AR Bhat
In the year 1966; UNESCO proclaimed 08 September as International Literacy Day with a view to remind the International Community about the importance of literacy. It is required at the individual level and further at the level of community and society. Ultimately when there is adequate literacy in the society then it will lead to a literate state that will have an important place in the world community. We see advancement in science and technology all around us that has made our life more comfortable. Maximum development has taken place in the field of medicine, communication, conveyance, military technology and space science. This all has been achieved due to higher levels of literacy and its benefits are being reaped by all the citizens of the World. As per the aim of sustainable development goal of United Nations; there is a need to achieve 100% literacy for all young people of the world.
Our country had the Gurukul system of education in the ancient and medieval times. After the arrival of British, European system of education (mainly British) was introduced in our country. There were few schools and colleges which had English as language of instruction for all subjects. Mainly these educational institutes were being run by Christian missionaries and at a few places by the government. However, most of the basic education up to undergraduate level continued to be imparted in local language. British or European system pattern of education thus reached up to grassroots of our society and was accepted by the masses since it was available in vernacular language.
In Kashmir Valley; Persian used to be language of the court during the Afghan rule and it gave way to Urdu during the Sikh rule. British also advocated the use of Urdu in the courts in Kashmir Valley. Thus Kashmiri and Urdu were the main languages being taught in the schools during the British rule and continued to remain so even after independence. Post-independence period saw establishment of many schools in the rural areas including remote localities. Earlier education was available only to the children of well off families but later on it was available to the children of common masses since democratic government had a commitment of providing primary education to all the children. However, the process of strengthening the roots of education system met a big hurdle due to political unrest in Kashmir Valley. Schools and colleges were shut down for long duration and academic session was affected due to ongoing socio-political crisis. Some of the teachers and educationists lost their lives when they tried to preach peaceful path of living. The students grew up in an uncertain environment of fear and hatred that was being spread by people sitting across the border who actually had no concern about well-being of the people of Kashmir Valley.
A student’s life suffered the most in this whole process.
A need was felt to provide a healing touch to the children of Kashmir Valley and ensure that they receive quality education in uninterrupted way. The Army has been able to meet the educational expectation of the people of Kashmir particularly in remote areas where there were no academic facilities earlier. We can see smile of confidence and happiness on the faces of innocent children and a feeling of satisfaction in the heart of parents. In the coming years there will certainly be many bright students coming out of Kashmir Valley who will do remarkable service to the society.
