Schools of hope & peace

A missionary school and a madrassa are fighting the twin battles of illiteracy and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. Both schools have adopted terrorism-affected children and are providing them free education,
writes Shariq Majeed

AT the time of writing Passion of Earth, American naturalist and peace activist, Harriet Kofalk, would have hardly imagined that many years down the line her poem would become the favourite of a fatherless Kashmiri girl. This poem appears in the English textbook of Class VIII in which the author talks about peace and hopes it will ultimately return to the world after the prevailing violence meets its end. The poem mirrors the thoughts of the girl Gulshan Mushtaq, a victim of militancy in the state, who finds some solace in it.

Remembering Dr Kotnis
Rup Narayan Das on the legendary doctor, the harbinger of China-India ties, whose death anniversary fell on December 9
AT a time when India-China relations are fluctuating between warmth and occasional hiccups, it is propitious to recall the contribution of Dr Dwarakanath Kotnis, the legendary doctor, whose death anniversary fell on December 9. Japan had attacked China on July 7, 1937, and occupied Peking (Beijing). Contrary to Japanese expectations, the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government in Nanking did not yield.