The Generation We Forgot to Raise

As Kashmiri teenagers grow up in an uncertain world, many are drifting without guidance. A teacher asks: are we helping them fly or leaving them behind?

- Bhat Tawheed

In the bylanes of Pulwama and the schoolyards of Sopore, something is slipping away.

It's not just innocence or tradition. It's the sense of purpose our children once held onto.

Ask a teacher at a government school or a father running a shop downtown, and they'll tell you: the values that once shaped our youth are no longer strong. The world they grow up in now feels faster, noisier, and more hollow.

What's going wrong?

In Kashmir, growing up was never easy. But it used to be clearer. Families lived close, elders gave advice, and mosques, schools, and homes all pointed in one direction — toward becoming a good human being.

That meant kindness, honesty, struggle, and a sense that life had a greater meaning. Religion wasn't just a ritual. It gave life structure. And being the “Ashra-ful Makhluqat” — the noblest of all creation — meant living with dignity and responsibility.

But somewhere along the way, that compass broke. These days, children scroll endlessly on phones, eyes glued to influencers selling lifestyles that seem out of reach but deeply desirable.