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What is India doing to protect Kashmiri children’s right to school?

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Tuhin A Sinha
Tuhin A SinhaNov 01, 2016 | 08:26

What is India doing to protect Kashmiri children’s right to school?

In the last two-and-a half decades, one has come across countless stories of doom from the Valley, so much so that a story needs to be particularly horrific to retain its shock value. News about 30-odd schools being burnt in Kashmir in the last three months is that horrendous.

One can clearly see in it a sinister design to deprive children from education and force them to choose the gun. It is aimed at creating a fear psychosis among parents: choose between education and life.

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That this obnoxiously retrograde onslaught should be unleashed at a time when the rest of India is surging ahead on the path of development, shows its real intent: magnify the divide between Kashmir and India many times over. Killing education is aimed at killing humanity, which would result in a savage generation in the years to come. 

What we see in Kashmir today is a most precarious situation which needs immediate action. Since Kashmir has an elected state government, the primary onus to address this onslaught lies upon the state govt. This is also an acid test for both the PDP and the NCP. Their soft corners for separatist elements aside, this is a critical juncture where both parties need to decide: can they allow the future of Kashmir to be killed thus? If not, then they need to come up with concrete action.

It won’t be a bad idea to have each MLA adopt a school or a few schools each, in the affected areas. And hence the primary responsibility of safeguarding that school, in coordination with the police, engaging in dialogue with the parents and rebuilding damaged schools, will be that of each elected representative. This would send a firm message of the government’s commitment to safeguard the children’s right to education.

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At the same time, this is the government’s opportunity to engage the civil society and win them over. Its okay not to support India but would the parents want their children to grow un-educated and embrace guns instead of computers? This is the chance to have the civil society disown the militants. Omar Abdullah, who likes to project himself as the more rationale, progressive leader of the valley, would do well to organize a human chain all around the Dal Lake, condemning the attack on schools.

And finally, there’s a lot that the central government needs to do. The government has played the bad cop well; now it needs to play a bit of a good cop too. Its time to engage with certain pro-separatist leaders.

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Give them fresh sops, create new rules of engagement. Better still, get new stake-holders involved in the dialogue, say the trade bodies in Kashmir. Traders are always more flexible and hence can be used for breaking the ice with the civil society.

Every adverse situation carries hidden opportunities. Saving the children of Kashmir from the influence of the gun and safe-guarding their right to education can be a potent campaign, which can turn the tables on the militants.

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The central and state governments need to act on it fast.

Last updated: November 02, 2016 | 12:40
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