LAHORE – It is a holiday today and you probably will be reading this while you sit back, relaxed, lest you work in a newspaper. It is Kashmir Day today. Ever wondered why are you staying home on this day? What is the matter with Kashmiris, and how will you observing this holiday will materialize Kashmir’s liberation? Some say that the day is to show solidarity with the Kashmiris. What we ask here to the youth is only if they know what does solidarity mean and how is it showed?
The youth who digs on ‘Shiela’ like archeologists on Tutan Khamun’s tomb, know little about Kashmir. With books being out of the question, for their authenticity and otherwise, and elders being too boring for that matter, television is the only source left for the youth that acquaints them with long-troubled land. Television and the press, the media, assume the position of teaching the well educated and ill-informed youth about the matter. But then like even a parliament works on dialectics, diverse and opposing groups reign in the media as well.
With each group having its own axe to grind, youth is injected with contradictory set of beliefs about the liberation-seeking-land. While the Indian media does its best to portray its stance on the issue, by making movies like Hindustan Ki Kasam, Border, LOC, Kargil, Lakshya and Kurukshetra, the Pakistani media has struggled to get the facts together, though less with the conventional ways of the press.
A renowned educationist Dr Arifa Syeda said that media was playing a crucial role to ‘inject’ the Kashmir issue into the minds of the youth even more than their curriculum. She said that the condition was not that worse and there were students who could win a debate over the issue (Bravo! to their teachers). While the well educated and ill-informed youth of the country knows a little more than the leaders of our country, they are often forced by their educational institutions to connect themselves with a reality they believe only to be a part of the movie.
A teacher of a famous public sector varsity was of the view that varsity organizes seminars about the issue every year but the lack of interest on the part of the students was visible. He said that there is no debate over the talent of our students but their curriculum should be updated according to the requirements. A debater named Ali Akbar argued that now in the era of Information Technology, the information about the issue is easily accessible, what we need is to spread the importance of the issue. He said that it’s never difficult to use the emotional sentiments of the youth.
A media expert suggested some of the ways to inject the ideology through “soft” material such as documentaries, media campaigns, healthy seminars and movies. He further said that students cannot memorize the course for a long time. He said that we should learn a lesson from India who uses it’s media in an efficient manner which does not only assist them locally but also globally. He also said that we should devise a proper mechanism to answer the Indian propaganda.
A student named, Ahmad who recently appeared in the CSS exams, was of the view that the detailed information about the Kashmir issue is essential for these types of exams where your command on the issues is tested. He said that even the issue like sir creek, Siachen and water disputes needs attention on the part of students. A student named Moazzam blamed the educational institutes for not taking enough measures to celebrate the solidarity day with Kashmiri people, he said that schools know how to celebrate the bonfire and other westernized events but have forgotten the importance of the day to educate the youth about the issue.
He also criticized the electronic media which glorifies the events like Valentine Day but forgot the misery of millions of people living in Kashmir.
