Absence of internet puts IoK students in trauma on 148th day of curfew.

SRINAGAR -- In occupied Kashmir, the continued lockdown and communications blockade have also affected the student community besides the common people. The Indian government has imposed military siege and communications blackout in the territory when it scrapped its special status and divided it into two Union Territories on August 5. On August 2, Mehwish Rafiq, 17, attended her last day at the school where she studied in Class XII. While she is preparing for her dream exam of National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), she is somehow hopeless if she can qualify the exams as this has been a year of loss for education in occupied Kashmir. Mehwish appeared for her board exams in October and November amid tight security around educational institutions as the schools did not open in Kashmir after August 5,kms reported. While she appeared for the exams, it was not a normal situation as she had completed only 60 per cent syllabus at school but appeared for 100 per cent during the exams. 'When the date sheet was notified, it was very difficult to prepare for exams when we had not attended school for months together.

I am sure no student in any other part of the country can manage in such circumstances. We are under tremendous mental pressure,' says Mehwish who is now preparing to crack the competitive exam to...