To Fall in first 100 it depends on hard work but a huge amount of luck is also involved,” said Haseeb, “I am very lucky.”

Since Haseeb has been preparing for many years for the IAS, he suggests the aspirants to give more time to general studies. Being updated on the contemporary world is a huge help, he insists. “Hiccups do come but they get their solutions,” he said.

When Haseeb was getting bored, he would read V S Naipaul, Truman Capote, Mark Twain or George Orwell.

But the Urdu subject has helped Haseeb get into the crisis that J&K’s official language faces. Hi consolation, however, was that while preparing for the examination, he read the best literature from both the languages. Now he understands that Urdu is as good a language of science as it for love, literature and war.

_by Mujahid Mughal

Brad Henry defines a teacher as the person who can “inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instil a love of learning” in his students. Inspiring hope, igniting imagination and imbibing the love for learning is not an easy task to perform. It indeed is the greatest feat any human being can fetch. Nonetheless, a teacher is expected to do this.

In fact, a teacher is meant to possess all these qualities at any cost. And the bedrock on which these characters can be built in a teacher is love; immense and unconditional love for the students. At the risk of being called a lunatic, let me reaffirm that teaching is all about having immense and unconditional love for the students.

Everything else is secondary. Because everything else comes afterwards.

There is nothing like “good education” or “bad education” and education is just education – a complete term in itself. In a similar fashion, there is nothing like a good teacher or a bad teacher, there is just a teacher. A term very much complete in itself. And I am a teacher. That is how I would always define myself.

A teacher, I firmly believe is a person, who may or may not be capable of answering all the questions raised by the students in the classroom on a specific subject but who attempts at understanding his/her students, the challenges they face in the classroom and outside, their specific needs and subsequent attempts at providing them methods and tools to deal with them. And all this can be done only when the teacher has immense and unconditional love for the students.

Having said that, I also wish to express that teaching, as a profession is nothing but a process of constant learning. Learning in the classrooms and outside the classrooms.

Here, I accept that I have learnt a great deal from students I taught. Thankfully, I never let the classrooms to be a place where only I spoke.

Nonetheless, many people have told me that many students look up to me for various reasons. Let me admit that it gives me pleasure and happiness when I meet such people. But what makes me happier is when I receive negative feedback from the students and from their parents. That is what I have always tried to receive.

Knowing well that a student would not dare that easily to criticize a teacher in the classrooms due to different inhibitions, I sometimes try different methods to make them speak. In this regard, I am reminded of two incidents wherein I succeeded to some extent in making them speak their heart.

In the semester III and Semester I of 2018, I asked them to write a minimum of 5 negative points on my classroom teaching in Urdu, Hindi or English. I left the classroom, immediately after letting them know that they are not allowed to write their roll numbers, names or any other information, which may lead anyone to identify them. I asked one of them to collect the feedback papers. I was happy to see a few complaints, which I immediately started working upon, after discussing them back in the class.

In another attempt, I threw an open challenge to the semester II students in 2017 that if anyone can point out a negative in our teaching-learning process on my part, he/she will be rewarded with two grace marks in the internal examinations. Eventually, I succeeded once again. A few students were rewarded for the same.

Although I have always believed that all I am better in the classrooms than at any place in the world, but it has always amazed me to know that the students can look up to a teacher who has taught them for a very short time. This is pleasing but at the same time, not something extraordinary to be celebrated. Students do look up to their teachers. That’s what teachers are meant to be.

A picture from the Jammu region wherein students were forced by teachers to ferry logs of wood.

What actually makes me happier is that in a state (J&K) which is run under “single line administration” and where administrators and politicians every now and then ridicule teachers in all possible ways, sometimes by forcing them to lick their saliva, sometimes by forcing them to do sit-ups for “non-compliance”, sometimes by appointing Patwaris to supervise them and at other times by summoning a registrar of the reputed university to the district offices for the internal affairs of a university, many students still look up to their teachers.

It is indeed a good sign that many students are still not affected that much by the superficial exhibition of power and corruption by politicians and bureaucrats in a state where teachers have never been paid at par even with the class IV employees. I am happy that many students still want to be like their teachers and many others want to be teachers themselves, in a state where the education department is considered like any other department. Say, the traffic department.

Keeping this in mind I want to convey to those students who look up to me a few points, which they should keep in their minds for making this world a better place. Nonetheless, this piece will remain incomplete, as I too will be learning more with time and experiences. Therefore, I will continue to write and speak on it all my life.

1. Don’t believe in everything your elders, teachers, state and society wants you to believe in. Challenge every old idea with a new one.
2. If you claim to be a believer in any faith or in any organised religion, rediscover it. You shouldn’t be a Muslim, a Sikh or a Hindu just because your parents are Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. The reason is what you need to apply everywhere, all the time.
3. Do not involve yourself in the unnecessary religious and political controversies until you complete your education. Stay focused on your goals. But that doesn’t mean you need to stay away from progressive politics that affects each one of us.
4. Remember, the quantity and quality of your friends are directly proportional to your educational attainment and position in society. So your studies must be the first and foremost priority. Everything else is secondary.
5. However, if you are better at something else like music, sports, farming, business etc than your BA/ B Sc courses, follow your dreams. Just be sure enough to make a living out of it.
6. Do not indulge yourself in “teacher politics” at any level, ever. But do participate in productive politics for the development of your institutions and society as mentioned earlier. You actually must not be a pawn in teacher politics.
7. As we are aware that the Internet is drowning us all like a flood. So we can’t hide under the bed to save ourselves from this flood. You must know how to swim in it. Make an efficient use of the Internet to pursue your goals. We can’t ignore the role of technology, especially of information technology in our lives.
8. It is important that you respect your teachers, elders, parents and friends. In fact, respect every human being regardless of his/her race, culture, nationality or language. But respect all of them for their behaviour and work and not their age or positions.
9. You must try hard to save yourselves from the selfie-culture, very much prevalent in our region, Pir Panchal. I swear that I want you to become greater men and women than the people you feel proud clicking selfies with. Believe me, none of them can ever be as great as you can be.
10. You ought to strike a balance between your academic life and socio-personal life. We being the social beings cannot afford the luxury of wasting either of the two. Enjoy life to the fullest. Enjoy each and every moment of your life. Because Death keeps no calendar.
11. However, I suggest you stay away from the thugs who want to divide you on the basis of religion, gender and caste. Stay away from Gujjar-Paharhi, Kashmiri-Non Kashmiri, Hindu-Muslim nuisance.
12. If possible, stand up for justice and truth in whatever positions you are. As a World citizen, as a family member, as a friend and as a man of God. Because injustice to one is an injustice to all.

    Mujahid Mughal

13. Do not become a victim of xenophobia, Islamophobia and do not let your looks decide what you are. Humanity exists beyond colours, boundaries and races. Don’t judge people on the above-mentioned adjectives. Do not judge people at all.
14. Remember, knowledge is power. So try reading at least one newspaper daily in English and another in any other language you are comfortable with. Be aware of the happenings around the world. Because we are going to be affected by every mishap anywhere in the world in one way or the other. While reading the newspaper do not forget to use standard dictionaries. The present age is the age of social media, and most of us fail to make good use of it. For staying up to date you may subscribe to various regional, national and international news outlets and magazines on social media to stay informed.
15. While we know that no language is superior to the other and many of the greatest scientific, philosophical, literary and artistic works were carried out in the vernacular languages but we should keep in mind that English is important. It is the language with which you can earn a livelihood anywhere in the world. Nonetheless, you ought to learn how to speak and write good English and also learn to be presentable and it doesn’t matter how good you are at it now.
16. Being arrogant reflects our inferiority complex. Stay humble and I assure you that one day you will win the world.
17. Remember, hard work always beats intelligence. There is no substitute for hard work. And there is no age to learn, relearn and unlearn.
18. Criticize each and everything and everyone you come to know about, including me and the above-mentioned points. However, always make a difference between abuse and criticism.(Author is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, at GDC Poonch, J&K. Ideas expressed in this essay are personal.)

Kashmir has moved from the love for Bollywood to a participant in Bollywood. Zulkifla Shakeel meets Zain Khan Durrani, the latest actor who plays a lead role in a romantic film set to release in February

Kashmir’s love for Bollywood survived the acid test in which even cinemas were locked. Now Kashmiri youth are trying their luck on Mumbai sets. The latest entry is Zain Khan Durrani, a commerce graduate from Delhi University, who landed in a lead role in Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz. Award-winning director Onir has directed the flick.

Durani is the second Kashmiri who will play a lead after Zaira Wasim’s Dangal, a film that got her enough of rave reviews, appreciation and awards, the latest by the state government as well. She has already done a second film Secret Superstar.

A resident of Srinagar’s uptown Bagh-e-Mehtab, Durrani, 26, has done his schooling at Burn Hall School and later joined Delhi Public School, Srinagar. As a bright student, he always remained active in creative works. Apart from participating in theatre and debates, he says, he writes poetry as well. Finally, he got admission in Zakir Hussain College, in commerce stream and shifted to Delhi in 2011.

In 2017, soon after his graduation, Durrani participated in an audition and was short-listed. Later, he met Onir who asked him to come to Mumbai for a screen test.

“Since I was quite young, the director asked me to assist him first for his another film,” Durrani said.It was in Mumbai that he got opportunities to work in a few documentaries and ads. “That was a start and since then I never looked back.”

In Mumbai, he loved to do what he was so passionate about. But the bit of “struggle” was at home. His doctor father and professor mother wanted him to join IAS and not the reel life.

“They wanted me to be an IAS like most parents in Kashmir started to think after Shah Faesal’s success,” Durrani said. “Honestly I was ready to do it but my parents somehow realised that I was in love with poetry and theatre.” Initially, his mother was a little hesitant but it did not take him a lot to convince her but his father has really been supportive of him.

“Finding a career you’re passionate about is not always easy, especially for Kashmiri’s, where there is so much of external pressure due to conflict with parents keen to make them doctors, engineers or IAS officers,” Durrani said. “There is nothing less than that.”

As Durrani’s debut movie is readying for release in February, he hopes that the movie will encourage other Kashmiri youth to pursue their dreams and not what their parents or the society wants them to do.

Acting, Durrani says is not the only career option in Bollywood. “There are so many specializations that suit Kashmirstalented, and skill set, there,” Durrani said. “But we lack exposure. We need to have production houses in Kashmir to tell our stories.”

Coming from a conflicted area, Durrani said the youth will have to survive with the baggage.“While it is good to have a political opinion but I think it is really important to stabilize our economic growth,” Durrani said. We have to move into the future a little more ambitiously.” At times, the stagnation in life in Kashmir sounds very depressing. “We don’t need to stop our lives. We need opportunities and be engaged in constructive activities.”

