with the fading refrain flows in sounds of squealing and giggling. It’s the voice of children from a world of gloom searching desperately for the stars.
Four-year-old Tashi is one such child. Miles away from the mountains which were once his home, Tashi seems comfortable in Pune. For him and 150 other children from Kashmir and Ladakh, the school is their world—home and playground. Tashi’s father, who was a civilian, worked informally for the army in Kargil before he died in action. Among his schoolmates are those whose parents died in the crossfire between militants and security forces. Some are even children of militants.
They are the first batch of children brought to Pune by Sarhad, a group working in the region, to be housed in their orphanage and attend their school. Sanjay Nahar, Sarhad’s president, has been involved in children’s educational tours for the last twenty years. In the days when Punjab was hit by militancy, he went there to work among children. Later he used to take kids from Maharashtra to J&K and bring Kashmiri children to Mumbai and Pune. Such interaction and exposure helped but he felt that more decisive action was called for. Hence, this year he set up a home for kids whose lives have been ravaged by violence.
When Sarhad first put out advertisements in J&K for their new venture, the response was tremendous. Some 1,700 applications poured in. Many were desperate to enrol children so that they could leave the state, study and make a life elsewhere. Most of them are from orphanages while others were living with relatives. Since June, children from nursery to third standard have moved to Pune along with some teachers and caretakers from j&k. Nahar is clear that he wants the kids to keep in touch with their own culture.
They have a regular curriculum, including computer education, and will start Urdu classes. Even religion figures in their scheme—that too from a maulvi and a lama. At present, Sarhad has plans to educate them till tenth standard. The school also includes children from the local area. In fact, their classmates from the Valley and Ladakh are learning to speak Marathi. But integration is difficult. More so because of the trauma these children have encountered. Ten-year-old Ishrat, who is otherwise exceptional in her studies, quietly pulls an imaginary trigger to show how her father died.
But there is an effort to put the past behind. They recite poems, tease friends about their favourite Bollywood stars and quickly name a number of important professions they want to be in. "We have taken a few children each from the worst affected areas because we want to send the message in j&k that we care for them and want to alleviate their suffering," says Nahar.
Asked if he wants to go home, four-year-old Adil from Dardpora says, "Yes, but only for Id. After that I will be back here to stay. I love it here." Salman, a class two student from Sopore, smiles shyly, "I used to miss home but now I am studying hard and I have made friends here."
The Sarhad initiative is funded through donations raised locally and by finding sponsors for the children. The Maharashtra government too chips in. There are also plans to generated funds by setting up shops which will be rented out and also a hostel for college students. The school campus will also house a shop selling, among other things, Kashmiri handicrafts. Sarhad accepts no donations from the Valley or Ladakh since it wants to steer clear of all controversy.
Sarhad can be contacted at: S.No. 130-133, Opp Bharati Vidyapeeth, Katraj, Pune—411046, Maharashtra. Tel: (020) 24368621.
