The Valley’s Silence Begins Young On Kashmir's College Campuses

Summary of this article

• In Kashmir, political activities on the campuses of colleges and universities remain missing as the authorities have previously banned the operation of student unions that fanned separatist activities.
  
• Student agitations have been fierce, but organised electoral student activity has been missing on campuses due to the ban on political activity of students.
  
• Students feel that the associations or unions are required not only to shape their political ideology, but also to provide them with a platform to raise issues like fee hikes.
  

The wide hall of Gandhi Bhawan at Kashmir University (KU) was dimly lit, filled with students and experts talking about the everyday existential issues that plague the city and its dwellers. A few blocks away, political science students walked to their class, exchanging complaints that could have been conventionally raised through the aegis of a student association. But at the varsity campus, there is none.