Santosh Farande, Pune 

A team of 'Rashtriya Seva Yojana' from Pune visited Jammu and Kashmir under the 'National Integration Yatra' initiative. The team conducted Science workshops in many schools.

The 'National Service Scheme Department' of Fergusson College has been organizing National Yatras in North Eastern States every year since 2016. But this year in 2024 Jammu and Kashmir which is our 'paradise on earth' was selected.

One used to read about the situation created there regarding terrorist activities. So there was uneasiness in the mind;  it was firmly decided that no matter what happened, I would go to Jammu and Kashmir for the 'National Integration Yatra'.

We were going there to conduct science workshops for middle school students of classes six to eight under the 'National Education Policy 2020'. For this we received two days of training from Lend a Hand India, the main partner of our National Integration Yatra.

We disseminated information about our 14-day visit to Kashmir and locals responded warmly. We were a team of 21 students and three teachers of the National Service Scheme. We did notice huge developmental works in progress during our road journey from Jammu to Srinagar.

Roads, several kilometers of tunnels, and bridges are being created by erecting huge pillars in the middle of big hills and mountains, through deep valleys and rivers. As soon as we reached Srinagar we were divided into four groups. One group was sent to Kupwara, one group to Budgam, and two groups to Srinagar city.

Initially, we faced a problem in carrying on our mission since we did not have an authorization letter from Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Finally, it came and we could conduct workshops in 80 schools. During our stay in the school, we were guarded by security men who stood at the entrance of the school. It was interesting to see how Principals and even teachers were clueless about our mission and often asked us questions like, "Aap kaun hai?, Aap kahon se aye hai, kya chahiye?" Local contacts helped us get close to the school administrations.

Abrar Bhat in Budgam, Danish Ahad in Kupwara, 'Yuva Soch, Yuva Bharat' in Srinagar and Sanchita Bakshi in Jammu, 'Yuva Soch Yuva Bharat' in Udhampur got support.

School staff was initially skeptical but when we explained the purpose of the visit they welcomed us with a smile. The girls there are smart.

It was interesting to note that girls were more curious than boys and asked many questions. I feel the students in Kashmir need proper guidance, up-to-date education, and new educational opportunities. The girls there aspire to become doctors, engineers, chartered officers, and police officers.

We conducted workshops on Physics, Chemistry, Environment, Geography, Biology, Zoology, and Mathematics in Kupwara, Srinagar and Budgam districts. In total, we conducted workshops in 40 schools for 6th to 10th students to create a record of reaching 4000 students under 'National Education Policy 2020' through the workshop.

Our group of five people stayed at Abrar Bhai's house in Budgam. There was a mosque right in front of his house and we heard Azan at 3:25 am. We also played Marathi Bhavgeet, and Bhakti Geet at 6 am and our hosts had no problem. We will respect each other's religious beliefs, customs, and traditions. We did enjoy hospitality at Abrar's house and he too relished the food we brought from Maharashtra.

We stayed for three days at the home of Sanchita Bakshi, an alumnus of our college's National Service Scheme at Paloda in Jammu. Her family took good care of us. Her grandparents would say, "You are our guests and guests are the form of God. Think of it as your own home."

Kashmir is a miracle of nature. Not only from India but many tourists from all corners of the world come to this place to enjoy nature. Therefore, the economy here gets a strong support and boost. It contributes to the economic progress of the state.

Like horse riders, travel companies, tourist trains, hotels, markets, and vendors selling traditional goods, and handicrafts, they get business and employment. Tourism is the main source of income and employment here. Jammu and Kashmir is the golden crown (sone ka sartaj) of India, and because of this Pakistan has its eye on it.

Our Kashmiri hosts, hotel owners, local car drivers, and owners, with whom we stayed during the National Integration Yatra, said, 'Yahan ab shanti aur aman hai; ab sab safe hai"

We should salute our Army, State Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, and Jammu and Kashmir Police Department for their bravery, courage, and sacrifice in changing this situation. It is because of them that we can protect our paradise.

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We learned a lot from the National Integration Yatra of Jammu and Kashmir. Through this journey, we learned that even though we are different in colour, appearance, dress, language, food, customs, region, and religion, we are all one. We are Indians. We have unity in diversity and that is our real strength.

The author is an associate professor at Fugersson College Pune