Duran’s film KuchhBheegeAlfaaz is scheduled for release on February 16, 2018. Produced by  Yoodlee Films, a venture of Saregama, the film also stars Geetanjali Thapa and as well. The storyline of the flicker that is public suggests that Durrani plays the role of RJ Alfaz who, despite his tremendous following, prefers staying detached and anonymous. There is Archana, a girl working at a creative agency, who is leukodermic but lives life to the fullest. A misplaced call helps them meet. This takes the film into the intense relationship between two unlikely characters, “one overly compensating, but in denial of her present, and the other buried under a dark secret of his past”.

A simple idea that came outside a movie theater in Qatar helped two engineer friends introduce sweet corn carts in Kashmir. Umar Mukhtar tells their story

In 2014, when Rizwan Khan, 25, moved to Qatar to work in a construction company as an engineer, he was pinning his hopes on a new life full of opportunities. Once there he got fascinated by the work-culture, which was missing back home.

“I saw people earning a decent living contrary to the experience I had back home. Even a person who does a low profile job would earn handsomely,” said Rizwan.

Once he started working in Qatar, he actually had very less time to explore the new places. “But on my off days, I never miss an opportunity of moving out. After all, who would not want to venture out and explore a country like Qatar?”

It was on holidays that Rizwan would experience the busy and cheerful life, rush at malls, traffic, cuisines and what not. At first it seemed like a utopian world to Rizwan, which would bring smile to his face. But despite being in Qatar, Rizwan’s heart always remained in Kashmir.

“I was emotional and home-loving guy just like the other Kashmiris,” said Rizwan.

The busy and adventurous life in Qatar was a complete a contrast to what he has lived through in conflict torn Kashmir. “Since my childhood I was never able to experience a good life. I used to get flashbacks of curfews, shutdowns, restrictions, killings etc. I often used to wish Qatar kind of life in Kashmir.”

Fascinated by the life in Qatar, Rizwan felt an urge to do something for the people of Kashmir. “But I was not sure what to do,” said Rizwan.

Then one day, while enjoying an outing with his friends, Rizwan decided to watch a movie in a multiplex theatre. A man selling popcorn on a decorated cart outside the multiplex caught Rizwan’s attention. Rizwan had seen such popcorn carts before too at places like in hypermarkets, shopping malls and outside cinemas. But he had never thought about it as a possible business venture. “It was there I realized that I should start such a chain of popcorn carts in Kashmir,” said Rizwan. “I could also engage unemployed people.”

But given his job commitments in Qatar, the idea looked impossible to translate into reality. In order to work around the problem, Rizwan discussed the idea with his friend Tahleel.

For next one year they fine tuned the idea with Rizwan in Qatar and Tahleel in Kashmir. Then finally in October 2017, they inaugurated their first cart in Srinagar. This was the birth of ‘Corn on the Go’. As of now there are six carts in Srinagar at six different locations selling the sweet corn.

“We are looking at 25 carts by the end of this year,” said a confident Rizwan. “Our criteria was simple, we just identified six unemployed youth who were in dire need of employment.”

According to Rizwan there is only profit margin of three rupees per cup. To empower the youth, the business model is based on the international work ethics, like besides salary, food, accommodation and commission on the basis of sales is provided to the employees.

As people in Kashmir have started to like the taste of sweet corn, the venture is getting good response.

The next step is to make the corn carts eco-friendly. “We want to operate these carts on solar energy and make them smart carts (GPS enabled) in coming months so that the customers can track the exact locations of a cart,” said Rizwan.

There were a number of people who discouraged Rizwan and Tahleel telling them it is not going to change anything.

“But we did it for the love of our people and thought it as our social responsibility,” said Rizwan.

A faith healers son, Kabul Bukhari did his primary schooling in Karnah and then in Srinagar. He finally flew to Mumbai for studies and reconnected with Kashmir through YouTube as one of the few modern singers, reports Umar Khurshid

Whether it’s the falsetto or soft music compositions, Kabul Bukhari, 27, has won the young hearts by singing Kashmiri unplugged songs to become one of the favourite YouTuber. He sings Kashmir folk music with a modern touch.

Hailing from remote Karnah belt, almost on the border, Bukhari is the son of a local faith healer Syed Abdul Abdul Rehman. He did his primary schooling from Karnah and then moved to Srinagar city for further studies.

Bukhari started learning music under the tutelage of his brother Syed Tariq Pardesi, a famous folk singer of his belt and later honed his skills in the Mumbai University. Bukhari’s melodious voice and decorous stage presence have made him one of the favourite folk singers of Kashmir. Bukhari insists that he has always preferred singing Kashmiri songs, despite having Pahadi mother tongue.

For Kabul, music has been his calling for as long as he could remember. “I was barely six, when I used to sing along with my elder brother Syed Tariq Pardesi, during marriage ceremonies and other local events,” Kabul said. Then, he started learning harmonium and became part of his brother’s local folk band.

During the beginnings of his career, Bukhari used to participate in every event he would get chance into and to get to his instrumental jams.

In 2006, Bukhari did his first-ever live show with his brother Syed Tariq, as a Pahadi singer, in Kupwara. “My brother has always been my inspiration, as he is the one who has supported me and my passion,” Bukhari says.

Bukhari was a runner-up for Kashmir’s first-ever singing reality show, Miley Sur, in 2009-10. The show was themed to sing a Kashmiri along with a song from another language on every episode. “This talent hunt had 87 shows and I came into top 3 finalists,” he said.

In 2011, the love for the music brought Bukhari to the dream city of Mumbai where he lives with his brother’s family now. “There were two reasons for me to shift Mumbai, first to pursue my higher studies, which I did not want to leave in middle and second to learn advanced music,” he said.

Bukhari joined Mumbai University, did his diploma in the music department for two years and then bachelors from the same department for three years. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Classical Music.

“My masters will finish this year, I’m opting for a PhD in Mumbai University and my research will be on, diversity in Kashmir’s cultural music,” Bukhari said.

Apart from singing, Bukhari does his own compositions and has a studio of his own, called KB Productions. He also sings in Gojri, Dogri, Pashtu, Panjabi and Urdu. “This all comes gradually but my main focus will be on the Kashmiri language.”

In 2015, Bukhari participated in Voice India, singing reality show, and obtained an appreciation certificate. Then he remained a finalist of Big Golden Voice Mumbai city. He also won the third position in All India Devotional Song Competition, held in Katra Jammu. Bukhari has recently received an up-gradation from All India radio as a singer artist.

Bukhari has covered a wide spectrum of Kashmiri folk songs from melancholic to mystical to romantic and has struck a balanced harmony between the old and new. “I am actually preparing for new hits and probably you will find me in something good very soon,” Bukhari said.

Bukhari’s first Youtube hit was Dilas Dubrai Gayem. The song has 919, 700, views on YouTube and has won him a wide fan base. His numbers are so popular that some other local singers are attempting copying his style. The live shows and concerts in various places have given a new boost to Bukhari.

Kabul Bukhari

Contrary to the common perception that the folk in Kashmir has a narrow base, Bukhari says it is huge and impressive. “There were no music schools in Kashmir in our time,” he said, insisting that it is very difficult to choose music as a career. “Apart from talent, which is obviously important, luck plays a huge role.” Bukhari got lucky, indeed for being a part of various singing reality shows in Kashmir.

The singer has big plans for the next year. There will be more songs in Gojri, Dogri, Pashtu, Panjabi and Urdu, he said.

Perhaps the greatest achievement for Bukhari was to shift to Mumbai for advance music and his hits like “Dilas Dubaraye Gayem, Meh Nah Chane Lay Mashahni, Yusi Ishq Pazar.”

Asked what he is keen to convey through his music, Kabul said he wants to connect with his audience at an emotional level. “I want my music to sound like hope. In a world that’s so darkened by the shadows of problems, I would like to create atleast a glimmer of light,” he said. Despite the emotional and physical drain, he felt due to the pressure of live shows, Kabul describes his experience as ‘phenomenal.’

Many of the Bukhari’s songs have been lauded but when asked which of the songs he enjoyed performing the most, he said it had been Dilas Dubaraye Gayem. “It was upbeat and fun and different from anything that he had performed,” Kabul said. “I had to understand the tradition of Shimla, where we actually shot the video.”

But Kabul is satisfied. “I have had highs and lows but I have learned a lot. It is still unbelievable to me that I have gone through this amazing experience.”

A post graduate in environmental science recorded a Kashmiri song. Watching it emerge as a smash hit on the web, Adil Gurezi jumped into the musical eco-system and is counting his numbers, reports Umar Khurshid

Aadil Gurezi

The era of internet has ushered in the concept of virality, wherein anything out of the ordinary when catches the attention of the social media audience, goes viral quickly. This time, a Kashmiri singer has become the latest internet sensation; his mesmerizing rendition of popular Kashmiri and Hindi numbers have garnered him instant recognition on social media.

He is Adil Gurezi, famous for his unique vocals. He is the new singing sensation who has taken the virtual Kashmir by storm. Hailing from north Kashmir’s Bandipore district, Gurezi has sung five hit numbers, which are being praised by all. His viewership is already in millions.

Gurezi, a self-taught singer has not gone to any elite music institution to get the musical knowledge. “My unique voice has lent me to go with the musical passion even though it was never decided to pursue my carrier in music,” Gurezi said.

Gurezi says that these days Kashmir is seeing a revival of the band culture in music, along with new starlets coming to the big stages, delivering numbers in absolute perfection with their vocal abilities. He sees it a new trend that is sustained strictly by the internet revolution.

A post-graduate in Environmental Science, Gurezi was born in Bandipora but his family roots are in Gurez, a valley located in the high Himalayas, about 123 kilometres from Srinagar. This border belt has survived in isolation post-1947 when a new political geography took over. Separated from the vast Shina-speaking belt, it is hardly accessible during winters. Off late, the setting up of a huge power station on the banks of Kishan Ganga has impacted most of the valley. In return people got money and this triggered a new migration out of the Dard belt.

Gurezi did his schooling from Nadim Memorial Higher Secondary School and later joined Shri Partap College in Srinagar. In December 2015, Gurezi joined a college in Dehradun and completed his Master’s in Environmental Science. Gurezi is currently in Mumbai working on various musical projects.

On November 17, 2017, Gurezi released his first song Chaand on YouTube, which has crossed 1.2m views, so far. Till the song was released he never thought of making music as his carrier. “As soon as I saw the positive response from the people, it struck to my mind that I must think about music further,” Gurezi says.

