Educated youth and political turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir (A case study)

Youth in Jammu and Kashmir has never known life except in chaos and political turmoil. The state has been a conflict zone between India, Pakistan and the People who stand for self determination. It is one of the most highly militarized regions of the world. From 1989 to 2002 only between 40,000 and 80,000 civilians, guerrilla fighters, and Indian security personnel died in violence. The major sufferer in this state of hegemony and Violence has been the Youth of the State. Their life, Education, physical and mental health, personal and social relationships, perceptions and attitudes all have been greatly influenced by the Political Turmoil over there. They became prey to both security forces and militants. However some of them succeeded in receiving education by whatever little opportunities they could avail. But the Irony is that even the highly Educated Youth has chosen Violence and armed Struggle as a method of conflict resolution. This is a big problem to worry about. Present study is an attempt at exploring the stand of Youth on political Turmoil. It aims at understanding the impact of Political turmoil on Youth of the state and their perceptions about conflict resolution. Attempt has also been made to find out the various factors which lead educated Youth to the path of Violence. The study is based on primary source of data which has been supplemented by Secondary data. Interview method has been used to collect the data apart from group discussions.