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.

However, she would not have been able to come across this poem at all but for the efforts of a missionary school that is providing a salve in the form of free education to many such children, affected by the ongoing militancy in the state.

Gulshan is a student of Christ School in Poonch. Her father Muhammad Mushtaq, a police personnel, had died fighting militants in the Hari Buddha area when she was just three.

There are eight other such children in the school who lost their fathers in militancy-related incidents. All of them are getting free education in the school.

The teachers at Christ School, 16 of whom, out of a total of 32, are from outside the state, have taken up the challenge of spreading education in Poonch, the last town in North India.

About their fear of getting killed while taking on this challenge, the principal of the school, Father Mathew Nelledath, who has come from Kerala, says, "Just name one place in the world where there is no bloodshed. Initially, though we did feel apprehensive, but we were resolute enough to take on the challenge. We are here to teach peaceful coexistence to the students and also help them in finding the best way to lead their life. If we are able to put across this message in these tender minds, who are the future of this area, peace will ultimately return here."

According to Father Nelledath, "We are using practical ways to teach peaceful coexistence and a better way of living to our students."

Gulshan would certainly agree with this. After her father’s death, she had lost interest in studies and would not have continued but for the kindness and inspiration provided by the teachers at Christ School.

More than a decade has passed but her pain has not subsided. Gulshan Mushtaq, who is in her early teens now, can only talk about her father when anyone asks her about her parents. She doesn’t talk much about her mother Muneera Begum who works tirelessly for a better future for her three children, including Gulshan.

Gulshan bursts into tears every time she speaks about her father. "It is very hard to lose one’s father, especially at an age when you don’t know much about the world. When my father died fighting militants, I was just three. I did not realise the extent of my loss, I was just happy that I got a day off from the school to play with my brothers and sisters. It is only when I grew up I realised that it was not just another holiday but on that day I had lost the most important person in my life," says Gulshan with tears streaming down her eyes.

"I had received the biggest shock of my life at the age of three. After that I lost interest in studies and would not have even continued my studies till my mother got me admitted to the Christ School here," she adds.

"The teachers here are from outside the state. They are missionaries whose aim is to spread education in the most backward areas of the world. Because of their peace-loving nature and their conviction to teach such children, they were quite successful in infusing me with the confidence to take on the challenge of living. Though I am yet to get over the shock, I believe that my teachers at the school have reasonably succeeded in developing my interest in studies again and deviating my thoughts away from the pain of losing my father," adds Gulshan.

It is not just the teachers of Christ School, who have braved all odds to come to Kashmir to teach, teachers at another school at Poonch, Raza-ul-Uloom Islamic School, too, are fighting the twin battles of illiteracy and militancy. The school has a madrassa attached to it and the teachers are from outside the trouble-torn state. Their aim is not only to spread literacy among the students, but also to put across the message that all Muslims are not terrorists and no terrorist is a Muslim.

As one enters the school, this message is displayed in bold letters on a wall of the school: "The word Islam itself means peace. Try to make the world peaceful and happy. A Muslim is not a terrorist. A terrorist is not a Muslim. Be proud to be an Indian."

"I don’t think there is any person in this state who has not suffered due to insurgency, directly or indirectly. I, too, lost my uncle to terrorism. He was killed in a militant attack only three months after his marriage. I have been a frequent witness to many firing incidents and blasts in my area wherein many innocent people have been killed," says Ajmal Hussain, a Class X student at the Islamic school. He lost his uncle Abdul Wahid, a police constable, in militancy-related incident in the Mendhar area.

"But enough is enough. The militancy-affected people of the state want some peace and we pray for the same in our state," hopes Ajmal.

"Before joining this school I used to study at a government school in my native village of Kalaban in Mendhar. We used to be haunted by the terror incidents. We were living in the shadow of violence all the time. However, after my father admitted me to this school, the teachers here, who have good knowledge about the teachings of Islam, have given a direction to my life. Their message is that all of us, irrespective of our religion, should preach peace and peaceful coexistence."

Many of the teachers at the Islamic school were not here when terrorism was its peak, but they have come to the state at the right time to teach about peaceful coexistence, as people in this conflict-hit state want to start afresh and leave behind fear and terror.

"Islam is a religion of peace. Our Prophet, too, was man of peace. That is why he preferred to leave Mecca for Madina. We Muslims always believe in peace and peaceful coexistence. That is the message which we are giving to the students at the school", says Abdul Wahid, the principal of the school who has come from Calicut (now called Kozhikode) in Kerala.

Ajaz Ahmed Jan, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Poonch and National Conference leader, applauds the noble spirit of these teachers. "The teachers at these two schools, who have come to teach students from other states, have been a true example of courage, bravery and commitment to this noble profession. The residents of this border town can’t thank them enough for teaching peaceful coexistence and better ways of leading a meaningful life to our children who are the future of this area which was once hit hard by militancy," adds Jan.