Then, on the first day of 2018, Gurezi released another song called Tumhere Bina that has fetched 380k views till now. This song was followed by his release of a cover song Rafta Rafta, a song already made famous by Mehdi Hassan.

Gurezi believes that Kashmir music goes hand in hand with his Urdu/Hindu numbers. Ever since the times of Ghulam Ahmed Sofi and Raja Begum, though small the music industry of Kashmir has never seen a complete downfall. From decade to decade, the region’s musicians produce different genres, creating different legends.

Gurezi gained more following when he released an unplugged version of folk song Dupte Neunem, an old Kashmiri folk song which has been sung by various artists over a period of time, but Aadil has modified it and added his own touch to the traditional track. The song has garnered over five million views so far. With a fusion of guitar, people have gone crazy after the performance and Gurezi’s singing ability.

Gurezi’s YouTube channel on his own name Aadil Gurezi has crossed 89,696 subscribers and is much well known in Kashmir. Last month, Gurezi released a mixture of Kashmiri and Punjabi rendition that was also loved by the fans and fetched him 620 thousand views.

Gurezi believes that internet is a happening place where people get an attention and are never being ignored as long as they have the ability to entertain.“After discovering a few cringe-worthy internet sensations, of late, the social media has been generous enough to treat all the new generation artists generously,” Gurezi says.

But Gurezi is keen to pick up the art and its grammar. “I am living with the best artists and that is giving me lot of confidence and helps me understand the music better,” Gurezi said. “I am in the virtual world and I have Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as my virtual guru.”

Apart from gaining so much of attention and fame, Gurezi is now earning a good amount from the YouTube which he uses for his other projects. “My family don’t need money, and whatever I earn I try to put that on other projects,” Gurezi says. His father is a retired teacher and mother is a homemaker.

The comments on the social media post show how much the public loved Gurezi’s renditions. People are claiming that his covers are better than the original ones and he deserves to be on a proper platform.

A young boy from a modest background put in his all efforts and managed cracking NEET examination with flying colours. Now the tensions in the family are about the costs that they would require to make him a doctor, reports Aaqib Hyder

Shabir Kohli’s home at Hardu kichru, Ashmuqam. KL Image: Aaqib Hyder

On June 5, 2019, in Hardu Kichru, a nondescript village of Ashmuqam Anantnag, a three-room mud house was beaming with joy and celebrations. Reason: the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) results showed the family’s eldest son Shabir Ahmad Kohli had qualified the examination with flying colours.

Hailing from a hamlet situated literally on the top of a small mountain and in the lap of another, Shabir has become a household name in his district. Hardu Kichru village was recently connected to Ashmuqam plains by a macadamized road.

Shabir, 21, made his family and community proud by passing NEET with 559 points. Visibly shy and an introvert since his childhood, his neighbours describe him as the most humble guy in the whole village. Shabir studied in a local school located outside his home up to the fifth primary and later shifted to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Ashmuqam for further studies. After completing his twelfth standard, Shabir straightaway sat to write the NEET examinations.

Scoring only 374 points in NEET 2018, Shabir didn’t make the cut. To be on a safer side, he decided to get enrolled for BSc in a Jammu college and prepare for next year’s NEET simultaneously. While he was yet to sit in his first-semester college examinations, NEET date-sheet was out forcing him to prepare vigorously. He restricted himself to the college hostel for several months and avoided getting enrolled in a coaching academy or a tuition centre.

“To be honest, I prepared for the examination only for five months,” Shabir said. “If it wasn’t for my friend Aabid Farooq from Srigufwara who is pursuing MBBS in ASCOMS Jammu, it wouldn’t have been possible for me to qualify. He guided me at every step.”

Shabir couldn’t be happier for achieving something he had dreamed for a long time but he knows how hard the journey lies ahead. “This is just the beginning,” admits Shabir. “I know I have to face bigger hurdles and hardships in future but I have to be strong and prepared.”

Until a few years back, the family lived in a typical thatched mud house. Then they constructed a three-room structure made of raw bricks and mud with a tin-roof next to the old one.

Shabir Kohli

Despite all odds, Shabir’s parents made sure they give education to their children. Shabir has four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. Two of them study in the local middle school while as another one is enrolled in JNV Ashmuqam. Only the eldest sister didn’t go to school as she learned to tailor at an early age to support the family. Over the years, she has made a good name in tailoring in the area and earns handsomely.

“We don’t have to only tend cows for generation after generations,” Hajira, Shabir’s mother said. “I want to see my children living a better life.”

Shabir’s father Ghulam Hassan Kohli has been a farmer his whole life and is not keeping well for the last couple of years. Despite that, he tends to the cattle and fields himself every day and toils hard just not to make his son’s studies suffer.

“We never ask Shabir to help us in the fields,” Hajira said. “Also, he doesn’t know his way around cattle and fields; he was interested only in his studies right from his childhood.”

Suddenly, the wide smile on Hajira’s face got overshadowed with waves of sorrow and concern. A few days back, a visitor at her home had told her that she will have to spend more than Rs 60,000, a year for Shabir’s 5-year MBBS degree and it has been keeping her mind occupied since then. “I don’t know how we will manage that every year but I know Allah will find a way for us,” she asserted.

Old mud house of Kohli family. KL Image: Aaqib Hyder

Hajira has been working as a cook in the local state-run school for the last 14 years. A job she had started to supplement the family finances has failed to do so even after more than a decade. Currently, she gets a meagre Rs 1000 a month for the job. “As prices of products are skyrocketing, working for Rs 1000 seems like beggar (forced labour),” she said. “Moreover, I don’t get my money at the end of every month but after every eight to nine months usually.”

Shabir had asked her mother to get him a bike as a gift if he cracks the NEET examination, but now, he is more interested in having an android phone. “He will be away from home for at least five years from now,” one of Shabir’s sisters said. “He is still using a simple phone and can’t browse the internet on it. He surely needs a better phone for studying and other purposes.”

Shabir’s dedicated pursuit of excellence is an inspiration to all but he has always looked up to his parents as an inspiration. Their hard work and strong conviction to educate their children has helped him to keep going in tough times. “My parents are my real inspiration,” Shabir asserted. “Despite weak financial conditions and other constraints at home, they never drew back their support from whatever I was doing. They are my heroes.”

Despite shutdown and lockdowns, many Kashmiri students and professionals have bagged fellowships to study at prestigious western universities, reports Syed Samreen

Mohammad Tabish

Mohammad Tabish, 29, applied for the Chevening scholarship program on the last date. Little did he know that he would be among the very few fortunate students to be selected. Tabish hails from Rawalpora and is currently working for the government in the Social Welfare department. He is the program manager in the integrated child protection program.

Tabish has graduated in English literature from Amity University, followed by masters in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs.

Tabish had decided to apply in 2018 but somehow it did not happen. He did it in 2019. Unfortunately, the time of submitting the application and the fallout of the revocation of Article 370 coincided. But this didn’t stop Tabish from achieving what he had aspired for.

“I faced a lot of difficulties in the process of my application but I’ve always been of the thought that we should try to make the best out of the little we have,” Tabish said.

In September, Tabish moved to Delhi in order to fill the forms and submit his application. “All the interviews that followed were cancelled and instead conducted online. Managing that was really difficult knowing that there was no high-speed internet available in Kashmir,” he said.

After the application was completed, Tabish was the first scholar to be announced from Kashmir. He had applied for the University College London (UCL), London School of Economics (LSE) and the King’s College London (KCL). Out of the three, he got acceptance from UCL and the KCL. He chose to study a one-year Masters in Public Policy at the King’s College London. The scholarship covers everything; from tuition fee to the living expenses.

When asked why he chose to study Public Policy, Tabish replied: “The trend is changing now. There’s more policy-based governance. There’s a dearth of experts in public policy in the Government and I see it as my goal to bring scientific and academic knowledge to the government. Chevening will help me bridge the gap.”

Scholarships like Chevening and the sorts are readily available every year, to every student across the globe who wishes to study abroad. The question is how many students know about such opportunities..

“I’ve always taken criticism positively. Yes we all have difficulties, but I believe that overcoming them is the only way ahead,” he said.

Tabish said every Kashmiri student can fulfil his dream of studying abroad. “It just takes effort and resilience. Being successful is secondary, what counts is the effort,” he said.

Husnain Mustafa Khawaja

At just 21, Hasnain Mustafa Khawaja was already the first president of Saaya– Shadow of hope’ – a  non-governmental organisation that was co-founded by him. Hasnain is the second Chevening scholar from Kashmir who bagged the award. He attributes his social work for the award. Chevening scholarship is something that does not just focus on the academic background of a student. Chevening looks for world leaders who can reap financial rewards and have an insight into what’s happening on the global level.

Hasnain hails from Bemina area of Srinagar and is a law graduate. He has completed his BA, LLB from the University of Kashmir. Hasnain carries the genes for law and advocacy from his father, Tasaduq Hussain Khawaja, a senior advocate at the J&K High Court.

At an early age and after working tirelessly during 2014 floods for the relief distribution and financial assistance of affected people, Hasnain thought of forming his own organization that would be youth-centric and would work for the underprivileged children aspiring to learn. So, he started ‘Saaya’.

“We’ve helped children financially. We have distributed books among them. I genuinely feel that there must be someone whose good wishes and prayers have led me to where I am. I’m just 25 and getting this scholarship is truly overwhelming.” Hasnain said. “The whole heart of the matter in getting any kind of scholarship abroad is, a student being extracurricular active”.

Usually, in Kashmir, the main focus of a student remains on getting good grades and excelling in exams. The number on the sheets is given the utmost priority over any other thing. While as the whole point of education is the application of the curriculum on the ground.

According to Hasnain, everyone has dreams but only a few have the urge to fulfil them.

“I had a dream of studying in London but for a common Kashmiri like me, it was really difficult spending approximately 40 lakh rupees per year abroad. And I think that if I could do it, any other Kashmiri as well can,”’ he said, insisting he has chosen the Queen Mary University of London and will be pursuing a Masters in Law with a specialisation in Human rights. “I want to come back to Kashmir and work on Juvenile rights, broadly human rights. We all know that there is a vacuum and I wish to fill it,” he said.

Sehreen Shamim

With a desire to shun patriarchy and sexism, Sahreen Shamim set out to achieve her aspirations and dreams a long time back, when she packed her bags and left to work outside Kashmir.

Shamim, 29, hails from Natipora (Srinagar) and has been offered a place in the Oxford University, United Kingdom. Shamim has chosen to study Masters in Public Policy.

