- A happy childhood is perhaps the most fortunate gift in life - Dorothy Richardson
“Rehaan, an eight year old boy from Chanakya Puri (New Delhi) was peeping out of the window and admiring the greenery around, resting in the backseat of his father’s Mercedes car, while on his way to school. The kid living in posh area of national capital had all the comforts of life and is likely to have a great future. In contrast to this, 780 km away, Rameez, another eight year old kid in Kulgam (Srinagar) was clueless as to why Army has apprehended his 21 year old elder brother and what was he doing with an AK-47. This kid living in the state capital does not have the same opportunities as with Rehaan. Moreover, at this nascent stage of his life, he has learnt to hate Army and India, unaware of reality of his brother. His parents and Maulvis hide the actual story and instead teach him the fallacy of "Jehaad". These two stories bring out the stark difference between the lives of children growing in Kashmir vs other parts of the country and who is to be blamed for the former’s inclination to Jehaad and terrorism?
Childhood is definitely the most innocent phase of life. Without a worry in the world, children enter each day with a smile, develop anticipation for the day ahead, wait for delicious goodies from their parents, enjoy lots of play-time with friends and sleep wearily at night, only to repeat the same the following day. Children are untouched by the troubles of everyday life and therefore are the perfect example of unadulterated happiness and how life should be lived. In the absolute present, with no worries or fear of what is to come, With their rosy cheeks and wide gleeful smiles, the children spread happiness to all they see and meet. These nascent kids, if nurtured with diligence and care are capable of taking Kashmir and India to greater heights.
The surroundings that the children of Kashmir live in are second to none. With sprawling meadows of the valley and picturesque snow-capped mountains of the various ranges of Kashmir, the children grow up in the closest comparison to heaven. What better way to grow up than having the liberty of running in apple orchards and saffron fields and eating freshly grown walnuts and almonds. Having immense natural beauty spawn abundantly among the diverse terrain, Kashmir is one of the few places in India that experiences all four seasons making it one of the top tourist destinations of the country. Growing up in such an environment is truly a privilege that many would be willing to pay millions for. But as history has proven time and time again, this privilege comes at a heavy price.
Kashmir being conflict riddled, the children do not enjoy instinctively idyllic and pleasant childhood days of vigour, energy and free spirit. They are even forbidden to give ear to imaginary tales of fancy and fantasy. The syllabus followed by the curriculum in schools has been found to be flawed and tainted towards painting a regional narrative instead of teaching the true facts of history. Also, the irregular running of schools due to the constant counter-insurgency operations hinders the education imparted and also reduces the interest among children in attending school. The constant cuts in mobile network and poor internet speed as compared to the rest of India just adds fuel to this fire. In such times, parents and relatives seek help from local madrasas and maulvis to educate the children who in turn have been known to cause more harm than good to further their own motives. If not, a few children are also home-schooled who grow up with the same beliefs as that of their elders, more often than not, restrictive and biased. Most families in Kashmir end up under scrutiny which cause repeated questioning of the elders of the family by various agencies operating in the region, causing the children to grow up with inherent restrictions and live in a hush-hush environment. They grow up with a feeling that their wings are being clipped and their freedom is being curbed. This overall situation is prohibitive to overall mental development.
Children in Jammu and Kashmir are living in one of the most tumultuous times in the world. According to ‘The Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences-Kashmir’ (IMHANS-K), almost 65% of the children in Kashmir grow up witnessing death before the age of 10 yrs, thus experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which is likely to manifest as depression and probably even drug abuse at a later stage. These children regularly suffer from nightmares, flashbacks and sleep disorders. All these issues contribute to an unstable construction of the emotional future of the region and need immediate addressing.
The rosy cheeked and dreamy eyed children of Kashmir have no knowledge about conflict ridden Kashmir. They see terrorists being treated like local heroes and the Security Forces being victimized at the first opportunity. However, each one of these children dreams of a simpler future. A future where a child can play without boundaries, move around the village without prohibition and more importantly dream without restriction. The children have faith in their Security Forces and believe that the soldiers are working to better the future of the region. However, these children are also forced to believe the awful stories painted by their elders, tainting the image of the smiling soldiers who meets and greets the same child every day and who is considered a warm friend. The child therefore ends up confused. Wanting to believe, but also wanting to fit into society. John Connolly has famously said "For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be". Are we doing our bit for the adults of Kashmir's tomorrow? The answer is, as colloquially said, blowing in the wind.
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