DEFYING THE ODDS: THE RISE OF KASHMIRI YOUTH
Over the years, the Kashmiri children have carved a unique niche for themselves in various fields and are setting new milestones by establishing their expertise in various domains. Despite the events of unrest and violence, the new-age Kashmiri children are unfazed and undeterred to dive into unexplored territories and come out with flying colors. Credits to Government policies and support organizations, many success stories are emerging from Kashmir which clearly denotes the majority of youth are on their quest towards knowledge and passion.
True to the saying ‘’Every cloud has a silver lining’’, Kashmir too has its fair share of remarkable youth talent and few children who are diamond in the rough. In the article, some real achievers and heroes of Kashmiri youth who chalked out an unconventional path, strived hard to achieve excellence in their journey is shared.
MASTER SHAH ABRAR UL HAQ – Making the cut to IIT Mumbai
For nearly a past decade, many youngsters from Kashmir are cracking tough competitive exams and are wanting to be an example and bring laurels to their neighborhood. Similarly, Shah Abrar ul Haq, an alumnus of Hamid Chara AGS Chandigam who studied from nursery to 12th at the school run by Indian Army for development of Kashmir has secured a seat in the prestigious IIT Mumbai. The success of Shah Abrar Ul Haq has inspired many other students of the Lolab valley ignited a ray of hope.
UMAR AHMAD and NAJMU SAQUIB – Techies making inroads into entrepreneurship
We all love to relish good food and explore a new cuisine. But due to hustle and bustle people find it difficult to find a restaurant and book their seats. Or the most popular restaurants are busy and they don’t get an opportunity to find a seat. But not anymore in Kashmir. ‘’Ditoo’’ is an app developed by two young graduates Umar Ahmad and Najmu Saquib from Kashmir. This app enables people to reserve seats in restaurants or to pre-order food for takeaway. Other salient features include pre-order, pre-pay, skip the line and book a table at your favorite restaurant. This mobile application has an innovative blend of takeaway ordering and restaurant booking. People need to enter their location and the app would show the nearby restaurants. After selecting the restaurant and menu, the user gets an option of Take Away or Dine-in along with their preferred timings. This app has received more than 230 orders within launch and has gained a wide acceptance among people and restaurant owners.
ARIFA BILAL – Snatching Glory, The First Female Power-Lifter from Kashmir
Arifa Bilal hails from Kujjar village, Ganderbal district, Central Kashmir. She is currently pursuing her B.A degree from Government College, Ganderbal. Besides academia, she is a power-lifting enthusiast. Recently, she bagged two gold medals in the 4th National Powerlift Benchpress and Deadlift Championship held at Assand, Haryana. She holds the national record in under 55 kg women’s category. Moreover, she works as a gym trainer at Doctor Gym, Ganderbal and has won accolades in volleyball and cricket. Arifa belongs to a poor family and has four siblings. Despite the financial difficulties, Arifa has the belief, will to succeed and she is eyeing for International Powerlifting Championship which is to be held in Dubai. Arifa serves as an inspiration to many girls from Ganderbal and has received outstanding response from people.
SABREENA YASEEN – Penning her way to success
Sabreena Yaseen, a class X student from Natipora is an aspiring poet. Drawn into literature from her childhood, Sabreena has released a book titled ‘’Fearless Flower’’. The book comprises of both poetry and descriptive writing where she described her journey. It focuses on various stage of adolescence, difficult phases faced as a teenager and how to overcome them. Going forward she is confident of publishing more of her writings with the support and guidance of her parents and teachers.
The list of some inspiring and young achievers is quite long, a book would be a real justice to their unwavering spirit and resilience. For instance, Mohammad Shabir Wani, an international skier, Sehrish Asgar and Shahid Choudhary who are devoted civil servants, Mehvish Mushtaq, the first Kashmiri girl to develop an Android app, Tajamul Islam a young kickboxer and student of Army Goodwill School has all the elements to become a world champion. These are the heroes who are writing the destiny of new Kashmir.
CONCLUSION
Education, art and sports are the only tools that can be used to rise above the prevalent hate-narrative and to re-think a future with better solutions. Clearly with the aforementioned facets the Kashmir valley is brimming with success stories which go to show the extent in which the local youth can shine in their choice of field. These inspiring stories evidently indicate the youth potential, carving an own niche for themselves ,with a desire to progress and bringing glory to their homeland. These are the heroes that must be acknowledged, particularly the bright educated minds who form a shining ray of hope in strife-filled Kashmir.
– Major Yogesh S