”I wish to come back and frame fruitful policies for Kashmir. Studying public policy, that too in The United Kingdom will be like a dream come true for someone like me, someone who was pressurized to study the traditional subjects after twelfth grade,” Shamim said.

Shamim couldn’t handle the cultural conditioning and the societal pressure and chose to break all the fetters that besieged her. Shamim graduated from Mount Carmel College Bangalore in Economics followed by a masters program in the same subjects from Amity University.

Shamim has worked as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) official and also helped tribal women with livelihood generation. For a long time, Shamim found herself under-appreciated for the different types of work and lifestyle that she had chosen.

“I was often name-called and looked down upon just because I chose to live the life I had dreamt of,” she said. “But somehow, I had a hunch that one day everyone around would be proud of me. I just care about my parents being proud of me. They are the happiest people right now. Getting into Oxford is everyone’s dream and today, their daughter did it.” She wants the youngsters to “stand up for yourself” even if your parents are not supportive.

Sehar Iqbal

Mother of two kids, Dr Sehar Iqbal is the first Kashmiri woman to be awarded the Women’s scholarship by Saïd Business School, Oxford University.

Sehar will be a fellow at the Lady Margaret Hall, one of the first Oxford Colleges to admit women. It has been the Alma Mater of Malala Yousafzai as well as Benazir Bhutto.

Sehar has two kids under seven years of age.

From the very beginning, Sehar has had global exposure and experience and even now, after being in wedlock, she will pursue the programme at Oxford.

According to Sehar, it’s just a matter of effort and desire to achieve whatever a person wishes for. She said that more and more Kashmiri women should apply for scholarships abroad regardless of their financial status or any other condition.

“There’s no ideal time to do anything. I think that I’m no different. Having children or being married shouldn’t be a determinant of what a woman deserves in life. I have a highly supportive husband who pushed me to study further. I’m thankful that I am surrounded by supportive people” she said.

Sehar is a development expert with 15 years of experience working in disaster-affected and conflict areas in India, Tajikistan and Bangladesh. Her grassroots work includes livelihood support for abandoned women, building community infrastructure and disaster risk reduction. She has consulted for agencies like the Aga Khan Development Network, American Red Cross, European Commission, the Asian Development Bank, and the Ministry for Rural Development Government of India.

In 2012, Dr Iqbal was the fellow of the inaugural class of the India Pakistan Regional Young Leaders Initiative by the Asia Society, Rockefeller Foundation. She has a PhD in Social Sciences. She studied Human Development in Jammu and Kashmir under Prof. Jean Dreze, a world-renowned economist. She did her PhD when pregnant with her second child.

“Every woman needs to make time for her dreams and aspirations. Every mother who pursues education sets an example for her children to put their education first,” she said. “Every woman who works after marriage demonstrates commitment and hard work as the foundations of success to her children. If you value yourself your child will learn to value women.”

Defying the restrictions that were imposed by the situation post-August 2019, a number of boys and girls moved out and appeared for the coveted civil service examination. Pirzada Shakir met some of the successful to tell their story of struggle and determination

In his remote south Kashmir village, Sabzar Ahmad Gania with his parents after passing the UPSC 2019

Their distinct identity would be the first batch of civil servants of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. On the flip side, it also means, these boys and girls managed to crack the examination in a situation when they were denied even the internet at home and, at one point of time, a phone call as well.

What was interesting was that in 2019 (when the UPSC announced the results of 2018), there was nobody from Kashmir who cracked the examination. It was the same year when Shah Feasal, the IAS topper of 2009, put in his papers and spent almost a year in jail. Days after his release from the jail, the results and were out and half a dozen had qualified. Interestingly, this was followed by reports that the Government of India is not accepting his resignation and he may eventually be a babu again.

Interestingly, the latest results got a young woman and a boy to the coveted service from Kupwara, the district to which Shah Feasal belongs.

One of them is Nadia Beig who tops the Kashmir lot at rank 350. A resident of Punzwa, almost 20 km from Kupwara, Beig has graduated from Jamia Millia Islamia Delhi.

“I went to Jamia in the 1990s and found it very safe and its students very intelligent, and that very day I decided to enrol my children there,” Ghulam Mohammad Beig, Nadia’s father, a teacher, said. “I succeeded in sending my eldest son and Nadia to Jamia for higher studies.”

Nadia, who is now being termed to be the youngest qualifier’s at 23 years of age, had her schooling locally in a private school. A non-medical student at the secondary level, she switched to Honours in Economics but eventually qualified as a sociology student the UPSC examination. “Sociology interested me more than economics so I decided to appear in CSE (UPSC) with Sociology as a subject,” she said.

In her first attempt, Nadia did not succeed in 2018. A year later, she made it. She did her preparations for the examination at Jamia’s Residential Coaching Academy.

“I wouldn’t have dreamt of competing for CSE if I had been in Kashmir as one cannot imagine it when you are not provided with atmosphere and facilities at par with other competitors,” Beig said. “Internet blockade and the situation in Kashmir ultimately takes a heavy toll on the studies of aspirants.”

Her father remains the family’s main planner. “I would bring books, magazines, newspapers for my children. I would motivate them to do something big so that they would be of some help to Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. It paid the family well – his two youngest daughters are pursuing MBBS in a Government Medical College, Srinagar.

In Trehgam Kupwara Aftab Rasool with his parents after being declared successful in UPSC 2019

Not far away from Beig’s lives Aftab Rasool Bhat in Trehgam. Son of a retired police officer, he managed the rank of 420 in his third attempt. After his initial studies in Jawahar Navodya Vidyala (JNV), Kupwara, Aftab joined Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Delhi University for higher studies and subsequently started preparing for CSE with history as his main subject. A Junior Research Fellow (JRF), he is pursuing his PhD from Delhi University. He is sceptical about improving his rank by going for another examination but is keen to complete his PhD.

Most of the others belong to South Kashmir. Sabzar Ahmad Ganie who falls at the rank 628 comes from a modest background. A resident of Geebooma (Kokernag), Ganie, 25, is the second CSE qualifier from his area. It was in 1978 that Mohammad Iqbal Khanday became the first IAS. He rose to become the Chief Secretary and died in 2018 by cancer.

“I did my primary education in a local government primary school and joined a local private high school to complete my secondary education,” Sabzar said. “I qualified Jammu and Kashmir Common Entrance Test (JKCET) at 36 rank and got a seat in BE in Jammu college.”

His only regret is that teachers play truant. “Teachers in Government schools are well qualified, infrastructure is good but the sense of responsibility is missing,” he said. “I had to join a private school for two years (9th and 10th) to compensate for the loss incurred in 2008 when the whole Kashmir was under civil curfew.”

In 2018, Sabzar joined Jamia Millia’s Residential Coaching Academy to prepare for CSE. “Our village lacks basic facilities like proper electricity, mobile connectivity, and the internet to access material for preparation. No newspaper comes to his villages,” he said. “It was Residential Coaching Academy that made me qualify CSE.”

The day result of CSE was declared, pictures of one-storey mud house of Sabzar went viral on social media that evoked sympathy from different quarters and appreciation for his hard work. Sabzar’s father is a farmer, and his mother is a housewife.

Sabzar’s brother joined the government job in 2015 to support his family and his education after giving up his higher education.

“My elder brother got selected for an MBA Course at the University of Kashmir after qualifying entrance exam but he had to give up and join low-key government job to support my studies and family as there was no other source of income for the family.”

Sabzar said he has seen poverty and hardships very closely and that was the key motivation to go for CSE. “I would like to tell aspirants and students that nothing can be achieved in a comfort zone as one must leave his/her comfort zone to achieve something in life,” he said. Sabzar will join the service and will simultaneously prepare to improve his rank in the next examination.

In a remote Kupwara village Nadia Beig with her parents, two medico sisters and brother. She tops the Kashmiri students at rank 350.

There are others from the same area. Majid Iqbal Khan of Shangus (Anantnag) passed the examination with 618 rank. Schooled at an Army school, he did his B Tech from Telangana.

Asif Yousef Tantry with rank 328 hails from Hablish Devsar in Kulgam. Also a B Tech, he went for coaching to Delhi in 2016. “Since then, I worked hard and finally I achieved what I had desired for many years,” Tantray told Kashmir Life.

From Jammu and Kashmir, the actual number is more. Abhishek Augustsya is at rank 38, followed by Sunny Gupta at 148, Dev Ahuti at 177, and Parth Gupta at 240. They are all from Jammu. Then, there are three from the UT of Ladakh including Namgyal Angmo and Stanzin Wangyal from Leh, and Mohammed Nawas Sharaf Uddin Sharafuddin from Kargil’s Drass belt.

An inspirational story of a boy from a very humble origin who fought odds and to finally study in a prestigious global university, reports Saifullah Bashir

Mohammad Burhan gave up many opportunities only to grow in a line he had decided for his future.

He is Burhan, 27, whose life is interesting and whose story is an inspiring one. Despite a lot of ups and downs in his life, he secured his admission in one of the world’s best universities without spending a penny from his pocket. His ultimate goal is to become a scientist.   

Mohammad Burhan was only six years old when his father passed away. As a result of the death, the family faced enormous difficulties.  Burhan’s siblings were minor and there was no source of income. After some time his uncle married his mother and he became a mentor to Burhan.

At his school, Burhan was an average student. He used to secure more than two-third per cent of the marks. But poverty remained part and parcel of his life.

“In my primary classes my parents used to implore teachers to let me study for free”, said Burhan. Despite all these hardships, he qualified his twelfth class with 80 per cent of marks. Later, he decided to study Mathematics and Physics. And to everybody’s surprise, he qualified All India Entrance Examination (AIEEE) and got rank 28 in Jammu and Kashmir in architecture.

Burhan opted to go for mechanical engineering. He got an opportunity to choose the college where he wanted to study. Finally, he opted for LPU (Lovely Professional University) but the problem for him was how to pay his tuition fees. He took an education loan from a commercial bank. By 2014 he walked out of the institute with a bachelor’s degree.

Though he completed his degree, the family was in a dire need of financial assistance. Burhan had to repay to the bank as well. His family comprises of two brothers, a sister, mother and step-father. Burhan said he didn’t study to earn money but at the same time, money is the material elixir for life.

 Lands In A Job

 Burhan got employed at a Construction Company in Srinagar as a mechanical engineer.

“I used to earn Rs 30,000 a month and as a bachelor, it meant a lot for me”, Burhan said. For three years, he worked in the company but remained a reluctant worker. “I remained tense and depressed. This was not something I liked doing. My goal was something else.”

 Due to this mental agony, Burhan finally resigned. It shocked his parents and relatives. Some even scolded him. “This company was becoming a barrier to the achievement of my goal. So, I resigned,” Burhan said.  

