The Kashmiri Scholar the System Keeps Discarding

In Kashmir and beyond, countless men and women silently endure a daily death — their hearts turning into graveyards of crushed dreams, unmet desires, and fading joy.

- Dr. Ashraf Zainabi

Over the past 15 years, Dr. Altaf Lala (name changed) has buried countless desires and ambitions in the depths of his heart. His life, though outwardly composed, tells a far more complex and poignant story beneath the surface.

Recently we both were in Srinagar hospital to attend a common friend. After the rasm-e-khabar, we went on a stroll to Dal Lake. It was a cold winter evening in Srinagar. The mist curled around the streetlights, and the air carried the familiar scent of burning wood from distant chimneys. Dr. Altaf and I walked slowly along the boulevard, his hands deep in his jacket pockets, his thoughts heavier than the damp winter sky. To any passerby, he looked like any other man lost in thought. But beneath his quiet demeanor lay a graveyard of buried aspirations, unspoken pain, and silent struggles.

For over a decade, Altaf had devoted himself to academia. A PhD, a postdoctoral fellowship, research papers in reputed journals-each a testament to years of sacrifice. He had cleared NET and SET, proving his merit, hoping that one day, all this effort would translate into a secure, dignified career. But in Kashmir, where bureaucracy and unpredictability rule, that hope was an illusion. He missed regular appointments two times by a fraction of points by decimals 0.10 and 0.40 respectively.