General Rawat is on the right track

More than ever, Kashmir’s young need quality education

Army chief Bipin Rawat is known to speak his mind, often inviting criticism that he has overstepped his remit. Last week, when he spoke of the school system in Kashmir as contributing to the radicalisation of students, he expectedly invited a backlash. At the forefront of the attack on the army chief was the state’s education minister Syed Altaf

Bukhari who argued that Rawat was meddling in the state’s affairs, and that too in education, where he had no expertise.

Sure, Rawat could have been a little less vocal about his views but there is no getting away from the fact that he is not far off the mark when he talks of negative factors such as schools using two maps, one of India, and one of the state, to drill the latter’s distinct identity into the minds of students.

In normal circumstances, this can be seen as part of our pluralistic culture in which regional and national identities can coexist, but the situation in Kashmir is different and all efforts should be geared towards mainstreaming the young rather than creating confusion in their minds. As someone whose men are at the forefront of India’s efforts to fight radicals and terrorists in the state, the army chief is definitely within his rights to criticise something that he believes makes his work difficult.

Among Kashmir’s many other problems is one that concerns education. Enrolment in primary schools has declined over the years. From 2008-09 to 2015-16, the enrolment had dipped about 17%. The state’s education minister should perhaps be focusing his efforts on addressing this.

The lack of quality education and jobs has been exploited by those seeking to radicalise the young. Rawat is not wrong again when he says that the focus should not be on but on a system which imparts modern and relevant learning.

The battle for Kashmir, it is often said, can only be won through the minds and hearts of the people. Ideally, it should start with students and this is what the education minister should focus on, rather than question the motives behind the general’s message.