Burhan did not listen to anyone. He decided his own course. “I sat alone in a room, worried, confused and scared,” he said. “Then, I started studying for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) examinations for 40 days and finally I qualified it.”

In NIT

Burhan got a seat in National Institute of Technology (NIT) and in many other institutions. He refused to take admission there and went to Hindustan University, a prestigious university located in Chennai.  Again the issue of tuition fee aroused. “I would say that I am very lucky. There was a time when I did not have money to pay tuition fee but I never lost hope,” he said. “Whenever I needed help, Almighty intervened.”

 Burhan got a scholarship through the National Scholarship Scheme and completed his Master in Aeronautical Engineering (M.tech).  

 In France

He did not stop there. He applied for advance Masters in France and qualified another examination and got one more scholarship from the French government. “I used to get 750 Euros per month just to study”, he said. It was during his studies in France, Burhan travelled to Spain, France and Germany. Finally, he completed his advance masters in France and won the gold medal.

Mohammad Burhan is a scientist who is fighting odds to keep going.

In 2019, Burhan flew home. He decided to join some job until he got his degree. His programme was to go back to France for research.

You Are Kashmiri?

Burhan applied at an international airline as a flight dispatch engineer but there was only one vacancy. It was extremely difficult to secure that position. He had to crack five competitive interviews. Fortunately, he cracked all of them and filled the vacancy.

“There was no limit to my happiness. I thought let me collect some money and then leave for France”, Burhan said.

Burhan received appointment letter and other documents and on September 10, 2019, he was supposed to join the office. He reached Chennai International Airport but was not permitted to join his job. “When I reached there, Managing Director told me that you are from Kashmir and they had orders not to let Kashmiris do the job there,” Burhan said, insisting on every single word.

 In DRDO Instead

Though this was extremely disappointing,  the setback didn’t break his will. He remembered that there is a scientist in defence Dr Ramanijachari, who has also worked as an assistant with APJ Abul Kalam. Burhan got in touch with Dr Raman and he sent his profile to the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for an internship. For this, he was criticized by his who told him that getting into DRDO was not everyone’s cup of tea.

 The request was accepted by the DRDO and after the police investigation, he got a green signal. Burhan worked in defence in the department of aerodynamics for eight months and returned home.  

His profile was getting too strong but on the family front, he was facing the music because they wanted him to do some work. But he stuck to his decision. He applied for research in many foreign universities but there was no serious reply from any one of them. The rejections did not bother him.

A Neighbour’s Call

It was at this crucial juncture that one of his neighbours told him that there was a job-seeking visa in Germany and that one had to just apply for a visa and do the job there. Burhan went to Chennai for an appointment.

Another unexpected development took place. At the embassy a woman, probably a staff member told him that he should complete The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examination and that will enable him to easily go for a research programme.

There was very less time left for the particular language examination. After 15 days of day-night study, Burhan scored seven out of nine. This score was enough to get a visa.

In Queens’ Finally

Now Burhan applied for doctoral and post-doctoral research at Queens University Belfast, which is one of the 100 top universities in the world.

Queen’s University is not a private but a public university of Belfast. Burhan has to pay for his studies.

“It was another challenge for me”, Burhan said.  He applied for scholarships and got three out of five. “My tuition fee is Rs 20 lakh per year and it was absolutely impossible for me”.

Securing admission there was not easy. He went through multiple interviews, written tests and succeeded.

Burhan had unshakable faith in God. So the intervention came. Kashmir Education Initiative (KEI), an NGO, arranged around Rs eight lakh for him. With the scholarships and help, Burhan’s dream came true. He has started studying from home since October 1. Visa has been issued and he will work as an assistant research scientist at the Queen’s. “It was something that Allah had planned for me. Without His help and will, it was not possible”, Burhan said.

In making individuals achieve their objectives, there are lots of people who contribute, especially in case of have-nots. But there are quite a few who remember the struggle and then credit the helpers once they become achievers. Muhammad Younis met one such non-resident Kashmiri whose roller coaster journey took him far away from a dusky village but not led him to forget his phenomenal struggle for a dignified living

Dr Rafiq Sheikh

Across the river Sacramento near 10 Lake Vista in California, where Dr Rafiq Sheikh lives currently, the view of a tree congested riverbank satiates his longing for his home in Kashmir. His dilapidated single room house which used to be situated on the bank of river Jhelum in Chersoo, a high way village, near Awantipora, shared almost a similar view.

Sheikh’s quantum jump from Chersoo to Lake Vista is a matter of fascination for the whole village. He is a role model. But what makes the story great is that Sheikh hasn’t forgotten anything, not even an iota, about the people who were instrumental in his struggle and success.

Born in late 60’s, Sheikh belonged to a family with marginal land-holding, barely 2 kanals. On this dependent was a 6-member family. Being the eldest son of the family, Sheikh’s shoulders got burdened at a tender age of 6, when his father, Reshi Sheikh, the sole bread earner of the family, died of some chest problem. In order to provide for his family, Sheikh “took up a sickle in his hand” and started farming. His little brother, Gul Sheikh, and sister, Zaeba, joined the school. His other two siblings Ghulam Muhammad and Jawhar were too little to join either of the two occupations.

Because of frequent bullying by the seniors at the local primary school, Gul almost dropped out. To request Abdul Rashid, Gul’s teacher, to look into the matter, Sheikh one day visited him. As it was the “fate that had brought him here”, Rashid insisted Sheikh join the class at that very moment. Sitting on a rug, under a Chinar tree, the students, crooning multiplication table, fascinated an eight-year-old Sheikh, but he found himself helpless to pursue his desire. He told the teacher that if he would sit in the class, there was no one in his family to bring straw for the cattle. “And they’ll have to starve… my family will have to starve,” Sheikh remembers telling his teacher. The teacher didn’t take no for an answer, and Sheikh had to spend a whole day in the class. “In the class, I was the eldest. The others were much younger to me.”

Back home, Sheikh said he was a whole different person now. In order to cajole his mother to allow him to go to school, he wept his eyes out. “Joining school meant to leave my mother take care of the family expenses singlehandedly,” he said. But she, taking the entire burden on herself, granted permission to her son. What she didn’t realise at that time was that her son “had embarked on a journey, whose ending she would have remotely conjectured.”

Lacking resources to buy textbooks, a neighbour helped Sheikh by writing him the lessons and the multiplication table on white pages that he bought from a neighbouring shop in exchange for a few eggs. His mother sold a chicken for Rs 4.50 to purchase his uniform. “The uniform was of substandard quality. My mother couldn’t afford a fresh one.”

From the inception, Sheikh proved a brilliant student. Because of his excellence in studies, he got multiple promotions, quickly. In the initial six months of his school, he was shifted from class Ist to 2nd. During an inspection of the school one day, Sharifuddin Andrabi, the then Tehsil Education Officer Awantipora, asked a question to fourth primary students about the founder of Jammu city. They could not answer. Only Sheikh, then in the second primary, replied that it was Babu Lochan. For answering this question, he earned a double promotion; from second to the fourth primary. “The teachers said that it was only because all the classes were conducted close and I might have heard the name and remembered it. Otherwise, I didn’t have books to learn from.”

In his middles (eighth) at the High School Noorpora Tral, Sheikh got the highest numbers in Arabic subject; 148 out of 150. And this was the reason that Sheikh’s Arabic teacher, Aajiz Ahmad compelled him to take the subject forward. He told Sheikh that there were huge prospects for him to do MA and then PhD in Arabic, and become eligible enough for a professor’s post. But, Sheikh, on the other hand, wanted to study medical science. And coincidence was that Jagdish Singh, a science teacher, after getting to know about Sheikh’s interest, dragged him in the science class.

“Both teachers had a verbal spat regarding the subjects I should take,” Sheikh remembers. Jagdish told Aajiz that if Sheikh would want to learn Arabic, he would provide him with the money to learn it from an Imam Sahib at home. But because he (Sheikh) was doing well in studies, and was interested in science, he should have to go for science in any case.

From the beginning, Sheikh had a deep interest in learning the English language, and he would always prefer to write his exams in the same. He took part in many debates at the school level, and unlike others, he would prefer to speak in English only. For a public speaking competition on Guru Nanak in the Degree College Islamabad, Sheikh was selected from Noorpora High School. Sheikh recalls that to prepare for the speech, he didn’t have any book. The school headmaster lent him one. “I didn’t sleep the night before the day of speech… and memorized my topic outside my home under the moonlight.”

The result of burning his midnight oil was that out of 15 students, from different schools, including Burnhall, Biscoe, Presentation Convent, Sheikh was able to grab the first position. “The rest of the students forgot the topic at certain places during the speech but I was able to maintain a smooth flow.”

Sheikh got Rs 450 award. He rued the timing of the honour. A month back, he could not join an all India tour that required Rs 250. “The poverty of my family was the reason that I missed out on many things, one of them was this tour.”

In 1970, Sheikh passed his matriculation with a first division. Now the problem that cropped up for him was whether to go to college or start earning for his family. One of the teachers at home, Alai Sahib, suggested the latter and asked him to do some job. He wrote Sheikh a recommendation letter to Director Health Services. “Alai sahib said that the lady was very humane, and after knowing about the situation at my home, for sure, would help me out with some job,” Sheikh remembers. Coming out of Alai Sahib’s house, Sheikh ran into Abdul Rashid, the teacher who had compelled him to join the school. After being acquainted with the letter, he lost his cool and tore the letter into pieces. The reason was that Rashid believed in the other, and not wanting him to leave studies midway, advised him to join college.

The nearest college was at Islamabad, 25 km away. But the daily bus fare was unaffordable, or the rent Sheikh could pay for a room. Another “divinely help” knocked the door during a Jammat-e-Islami symposium at Tral regarding monotheism. People with scholarly backgrounds spoke on the subject. Sheikh, a zilch in comparison, couldn’t say no to his teacher Aajiz, who forced him to speak up whatever he knew about the topic. “And I compensated my limited knowledge with my English deliverance and it impressed the people around.”

One of the impressed ones happened to be Ghulam Rasool Shah, the then district secretary of the party. He eventually provided Sheikh rent-free lodging for two years in Islamabad. “Almost everyone that I got to meet in my life seemed to be preordained.”

In the eleventh standard, for some problem, Sheikh’s English paper got delayed for three months. He returned home to grasp at straws during the period for improving the financial condition of his family. Then, black-topping of the highway, cutting through his village, was taking place, and all the village boys were working as labourers. He also wanted to join but his mother resisted. “She did not want to see my face blackened with smoke and tar.”

