The State of Education and Educational Institutions in Kashmir Post August 2019
The following is a report on the rapid changes observed in educational institutions in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 presented by Farida Khan at a public meeting, “Report Card on Academic Freedom” organised by IAFN on 06 April 2024 at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi.
The relationship between the Indian Government with its Muslim subjects has always been an uneasy one, but after 2019 and the abrogation of Article 370, the levels of control and surveillance by the state have reached stifling levels, increasingly justified by raising the dreaded bogey of ‘links to terror’. Because students in Kashmir—from Universities, colleges and high schools—have always been at the forefront of anti-state protests, state unease around these spaces has escalated and so has the repression.
In August 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370, a state of high alert, an unprecedented military presence and a complete communications blockade was imposed in the state. All educational institutions in Kashmir shut down due to government orders and a strictly imposed curfew. The shut-down finally lasted almost six months as the government issued one order after another, and Kashmiris being reluctant to resume ‘life as normal’ found ways to subvert government orders to play out a charade of normalcy.
Very soon after, the Covid pandemic took over and the administration was able to justify increased monitoring and control. This long period of isolation also allowed the government and its security agencies to devise means and strategies to discipline, threaten and punish in order to force students and faculty into submission. A research student aptly summarised what was happening in these words
the processes were not new but they were blatant and they were being accelerated. Kashmir was inevitably going to be the test case of what can be done to Muslims… To alleviate the anxiety of uncertainty and loss of control, Kashmiris are devising strange ways of coping or rather numbing their awareness of what is going on and what could be possible. All focus seems to be on strategies for survival . . .
A number of disturbing measures taken by the Government and its proxies since 2019 have allowed absolute control over educational institutions along with their teachers, staff and students. New rules and regulations have been introduced, the autonomy of institutions is being steadily eroded and control over every aspect of their functioning is being tightened. A summary of the changes and several of the measures taken is presented below. The unfolding of one particular event that took place in May 2022 at Kashmir University is described in some detail to illustrate how intimidation, threats and retribution are being devised and enacted to establish domination and submission. Although the focus of this report is the educational sector, what it describes is true of life at every level for an ordinary Kashmiri today.
Summary Dismissals from Service under Article 311
On May 13, 2022, the Lt Governor of J&K terminated the services of Professor Altaf Husain Pandit of the department of chemistry Kashmir University without any notice or an inquiry. The termination was not a first and prior to this 36 government employees (several school teachers included) had already been dismissed from their jobs on similar grounds, under Article 311 of the Constitution, that allows the Governor to dismiss an employee without holding an inquiry (1), allows no appeal and deprives the employee of all benefits.
The serious impact of this announcement arose from the fact that it was a professor at the prestigious Kashmir University. The sequence of events surrounding this dismissal (which I was able to observe) indicates a pattern of fear tactics, threats and other authoritarian strategies being used to suppress any hint of dissent, and to enforce compliance with a violently imposed official narrative of a voluntarily and happily integrated Kashmir.
On the following day (May 14), students in support of Professor Pandit organised a peaceful public protest in the University demanding that the order be revoked. In response, the University administration shut the campus gates and barred entry to all journalists. The University was closed over the next two days (on account of public holidays) during which time reports regarding the release of some official documents started to circulate. The documents revealed that due to terror related concerns, the teachers of Kashmir University had been under government scrutiny and under surveillance by intelligence agencies. Members of the Teachers Association were specially mentioned with insinuations about their links to terror groups.
The document further stated that on the basis of investigations a list of teachers had been identified and they had been categorised into three groups: one group for dismissal, a second one to be kept under surveillance, and a third group for counselling. Reports regarding these documents were carried by some news agencies and subsequently circulated widely on social media that was buzzing with speculations and rumours about the names on the list, causing widespread anxiety and panic. No names were mentioned in this document nor were they a part of subsequent, occasional official and unofficial updates on the evidence being gathered by intelligence agencies. In continuation of the events post the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 and imposition of direct central rule, it is yet another tactic to threaten and coerce both faculty and students into quiet submission and silence.
