One can reach the skies by having hope– dreams and an aspiration to achieve something. The story of four Kashmiri boys Usman Hafiz, Aqib Mujtaba, Hilal Ahmad and Shahid Afridi is one such example. They didn’t let the ongoing violence and situation of the State decide their future. The four students got admission into different IITs and have made their parents proud. Usman, Aquib and HilalAhman come from a village known as Kalai near Poonch river and Shahid belongs to Shindra. Shahid was sent to Bundi, Rajasthan after being handpicked by the local NGO for IIT entrance. Shahid told a daily, “We’re IITians only because we’re in India.”
He further added saying, “I may not be a good batsman like my namesake, but I fend off bouncers from curious friends at IIT when they ask me if all Muslims turn to militancy. I take pride in explaining to them the significance of living in border areas.”
Now, Shahid is fulfilling his dream by pursuing a degree in computer science at IIT Kanpur, Usman is studying electrical engineering at IIT Bhubaneswar, Hilal is completing his degree in Computer science at IIT Patna and Aqib is studying mechanical engineering at IIT Bhubaneswar.“It’s time J&K’s youth understand that those who ask them to turn into stone-pelters are instigators, not well-wishers. Poonch has seen no industry. The first thing that comes to mind is to bring rail connectivity and the knitwear industry to my region,” said Usman.
The four boys left Kashmir a couple of months after violence struck the State in July. There are many others who wish to pursue dreams like them and follow their dreams. We hope that the violence should not deter them from achieving their dreams.
