The Missing Forum

Kashmir's classrooms have talent and awareness. What they lack is a formal platform for student voice.

- Madhat Bin Hashmat

In India's leading universities, student politics is a rehearsal for real democracy.

It's where future ministers learn how to debate, where civil servants learn to listen, and where journalists sharpen their questions. It's where representation begins.

But in Kashmir, those training grounds remain empty.

Student unions in the region's colleges and universities are either dormant or banned. Elections don't happen. Manifestos aren't written. There are no campus debates about fees, fellowships, or academic reform.

A student in Srinagar or Pulwama can't stand for union president due to paucity of the structure.

This silence isn't harmless. It's a vacuum. And it's costing Kashmir its next generation of democratic leaders.

Kashmiri students are among the brightest in the country. They top national exams, win scholarships, and enter elite institutions across India.