In that crisis, Sheikh’s English teacher, Ali Muhammad Peerzada, helped him. He provided Sheikh with a leave chance job as a teacher at Khokhribal Khrew. From Pampore, it was a distance of 6 km uphill. “On the first day, I had to travel up the mountain from 10 am to 4 pm to reach the particular spot,” Sheikh remembers.

When Sheikh completed his higher secondary, he started preparing for MBBS entrance. But he faced space constraints. A single room and kitchen was the entire space that he called home and there were many others in the family. He moved out to live on the roof of a wooden grain store of his neighbour. He spent two bitter months of winter, shivering there. During days, nature was “gracious enough”, but during nights, he had to spend money to light up a paraffin lamp to study.

For the entrance, it took Sheikh some time to arrange the amount to submit the form. The last date for submission was barely three days away when he was ready. To Sheikh’s dismay, it rained for two consecutive days and it inundated the entire belt. But he had to reach Srinagar and submit his form. Sheikh remembers how he covered up his form in a polythene sheet, and waded through the flood water from his village up to Awantipora, a distance of three kilometres, and then from there, boarded a vehicle to Srinagar. When he met the clerk at the college, he got to know that the dates had already been extended. But the clerk still took his form. And when the exams were finally conducted, Sheikh was “lucky enough” to pass it with good numbers.

The day a tired Sheikh returned home after submitting his form, there was nothing to eat at his home. Floods had ruined everything. Evincing her inner feelings, his mother told him that if he would join the college, she was afraid the family might have to suffer. But Sheikh had his plans. From day one till he graduated, Sheikh received a merit scholarship of Rs 1200 and Rs 1400 as a government loan. This helped him study and run his home.

In the Medical College, Dr Abdul Hamid Band from Sheikh’s neighbouring K Koot village, a gold medallist, was of great help and influence to him. During the course of his study, all the books Sheikh needed were provided by him. “Now he is a scientist in America.” Dr Abdul Hamid Malik, from Yaripora Kulgam, who is now a medical doctor at Saudi Arabia, would provide him books on his name from the library.

One day in Medical College, a symposium was conducted regarding diabetes and thyroid diseases, in which, a British expert Professor Hall was invited. During the interaction with the faculty and students of the college, when Hall asked them if anybody had any question, Sheikh posed many queries which impressed Hall. “The luck was that the research Professor Hall was talking about I had read from a journal that Dr Hamid had given me a week before,” Sheikh remembers. “After the session was over, Hall asked me that if I wanted to be an endocrinologist. I told him, yes, but honestly speaking I didn’t know even the basics of the subject because I was in the second year.”

Dr Rafiq Sheikh

Knowing that Sheikh was a student and not a faculty member, Professor Hall told him that after graduation the latter could call him or write to him, and the Professor would be delighted to have him in his department.

Sheikh completed his MBBS and then did his MD. After post-graduation, he was posted at District Hospital in Doda. For nine months he worked there. After his return, he worked at SMHS hospital Srinagar till 1981 as a registrar with a pay of Rs 1144 only. “It was hard to make ends meet with this amount because apart from my family I had also got married now.” In 1985, Sheikh applied for registrar post at Sher Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and “luckily” was successful. The starting pay for a registrar post here was Rs 3200 and a rent-free apartment which was a lot better than SMHS.

At SKIMS, Sheikh would always find Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a lecturer, studying in the library of the Institute. Mushtaq was preparing for an exam which if he had qualified might have earned him a chance to go to England. Here is where Sheikh recalled Professor Hall’s advice in 1974. The desire to go to the UK aroused in him. After getting Professor’s address from the recent books he had written, Sheikh wrote him a letter, not sure whether it would be responded. As a decade had gone by, he thought the English professor might have forgotten him. But three months later, Sheikh’s presumption proved incorrect, and he did receive a reply. “Professor had been transferred from New Castle University Pennsylvania, the address to which my letter was dispatched, to University of Wales… that is why he was late to reply… but he was a lot sorry about it.”

Professor told Sheikh to apply for scholarships as there was a dearth of funds. Sheikh applied at many organisations: Indian Medical Counsel, World Health Organisation Geneva, British Medical foundation, Kashmir Alumina in America, World Islamic Bank, and many more but nowhere he could strike gold.

One day, Dr Afzal Mir, a senior lecturer from the University of Wales came to the SKIMS. He was a Kashmir, who had left for Pakistan and from there to England. During his lecture, he mentioned the work he had done with Professor Hall. Lecture over, Sheikh met Mir and narrated him the whole correspondence he had had with Professor Hall. Dr Mir enquired Sheikh about any of his research. Sheikh had done one on diabetes: Effect of Bran fibre and glucose Absorption. “Dr Mir told me that the research was indeed a product of hard work, but according to English standards it needed a lot more work.” Nevertheless, Mir took the research paper with him to convince Professor Hall. And finally, Sheikh was invited. Dec 18, 1989, was the day of Sheikh’s departure from the valley; a maiden overseas trip.

“Some stereotypes of mine that I had nursed broke here,” Sheikh admitted with a smile. “A punk girl, with multicoloured hair, who was smoking outside the airport station, helped me to reach my destination. People back home used to say we should be a lot cautious while meeting such people.”

At Wales, Sheikh did research with Hall for a year. Then he took off: he was registrar at Sheffield University; Rotational Registrar Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Rheumatology, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Yorkshire UK; Rotational Registrar Internal medicine, Nephrology, Neurology, Geriatrics and Pulmonology, King George and Barking Hospitals, London UK; Chief Medical Resident, Lankenau Hospital (Thomas Jefferson University) Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Later, Sheikh came to America. Here again, he worked on different posts: Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine University of California Davis (Volunteer Faculty) Division of Gastroenterology; San Joaquin General Hospital, Stockton; Consultant Gastroenterologist; Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Sacramento. Presently he is Consultant Gastroenterologist Dignity Health, Woodland Memorial Hospital, Woodland.

During all these years, Sheikh received many awards. By now, a couple of dozens of researches are to his credit. He is also an associate editor-in-chief of World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Drawing comparisons between the health system in the west and in Kashmir, Sheikh is of the belief that physicians there are by and large responsible. Moreover, he said, there is accountability. “You get paid for the work you do. If you are culprit of any sort of fraud, law doesn’t spare you… human life is valued… government resources and charity resources are there for poor. Medical education is sound, thorough and ethical. Overall the greed among the doctors is less.”

“Fully connected” with his roots, Sheikh said, he had never given up his farming. “Near my residence at 10 Lake Vista CT, Sacramento I grow almost every kind of Kashmiri vegetables.” Vaste Haakh he particularly mentioned. “We still consume handmade Chapattis… Makai Choet is my favourite.”

Being the first to move out of his village, Sheikh has acted as a torch bearer for others. There are many persons who followed his suit, and are working at different places of the world. His own sister, Jawhar, married to one of the relatives, is living in New Zealand. Bashir Ahmad, her husband, guided by Sheikh is a microbiology scientist there.

After losing her books and both her parents during the process of examination and still making it with better scores sets Insha Lone apart, reports Saifullah Bashir

Insha’s grandparents, Mrs and Mr Abdul Gani Lone, take care of her and her brother.

In the recently declared Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE) results of the twelfth standard, Insha Lone, a resident of Newa (Pulwama) secured 85 per cent marks. Seemingly this is unimpressive given the students getting 500/500 but what makes it special is that Insha managed this score while losing both her parents during the examinations.

“I am missing my father and mother,” Insha said while crying. She lost her “home” at the beginning of the examination and her parents died within a week when she was busy being examined for practical’s.

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Insha migrated to Rangreth (Srinagar) in November 2020, along with her family.  “There were two reasons for migration,” Insha said. “One was my study and another was the continuous harassment of my father in Pulwama.”

On November 1, 2020, when Insha was preparing for her examination, a cordon and search operation (CASO) was launched in Rangreth. In the ensuing gunfight at the rented space of Insha’s parents, Hizbul Mujahideen top militant, ‘Dr Saifullah’ was killed. Kashmir Police Chief, Vijay Kumar termed the killing as a “big success”.

In the encounter, the rented house went up in flames and it included everything including her books and other study material. “I had prepared notes on my own. It was the hard work of my full year, which got destroyed in just seconds,” Insha said.

Complicating the crisis, the same day her father Zaheer Abbas went missing. “I was now helpless,” she said. “It was a tough battle. Searching for my father, focusing on studies without any material left.”

Two Months After His “Mysterious” Death, City Boy Passes His 12th With Flying Colours

It was an extraordinary situation. No books, pandemic, a missing father and the examination on the head. “I was not able to cope up. There was a pandemic and the internet had turtle’s pace,” she said.

Insha was studying at Srinagar’s prominent tuition centre, whose mobile application was working on 2G bandwidth and that rescued the young student. “I took the help from the books of friends and neighbours,” she said.

‘Avoiding Smart Phone Is Key To Success’, Student Who Scored 500/500 Says

Meanwhile, her family continued to search for her father amid the rumours that he might have joined the militant ranks. In mid-November, an audio clip went viral on social media which claimed Insha’s father had joined militant ranks. The clip was forwarded to her by one of her cousins. “I could not gather the courage to watch it,” she said. “I have nothing to say on this. It was traumatic.”

A day after the audio surfaced, Insha wrote a Physics examination paper. “I could not read the entire syllabus. My target was high but the condition was absolutely opposite,” she said.

Unlike Insha, her mother Rozy was seriously impacted by her husband joining militancy. “She continuously was uttering how we can face people? How can we survive? How can I raise you?” Insha remembers.

Rozy could not “bear the separation”. On December 11, she died of cardiac arrest after she complained of chest pain and fell unconscious. ”We immediately brought her to District Hospital but doctors declared her dead on arrival,” Insha said.

Following her mother’s death, another audio of her father went viral in which he was seen praising his wife while stating that “death is inevitable.”

A week after Rozy’s death, a gunfight broke out in Anantnag where the police arrested Zaheer Abbas in injured condition. Later on December 18, he succumbed to his injuries in Srinagar’s SMHS hospital leaving Insha orphaned amid her examinations.

“I saw the face of my father in the Police Control Room (PCR) and the second time in Baramulla where he was laid to rest, more than 80 kilometres from our home” said Insha.

Losing her parents left Insha literally alone. Insha is the eldest daughter of her parents. Her younger brother, Saqib is studying in the eighth standard.

It is their grandfather, Abdul Gani Lone who is taking care of his grandchildren. “My grandparents are now my world but still, parents cannot be replaced by them. I miss my parents a lot” said Insha.

Insha is now preparing for NEET exams, with an aim to become a doctor. Fighting with all odds and barriers, she is hopeful that she will crack this exam.

