The Story first appeared in the Campus Politik section of Newslaudry on June 4, 2018.
By Sheikh Saqib
There is a consensus among students that there is a lack of space for them to express their opinions.
From the infamous march and demonstration by students in the sixties, in front of the UN military observer group in Srinagar, to the turbulence of the 1990s, students in Kashmir now find a sparse space in the city’s cafes for political discussions. This is despite student politics being banned across the valley.
The cafes and historical tea shops in the valley take pride in being widely regarded as centres of political and literary discussions. These places are often filled with youth, vigorously raising their voice and hitting hard at the governing authorities. The sessions usually begin with debates on the daily human rights violations and end with terming the mainstream media houses as ‘fickle’ for swift change their editorial positions. One can witness students taking on the system which carries out war crimes against the people of the state which is very much welcomed in the national media.
Much of their worldview has been shaped through conversations at shopfronts and cafes. Most of these students who call themselves learners speak aloud at these places, perhaps the only place that allows them to reach out to a larger audience. The heated arguments soar with passing time, inflating their passion to speak on unaddressed issues.
Meet the students
At University of Kashmir's Aijaz Ka Dhabba, Rayan 21, a student of Mass Communication, is waiting to have an interactive session with his friends. His wait lasts until two young boys walk in. They move to the backyard of the Dhabba, facing the dead end so that their discussion isn't overheard.
For the students, going to the tea shops is as important as any other daily essential. There is a shared sentiment -- in order to understand the power they need to sit at one table and give a succinct overview of their creative ideas and roll them into reality.
“I have been going to cafes since I was in standard 10. What these cafes are doing is facilitation. They often provide us with a space to discuss whatever interests us without dictating terms to us,” said Rayan who is currently doing his masters in journalism at Kashmir University.
“At University we cannot react to the changing political atmosphere as everyone's activity is being scrutinised and everyone is in fear, no one wants to represent the crowd and risk their career, therefore every agitation in universities and schools are faceless and leaderless. But that doesn’t mean that we shy away from the ground reality. We do discuss issues at different places, mostly in cafes and shopfronts, and also visit far off places to monitor the situation.”
Another journalism student, Hamzah, 22, states, “But the only place where we can actually give vent to our anger is social media." He adds, “We comment on issues, talk about politics and try to criticise everything we can.”
Other than giving vent to their anger on social media, students often work collectively on various events. “We often do voluntary work for Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) for their protests. We often show up on International Day of the Disappeared to present our work as a mark of protest. Besides, we sit with the distressed families of the victims and offer our hearty support to them,” said Waseem, another Kashmir University student.
“Student involvement in political paradigm is important,” said Hamzah, adding, “Gone are the days when student unions were operated by middle-aged and senior citizens. With the new emerging trends, development, conscience and more importantly the intellectual and competent youth who play an important role in giving a voice for a political change and other internal changes in the society.”
Student unions have been banned since the armed rebellion of the late 1980s across the valley. The entire political class from time to time made false promises to restore it. Though for a temporary span of time, the ban was revoked in 2007, it was again imposed in 2009 by a National Conference-Congress coalition government after against the double rape and murder case in Shopian district of Kashmir.
“One can understand that the event of May 17, 2010, when Kashmir University witnessed scenes when students boycotted classes to protest against the demolition of Kashmir University Students Union (KUSU) office, makes it clear that no student politics would be allowed on campus,” says Waseem.
Waseem further states, “The restriction on student politics and the fear of those in power has forced us to land in cafes, Dhabbas and shopfronts. On one hand, I think banning student union was a good idea because the culture of talks now is not limited at one place, one can witness literary and political discussion at every cafe one visits,” he laughs.
Hamzah walks in and describes how the space is now limited for students. “We have either social media or cafes to talk or express our opinion, even though some of the artists based in the valley have a great following on these sites but campus politics makes a difference. It ignites your passion to talk on unaddressed issues,” he concludes.
Sometimes these students also lack the support of their mates who may be locked at home by their parents to avoid any undesirable punishment from government agencies. A student of Presentation Convent Higher Secondary School, Srinagar, stated: “When I passed my middle school I realised that the time has come for me to creatively resist the things that Indian state has subjected us to."
The student added: “We made a small group of like-minded friends at school which consisted of youngsters who could write, paint, and photograph. We planned to work collectively and take part in what we call resistance. As we took this forward, many had given up not by choice but because they were restricted by their parents from doing anything that could land them in trouble and we finally failed.”
There is a consensus among students that there is a lack of space for them to express their opinions. “We feel that the prison chains are so tight that it is even difficult to breathe, leave alone to speak on issues,” said a student of medicine at Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar.
Students remain hopeful and urge local journalists, human rights activists and other people who belong to academics should come forward and provide a space to students where they can read, discuss and most importantly interact with an experienced class of people who understand the valley and its conflict. The onus is on them to help the young students come out of four walls of the classroom and help them grow.
*Names have been changed to maintain their privacy.
