Violence – The Enemy of Education

“Violence is a strategy of weakness adopted by those who lack access to real power”

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom,

My Father, let my country awake”…

• Rabindranath Tagore

“I was child that time, I along with other children from my village used to go to the only school that time present in our area in 1995. I wanted to become a teacher in my childhood,” said Mushtaq (Name Changed) of Doban.

“One day, ten big but the coward guys with guns in their hands entered inside our school, one out of them killed my teacher and other asked us about our families, that guy burned one brave kid in front of our eyes, he was shouting at him – go and tell your father, this will happen if they speak against our Azaadi”.  I was very frightened, “After that incidence, my parents did not send me to the school and stopped my education from 4^th class onwards and I became a taxi driver”, spoke Mushtaq with sorrow.

The history of Kashmir witnessed – how the violence has left the beautiful place under the garb of fear that affected development and lives of common people, especially the education. The entire generation of Kashmir has been deprived from education and achieving their dream in order to push them towards the path of violence  and join into so called pseudo “Azadi fight” against their will. Truly speaking violence is the enemy of humanity and education because of which potential Kashmir lagged a way behind in the process of development.

Violence in the past has worked by spreading fear rather than by causing significant material damage. Violence spreaders/outfits don’t have enough strength or skill to defeat armies and occupy cities. Violence is a show business that stages a horrifying act of violence that we’re sliding back into the chaotic medieval world of wars and invasions. Violence has a very bad impact on education of Kashmiri children and youth. First of all it created threat and fear in common Kashmiri, then affected economy of people and most horrible is that it created psychological problems for many common Kashmiris. Everyone is aware that there is no freedom under the shadow of fear and so the liberty without education. But few in the society who has their earning because of the fear of people and death due to violence support it. They don’t want others to achieve true liberation by getting modern education because the educated public will be the hurdle in their path of earning.

Violence is the biggest enemy of humanity and education which must be opposed in all forms and manifestations. Violence can never be the answer, and peace is the only way towards prosperity and progress. We all must strive with all our effort towards strong commitment to uphold the traditions of our country of non – violence and tolerance by promoting peace, unity, social harmony and creating better understanding among one another, because the education can only grow and prosper in the minds that are free from fear.

Today, with great efforts by our security forces – the Indian army, the situation in Kashmir is on the way toward normalization and development. New schools are opening up, the standard in the schools are getting improved and children are showing their talent and stepping toward achieving their dreams.