It is pertinent to mention here that Insha is one of the huge group of girls who outshined boys by securing all the top positions in all four streams. Almost 58397 students had appeared in the examination.

There were instances of posthumous successes that forced families to relive the trauma. One such case was in Khanyar, where a promising boy after his examinations went for an outing and died of alleged drug overdose. Though all those accompanying the boy are in police custody, when the results were public, the mother of the deceased boy went to his grave with the marks sheet.

Youngsters in Kashmir have started taking control of their education. This year, three students bagged UWC scholarships for International Baccalaureate diploma at select United World Colleges, reports Minhaj Masoodi

Kashmir’s new UWC scholars 2021: (L to R) Anayat Yousuf, Sayim Qadri and Sabzara Ali.

Anayat Yousuf’s happiness knows no bounds. His dream of studying abroad has finally come true. A twelfth standard student, Inayat recently bagged a United World Colleges (UWC) Scholarship worth Rs 60 lakh. He is set to fly to Germany where he would pursue International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma at UWC Robert Bosch College, Freiberg.

Son of a shopkeeper, Inayat has done everyone in his family and his village proud.

A resident of Pinjoora (Shopian), Anayat did his initial schooling at Sunshine Public School, Pinjoora.

A Shopkeeper’s Son

After completing his eighth class examination, Anayat relocated to Srinagar where he got himself enrolled at the Kashmir Education Institute (KIE) Higher Secondary School, Nowgam. It was during this time that he got acquainted with Kashmir Education Initiative (KEI), a US-based non-profit that supports the education of underprivileged children in Kashmir.

It was here that Inayat was introduced to the idea of preparing for the UWC scholarship. UWC is a global education movement, which has 18 schools and colleges spread across four continents, the majority of which focus exclusively on the 16-19 age group. These colleges teach International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma as their formal curriculum.

The process for UWC scholarships started last September. The applicants had to write essays, following which they were shortlisted for interviews, out of which a select few were chosen for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme in various countries. The whole process is overseen by UWC national committees in over 150 different countries.

“There was a counselling session at KEI, where we were made aware of these scholarships. Everything followed from thereon,” says Anayat. “The selection process, however, was very rigorous.”

“The admission process started in September 2020 in which thousands of students appeared throughout India. Only 140 were selected for an interview,” he adds.

After clearing the initial stage of the examination, Anayat appeared for an interview on March 2. He finally received his selection call on June 2.

Anayat’s is one of the only 20 students to have been selected for the two-year overseas programme from India, this year.

With his achievements, Anayat has done his parents proud. “Education is the most powerful weapon and my son has proved it. I am proud of him and his effort,” said his father, Mohammad Yousuf  Dhobi. His mother, who is a homemaker, is equally proud.

Youngest among three siblings in the family, Anayat always dreamt of studying abroad. “My dream is fulfilled,” he says.

However, the UWC scholarship is not the only feather in his cap. Anayat has a host of achievements to his credit. He has a medal of distinction for achieving Zonal Rank 19 in SOF-National Science Olympiad 2020-21 and an International Rank 533. He is also a silver medallist in Goprep Talent Search Examination.

Besides, academics, Anayat has also done a project on the utilization of waste paper and the preservation of handicrafts in the 26th National Science Congress and is an active member of Design for Change-USA, a global student’s movement where Anayat says he has been taught Metacognition, leadership skills among others.

However, with the grant of scholarship, Anayat has dropped his plans of appearing for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) “I know people here are obsessed with NEET and JEE, but there is a world beyond them.”

He now wants to build upon his studies in Germany. “UWC scholars can do further studies in the United States from very prestigious universities such as MIT, Harvard and University of Pennsylvania among others.

During the course of preparation, he says the support of his parents and his siblings was very crucial. “I left my NEET preparation mid-way. But my parents and my brothers supported me, particularly my eldest brother who has completed his bachelor’s in engineering.”

The Alasteng Girl

Anayat is not alone. Sabzara Ali has also secured the UWC scholarship. Brought up by a single mother, Sabzara is currently studying in eleventh grade. He also came to know about the UWC scholarship through KEI counselling.

After applying for the scholarship programme, Sabzara says that she went through various stages of the exam, and was finally selected for UWC Adriatic, Italy with a total scholarship of Rs 50 lakh.

From Alasteng (Ganderbal), Sabzara had applied for the programme when she was studying in the tenth standard. She is presently studying humanities at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Soura. Unlike Anayat who wants to build upon her studies in Germany, Sabzara wants to continue pursuing humanities once her two-year sojourn in Italy is over.

“I want to study further economics after the diploma ends,” Sabzara said.

During the course of preparation, however, Sabzara revealed that her family did not initially understand her. But, after doing the research, I got the support of everyone, particularly my mother and maternal uncle.

“I was very nervous during the course of the preparation because this was a huge opportunity. Its enormity dawned upon me from time to time. But my mother and my maternal uncle were hugely supportive after they understood the programme,” she said.

A Lal Bazar Boy

Srinagar has also a young who did it on his own. Sayim Qadri from Lal Bazar, Srinagar is also a class eleventh student.  Sayim has also bagged the United World Colleges (UWC) Scholarship. But, unlike the rest of the two students, he is not going abroad.  He has been given the Mahindra College located at Pune, India with a total grant of Rs 19 lakh.

Son of a lawyer and a teacher, Sayim was initially introduced to the idea of UWC by his uncle.

“My uncle guided me regarding International Baccalaureate (IB). He had earlier guided my cousin who later got admission in a boarding school to pursue IB.”

After passing his ninth class examination, Sayim started exploring and gathering information regarding IB from different websites. His cousin also chipped in to help him from time to time.

“While I got a good amount of information from the internet, the UWC website was very helpful in understanding IB and UWC.”

Later, it was with the help of KEI that Sayim was fully acquainted with UWC and its processes. It was here that Sayim and others were groomed for the exam.

“KEI held a zoom session where UWC alumni from Kashmir made us understand the objectives, pattern and process of application of the UWC in a clear manner. We were given mock tests from time to time, our essays were reviewed which helped us a long way in our preparation for the examination,” Sayim said.

After completing the formalities, the tests commenced. “At first, we wrote an examination where we wrote four essays on general topics. Then students were shortlisted for interview and I got my interview call after five months. The teachers at KEI and UWC Alumni interaction helped a lot during that stage.”

The interview took place in February after which Sayim also got the confirmation letter that he had been selected. He is scheduled to join the college in August.

Like Anayat, Sayim was also preparing for NEET. He now has dropped the idea. However, he is unsure what he wants to do after his diploma ends. Right now, he just intends to go with the flow.

“I am not sure what I want to do ahead. The basic focus right now is to complete the IB Diploma,” he adds.

At a time, when the world around has been filled with gloom and despair the news of these kids has brought a cheer and smile to the faces of many. Interestingly, last year Mahin Akram, a Bemina resident and a KEI scholar, who did her IB from Mahindra College in Pune, is currently studying at Wellesley College in the USA, the alumni of which include Hillary Clinton.

With more and more kids getting access to fast internet and smartphones, the Covid19 initiated restrictions have created a new generation of youth who play online and make some money too, Raashid Andrabi reports

“I do not have a specific figure, but we made around Rs 3-5 lakh in 2021,” said Nomaan Kadla, an online gamer based in Kashmir.”We made the decision to start our gaming career and have since competed in several successful tournaments, earning a respectable amount of money.”

Kadla said in Kashmir’s “ups and downs” they lost good money during the enforced Internet outages.

Subzero is one of Kashmir’s well-known gaming squads. It was founded by four friends from Srinagar in October 2018. Kadla, Izzo, Meax, and Jc (in-game names) formed a random squad to play the game and later formed a team Subzero.

The group gradually began to compete in national events, winning a number of them.

“These tournaments made us proud as we gave the game every bit of talent we had,” Nomaan said. Their squad even hosted many online gaming competitions within Kashmir with a decent prize pool and a large audience.

New Era

The new generation is no longer rebuked for spending hours next to a console, PC, or smartphone, now. From tabletops to virtual reality, the online is taking the gaming zone by storm. The world of online gaming, eSports, has exploded in popularity in just a few short years.  What makes it interesting is that eSports have emerged as a highly sought-after lucrative job for youth as the Smartphone penetration has gone up with almost everything getting digitized.

Unlike traditional sports, eSports helps them become famous, gain fortunes, and adds to their dazzling reputation. Now eSports is about to be a medal sport at the Asian Games and are poised to make future Olympic appearances.  The 2022 Games in Hangzhou, China, will see eSports compete for 24 awards across eight different game categories.

New Generation

Fahad Bhat, a 25-year-old student from remote Kupwara is one of India’s estimated 400 million-plus online gamers. When India announced lockdowns in March 2020 to flatten the Covid-19 curve, Bhat started playing online games.

“I was playing games like PUBG, Ludo, and a few other games for hours a day during the peak lockdown,” Fahad said. “It was one of the few ways to stay in touch with people.”

Fahad recently purchased a new PUBG ID for Rs 10,000 and is now itching to purchase more in-game items. Battleground Mobile India (the Indian version of PUBG) hosts tournaments in which millions of players compete for the trophy and whopping cash prizes. He also competed in the tournament last month but was eliminated in the first round owing to a lack of a fast internet connection and a good gaming phone.

“At any cost, I need a new phone and Wi-Fi; I cannot keep losing like this,” Fahad stated. “This is a disgrace for someone who has been playing the game for years.”

Pubg, Freefire, Fortnight, and many other online games are now much more than games. These platforms have changed into serious business. Fahad, who now has been a gamer for 4 years, earns more than Rs 5000 a month in the game by playing for just one or two hours a day. He participates in different tournaments organized by different clans across the country.

“I and my teammates have also started a YouTube channel for streaming our gameplay. It earns you money as well as makes you famous real quickly. I always look up to Jonathan, one of the top online streamers of India,” Fahad said. “He now has millions of followers, and wins competitions which have a prize pool of millions of rupees.”

Father’s Dilemma

Fahad’s father, Ghulam Rasool Bhat, also talked about his son and the online games. “His entire day would be consumed by either his phone or computer, which negatively affected both his education and his behaviour,” Bhat Sr said. “He did not have a set eating or sleeping schedule. This makes us very anxious about his future.”

A few months ago, Bhat said, his son approached him and handed me over Rs 10,000. Shocked, when he asked him his source, the son replied: “I won an online game, and this is the prize money.”

Convinced that he is not “spoiling” his time on the phone, Bhat has now permitted his son to play the videogames. “I believe he could make a livelihood from it,” Bhat said.