When the University reopened on the following Tuesday, the news of the surveillance and the threat of pending dismissals had the desired effect. The mood was sombre, the University was eerily silent and no students were to be seen in any of the public spaces. Under (oral) instructions from the authorities, teachers were asked to schedule classes without a break to prevent students from gathering and organising. The instructions came with hints about implications for the faculty as well as the students in case of non-compliance.
In 2022 the number of dismissed government employees was 24; in 2024 the number has reached 57, of which 21 are employees of the education sector. This includes 13 school employees and 8 University employees.
On May 14, the day of the student protest, the University authorities also issued an order banning the Kashmir University Teachers Association (KUTA) elections which were to be held the following week. The KUTA has long been involved in mobilisation on political and other issues. By the end of May Kashmir University issued an official order banning all employee associations and Unions and declaring their activities illegal.
Broader Implications
Ties to terror and terrorist activity, under the present dispensation, is invoked to malign almost anything, including support for self-determination or raising questions on Kashmir’s accession to India. Any show of sympathy to victims of state violence like donating funds to victims of pellet injuries, rendering material help to families whose properties get destroyed in cross fire or during encounters, or any other form of help or even overt expression of sympathy to victims of state violence counts as links to “terror” and “encouragement of terrorism”. Links to the Jamaat-e-Islami, although not always specifically mentioned, seem to have become a major cause of suspicion for the authorities and several of the dismissed government employees have had some association with the organisation.
Posts on social media carrying even a whiff of political opinion have already been on the list of punishable offences for Kashmiris, and post 2019 are considered sufficient grounds for denial of admissions to educational institutions, refusal to consider job applications, denial of passports, etc. As a consequence, social media is no longer a platform for social or political discussion, and swathes of archival material have been deleted for fear of being identified or framed. All political or controversial public commentary and writing by faculty and research students has come to a complete halt after 2019.
Also unacceptable is the publication of any material that goes against the official discourse or is critical of the establishment to the slightest degree. Although initially journalists were the prime target of this scrutiny, many of whom are now in jail or unable to report, now includes academic writing and publication. Academics have been issued warnings on what is or is not research worthy and any research related to the reality of Kashmir is discouraged through sinister techniques. “Friendly” warnings from the local police or an occasional “friendly” summons to the police station to offer some cautionary advice, formerly a common practice used by the authorities to silence journalists, is now also used with academics.
Acceptable Student Behaviour
In October 2021 students and faculty at Srinagar Medical College had FIRs filed against them for celebrating Pakistan’s victory in a T20 World Cup Match. Kashmiri students in several cities across India were suspended, detained and expelled for celebrating Pakistan’s victory (2). Three students, who were targeted and booked for their social media posts in support of Pakistan in an Agra college, were finally released on bail only in May 2022. Of the three, two dropped out of their courses after the traumatic experience.
As a result of these events, the JK Students Association was compelled to issue an advisory to Kashmiri students all over India to stay away from social media posts and to avoid any controversies during the course of an India Pakistan match in 2022 (3). At the National Institute of Technology in Srinagar the Dean of student’s welfare, issued a notice asking students to stay in their allotted rooms during the match, announcing strict retaliations for any attempt to ignore the instructions.
Schools as Targets of Disciplining: Indian Nationalism on Display
Since 2019 there is a visible and aggressive use of schools for showcasing the new status of Jammu and Kashmir, divested of its autonomy and its statehood. Schools across J&K are being marked by the symbols of the Indian nation with special efforts by the administration to stamp out any distinctly “Kashmiri” features that had been allowed under Article 370.
The National Flag
Under the J&K constitution of 1956, J&K was allowed to fly its own flag along with the tricolour on official occasions and this had been the practice over the years. This flag was removed from the Central Secretariat when J&K lost its special status under Article 370 in August 2019. In 2021 for the first time the J&K administration asked senior government officials to hoist the Indian flag on all government buildings on Republic Day (4). An order was issued by the school education department to install signboards displaying the name and other details of the schools, with the Indian tricolour flag as the background. A nodal officer was specifically appointed to monitor this activity. Within months of this order and in a rare display of efficiency all government schools in J&K had gleaming new boards with colours of the Indian flag on which the name of the school was displayed.