Hope of Future

This is an industry to look forward to, said Jasiya, a female gamer from Srinagar. Pursuing masters in commerce from the University of Kashmir, Jasiya has been playing games since her childhood.

“I used to play Mario, Contra, and a wide range of other games. With the passage of time, gaming shifted to mobile, and we followed suit,” she said. “I began my mobile gaming career with well-known games such as Clash of Clans, Call of Duty, and, most importantly, PUBG.”

Jasiya has been playing PUBG since 2019 – usually for most if the night, she considers it a watershed moment for Indian streamers. She has been streaming her game on her Youtube throughout.

“I had only been streaming for a few months when the internet was shut down for almost a year in Kashmir,” Jasiya said. “It was one of the most substantial setbacks in my career because, when I began gaming streaming, I was one of the few female streamers in India and expected a lot of support.”

Jasiya is Kashmir’s first female streamer. She said she expected a lot of support. Instead, the vulgar messages bombarded her inbox thus pushing her to mental distress.

For a long time now, Jasiya is organising online gaming tournaments in Kashmir, with a large audience and huge cash prizes. Her YouTube channel has around 50k subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views. “All praise to God, I make a good living from this, and I hope to make an impact in the streaming world soon,” she asserted.

Crucial two Years

Online gaming in India became hugely popular in the last two years. Covid19 lockdown helped in its popularity. As restrictions impacted all other sectors, the internet became the new highway of information, sales and gaming. In the global shift, Kashmir did not lag behind.

A group of friends have also opened a PUBG-themed restaurant in Srinagar called Winner’s Dinner, where the major attraction is the decoration, which is done with war room tables and other items found in the game such as shirts, cooking pans, and so on. There are also posters and PUBG maps on the cafe walls.

As hardcore PUBG enthusiasts might have guessed already, ‘chicken dinner’ is one of the most popular dishes served by the cafe. And interestingly enough, other food items are named after various levels of PUBG.

National Scene

According to a report by KPMG, one of the world’s big four accounting organisations, mobile game downloads in India were 5.6 billion in six months ending September 2020, up by 1.8 billion. The number of Indian internet gamers is expected to increase from 360 million in 2020 to 510 million in 2022. India’s online gaming market will generate Rs 136 billion ($1.80 billion) in revenue by 2022 end. According to the report, it is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 21 per cent over the next five years to Rs 290 billion ($3.84 billion).

While the industry has grown, it has also faced its own set of obstacles. Due to a lack of clarity, the concepts of eSports, online gaming, fantasy sports, and real money gaming remain rather hazy, resulting in misunderstanding and general scepticism about the sector. Industry analysts believe that this might hinder further investments into the sector in near future.

However, the flip side is that even though online gaming will have money, it will still lack the rigour of the real game and the respect that offline games enjoy.

Unlike physical gaming, online players come from all demographics, income levels and gender. Though still a male-dominated industry, there are more than 20 million women gamers. Off late, the game has moved out of the bulky PCs and consoles to compact, multipurpose gaming devices.

The two games might be distant from each other but they involve two different sets of people. Offline will not be impacted by the way people play online and vice versa.

The results of the tenth and twelfth standard examination by the JK Board of School Education (BOSE) involving 150 thousand students offers some clear and interesting indications of the state and status of education in the public and private sector, Masood Hussain reports

There have been some snail-pace interventions in the basic education set-up in recent years but the system of examinations is unlikely to change from the traditional system. While the systems in vogue will continue to test the students for their memory power, these will rarely be accepted as a way out to understand the personality and the capacity of an individual.

Till the new educational policy starts making some rudimentary shifts, the results of the examination by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) would continue to offer key indicators of Kashmir’s state and status of education. The picture may look hazier, however, as the education system moved online for the last two academic sessions making the students literal guinea pigs for the new experimentation dictated by the Covid19 pandemic. It exposed the chinks in the armour from a visible digital divide, superimposition of politics priorities on services and teaching community’s efforts to pick up the art of managing a class virtually. Owing to the shift in the teaching systems, the authorities did offer some concessions to the candidates.

The results of the twelfth class and the tenth class made public in the last 10 days, offer certain trends of the sector which apparently are not in variance with what was already obvious. The trends were actually reinforced by these results.

Not Bad

The overall percentage of the candidates who passed the two examinations is almost the same – 78.43 per cent of 72684 candidates passed in the tenth standard and 75 per cent of 72180 candidates in the twelfth managed to get in a new class. It also indicates that most of the students that appear for the examinations in the tenth class hardly see a major variation and the drop-out rate is low. In fact, the twelfth class batch that wrote their examination for tenth in 2019 was smaller thus indicating that those who failed in the last two years also wrote their examinations.

Insiders in the education sector suggest that the pass percentage can improve if the examination system offers a slight shift in accommodating part of the classroom activities in addition to the IQ, which is the main parameter. In most of the educationally forward states in India, the pass percentage is usually above or around 90 per cent.

Girls Shine

In both the examinations, as has been the trend, girls perform better. Most of the top scores in both classes were girls.

In the twelfth class, girls put up a better show than boys. Overall girls have a pass percentage of 78 per cent in comparison to boys who have an overall pass percentage of 72 per cent. A six per cent difference is a major variation if compared to the average pass percentage at the matriculation level in the two genders. Girls actually performed better in all the streams in comparison to boys.

In the matriculation, however, the pass percentage did not offer a huge difference. As many as 78.14 per cent of boys and 78.74 per cent of girls passed the examination. Unlike twelfth class, girls had to spear some slots in the top positions for the boys as well.

Area Results

In the Kashmir situation, as everybody knows, certain areas are more sensitive than others. It is the sensitivity that triggers interventions at the governance level thus somehow impacting the studies. These interventions were more visible on the internet rationing front. Right now, there are areas across Kashmir where the internet is closed for specific hours thus impacting access to offline education.

In the tenth class examination, for instance, the three better performing districts were the most sensitive ones – Shopian, Pulwama and Srinagar. Pulwama topped with 90.26 per cent of its candidates manage to pass, followed by 86.21 per cent in Shopian and 85.29 per cent in Srinagar.

The districts seen as slightly less sensitive and comparatively more peaceful could not perform better in comparison. Bandipore was at the bottom of the list with a pass percentage of 64.632. The pass percentage was 77.72 per cent for Anantnag. 75.20 for Baramulla, 79.55 per cent for Budgam, 74.44 for Ganderbal, 79.49 for Kulgam, 70.25 per cent for Kupwara.

Though a district-wise comparison was not available in the twelfth class results, the education zone wise analysis suggests it was remote Gurez topping the chart with 84 per cent, followed by Pulwama with 82 per cent and Anantnag by 80 per cent (in government sector schools). If the BOSE manages data on a district wise basis, almost the matriculation trend would also reflect.

Private versus Public

In Kashmir, the gradual decay in the public sector schools gradually led to the takeoff of the private sector. One key factor that played the major game-changer was the introduction of the English language in the government schools at a much later stage, in comparison to the private sector.

However, the major drawback in the private sector educational setup is that it almost closes at tenth class. Quite a few private sector educational institutions impart education beyond the tenth class. Even in those limited number of schools, the enrolment would have been better but the schools’ consider entry in the eleventh standard as a fresh admission making it expensive. Ideally, it should not be a new admission as the student does not change the board.

The results of the two classes declared recently do reinforce the fact that the private schools are performing better. This is despite the private sector lacking access to the massive infrastructure and the highly trained human resource.

For the tenth class, the pass percentage of private schools was at 91.18 per cent and that of public sector schools 67.25 per cent. This is a major difference in the outcomes to which the access to knowledge in the online mode could be one factor. Most of the government schools operate in far-flung areas, even in conditions where improved connectivity or affordability of a smartphone is an issue.

In the twelfth class results, the state-run schools recorded a pass percentage of 74 per cent in comparison to the 89 per cent in the case of private schools.

However, the major difference between the two classes is that, unlike the tenth class, quite a few students came from the private schools’ set-up, simply because this facility almost ceases after the tenth class.

In BOSE’s tenth class examination, 46.72 per cent of 72684 candidates came from the private sector, which is quite huge. In the twelfth class, however, only 8.27 per cent of 72180 candidates were from 87 schools where 10+2 is being taught in diverse streams, mostly in Srinagar.

Elitism Over

In Kashmir’s educational scene, a couple of major brands were dominating. These include the five Christian missionary schools run by the Catholics and Protestants in Srinagar and Baramulla. By and large, they used to get the top slots and coupled with their evolution and history, they always remained a key preference for the parents.

Part of their sheen was faded with the entry of CBSE-syllabus DPS chain with their Srinagar school perhaps offering no challenge. Now the so-called B-grade schools that were promoted by the native entrepreneurs have started dominating the scene.

In the twelfth class examination results (NCERT), Mallinson was perhaps the leader of the elites as it took 20 in the top three slots; Biscoe got two, Burn Hall seven, Presentation Convent eight and all others were taken by so-called B-grades including the top slot. The private sector got a total of 115 slots in 257 slots in the third slot. The government schools had 142 positions with the state-run Higher Secondary School Kothibagh dominating the scene with almost 24 top positions.

Though 19 candidates shared the top slot – 500/500 – in the tenth class, it was not immediately known, which student belongs to which school. It is, however, obvious that most of the top three slots – 19 in 500/500, 24 in 499/500, 44 in 498/500 and 68 in 497/500 – will be with the so-called B-grade schools.

While these scores are no good indicator of a candidate’s capacity (because it lacks emotional and social quotients and is solely an IQ) this trend indicates a better situation in the emergence of Kashmir’s private sector.

Private Preference

Up to the tenth standard, the results reinforce the reality that the parents prefer the private sector over public sector schools, at least in Kashmir. This is the real challenge for the hugely resourceful public sector educational setup.

In Kashmir 46.72 per cent of the tenth class, students were from private educational institutions. Interestingly, of the 10 Kashmir districts, five districts attract more students at the level of the tenth class than the government-run schools. These are Srinagar, 8027 students were enrolled with the private sector in comparison to 2042 in government schools; Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam and Ganderbal. In fact, there was not much difference in the ennoblement in Anantnag in 2021 – 505 were in the private sector and 5396 in public sector schools.

However, in Bandipore, Kupwara and Baramulla, the government schools have huge numbers. It could have something to do with the economic profile of the areas or even better education imparted by the public sector schools.

In fact, at the zero level, the private sector is far ahead of the state-run schools as they attract more students. The key factor is the delayed introduction of the English language and the absence of a pre-school setup. These interventions are expected to take place under the new educational policy that is adopted from this academic year. It remains to be seen, how effective it will be in changing the scene, currently dominated by the private sector.