In August 2021 at the height of the second phase of the pandemic when schools had been shut down, government schools were ordered to celebrate Independence Day and to bring children into schools to prepare for the celebrations, especially the singing of the National Anthem. This was not a common practice in schools in J&K and had never been mandatory. Schools were then asked to upload videos of the ceremonies to be scrutinised by the Department of Education.
Naming of schools
In July 2021 the Chief Secretary of J&K asked officials to identify 75 roads and schools to be named after “civilians” for appreciation of their “distinguished contributions to public welfare”. A week or so later the Jammu and Kashmir administration decided to name six dozen schools after security forces in the state that have died in the “line of duty”. Committees were formed for the purpose and according to a senior police officer it was to be “a unique opportunity to inculcate a sense of pride among people and to remember the sacrifices made by our martyrs for protecting the integrity of the country” (5). The word martyr of course conveys a very different meaning in Kashmir, and the thousands of killings and disappearances of Kashmiri men and children for which the security forces are responsible, cannot be so easily forgotten.
Travel Bans
Although journalists have been primary targets of an unacknowledged travel ban that does not allow Kashmiris to leave the country, academics—both faculty and research students—often working and studying abroad, have also been stopped from leaving the country on their way back after a visit to Kashmir. There have been cases of academics working abroad who have been allowed to travel only after signing a bond that imposes conditions on their work. This has created a sense of fear for Kashmiris residing abroad who are now reluctant to come to Kashmir for fear of not being allowed to go back. In recent years, young people wishing to study abroad, and often those with confirmed admissions, are being refused a passport on flimsy grounds, or without any explanation. This is being seen as a fear tactic to stop young people from expressing anti-government or anti-India opinions.
Professor Farida Khan had done her PhD in Developmental Psychology, and taught at Zakir Hussain Centre for Educational Studies, JNU, the Department of Education Delhi University; and the Department of Educational Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
See also: Bashaarat Masood, ‘Kashmir varsity students protest, want dismissed professor back’, The Indian Express, 14 May 2022, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/srinagar/kashmir-students-protest-move-to-sack-chemistry-professor-7917298/.
Ananya Bhardwaj, ‘College students, staff in J&K booked under UAPA for ‘celebrating Pakistan’s T20 win over India’, The Print, 26 October 2021, https://theprint.in/india/college-students-staff-in-jk-booked-under-uapa-for-celebrating-pakistans-t20-win-over-india/756633/.
Idrees Bukhtiyar, ‘India-Pakistan Match: Kashmiri Student’s Body Advises Youths To ‘Stay Away From Trouble’, IndiaTimes, 28 August 2022, https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-pakistan-match-kashmiri-students-body-advises-youths-to-stay-away-from-trouble-578290.html#highlight_111712.
Shuja-ul-Haq, ‘J&K govt schools asked to install signboards with national flag’ India Today, 14 March 2021, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/jammu-and-kashmir-govt-schools-signboards-with-national-flag-1779127-2021-03-14.
See Jehangir Ali, ‘'What About Us?': Kin of Victims Decry Move to Rename J&K Schools After Security Personnel’, The Wire, 7 August 2021, https://thewire.in/rights/jammu-kashmir-schools-named-security-personnel; ‘Panel Constituted To Rename Schools, Colleges And Roads’, Kashmir Life News Network, September 8, 2021, https://kashmirlife.net/panel-constituted-to-rename-schools-colleges-and-roads-275609/; and ‘J&K Govt Renames 76 Schools, Roads After Slain Policemen, Civilians’, Kashmir Observer, 29 October 2021, https://kashmirobserver.net/2021/10/29/jk-govt-renames-76-schools-roads-after-slain-policemen-civilians/.
