It is out there to be serious about mental health these days, specially with the numerous cases of suicides which been rising. But how aware are the citizens of India about the exodus of children who have been victims of PTSD amidst the political insurgency for decades?

Kashmir, a pulchritudinous state of India, now declared as a union territory (UT) has been a victim of the political skirmish which has, in turn, diddled the indigenous beings of Kashmir leading to death of thousands of people including family members, sexual abuse, damage to property and various natural disasters, namely- earthquake and snowstorms. According to reports, majority of the people suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). As the name suggests, the psychiatric disorder arises in wake of traumatic events. The events are digested and affect each person differently. 

In Kashmir, majority of the children are diagnosed with PTSD. The age group to which these children belong to were above 6 years of age and maximum belonged to 11-15 years of age. The children diagnosed with Abnormalities in brain electrical activity on electroencephalogram were also noted. Children with PTSD were found to perform poorly by affecting their attention, abstract reasoning and executive functioning. Children diagnosed with PTSD were detected in schools because of their behavioural changes and their deteriorate performances. Maximum minors affected belong to rural areas as compared to the urban areas.  Following the figures, 75% of the children belonged to the lower middle class, followed by middle class which entailed 25% respectively. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder consists of risk factors which affects the children to a great extent; lower educations, lower intelligence, absence to social support, sexual harassment, lower socio-economic status, family history of psychiatry illness, multiple traumatic events- are some of the risk factors. Unfortunately, 49% of the children have been witnesses to death of a family member or close friends, followed by arrest, torture of a close relative or being caught up in cross-firing and hearing about the death of a close relative. It is absolutely unimaginable as to what the future of this country has to go through. Kashmir has been regarded as the place called “heaven on earth” but the heaven contains a hell within which largely ignored. Amidst this turmoil , the emphasis ought to be put on the psychological distress, a scar invisible yet the power of changing the entire personality of the human being, affecting the course of their actions and changing the outlook of life, for life.

The destruction of educational infrastructure, in addition to the unlawful detentions, leaves a lifelong impact on children, perpetuating a cycle of trauma, fear and bitterness. The literacy rate in Kashmir is 54.4% as compared to some parts of India, which have resulted in 65% 

The following 3 dimensions which were focussed were shown by the affected for a month which proved them to have paediatric PTSD- 

1. The affected re-experienced the event with deteriorate recollections in the form of dreams, flashbacks, with psychological and psychical distress.

2. They persistently avoided the stimuli associated with trauma that might recall the memories or events of the trauma.

3. There was also an increase in arousal in the form of hyper vigilance and exaggerated startled response, experienced difficulty in sleep, irritability.

In children older than 6 years, there was a repetitive play occurred in which themes or aspects of traumatic events were expressed. They also experienced frightening dreams without recognizable content, a dream which the minors aren’t able to express and even dissociative reactions (eg flashbacks) in which they felt the traumatic events were recurring. Such reactions may occur in continuum, and the most extreme expression of their feeling is expressed by complete loss of awareness of the present reactions.

The unfortunate events lead to persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs about the oneself, others and even the world. In other words, they express themselves by stating, “I am Bad”, “The world is bad and dangerous”, “My whole life is ruined” or “My entire nervous system is ruined”. This leads them to have distorted cognition about the cause and consequences of the events which leads them to blame themselves or others for it.

In order to recover from this the children are subjected to maladaptive method of coping. It was recorded that females prefer for maladaptive method of coping more than males who were associated with PTSD in Kashmir. Most of these patients were even aware what they suffering from and indulged in self-medication, for even somatic issues which included headaches, stomach aches, palpitations, breathlessness, anxiety, panic attacks, loss of appetite etc, which eventually leads to addiction. Popularly benzodiazepine, opioids, and cannabis. In contrast to world reports, alcohol was the used the least (4.8%).

Amidst this turmoil, the children residing in a place regarded as “heaven on earth” go through hell every single day. Not a single day can they have a goodnight’s sleep, a sleep without the fret of being a victim to the worst thought of never seeing the face of a family member anytime. three-year-old boy described the sequence of events leading to the killing of his grandfather. The minor had been subjected to extreme events, events from which even veterans aren’t able to cope up from.  

Picture reference: https://medium.com/@ovaiskarni /psychological-impact-of-armed-conflict-on-kashmiri-children-97c76e77bef1

Amidst all the tension in the Kashmir valley, An order has been passed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration, which has asked the people to stock up LPG cylinders, for two months.

This sudden notice has created an environment of tension panic among residents.

In a separate order, the J&K administration also ordered the school buildings to be vacated in order to use them as accommodation for security forces in the Ganderbal district which has added to the the panic and anxiety of people in wake of the recent border tensions with China.

The order was described as a “most urgent matter” , and was passed by the Director of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumers.

It has also asked oil companies in the valley to arrange enough stocks of LPG that can last to up to two months at bottling plans as well as godowns.

In an addition to this, fhe government has also announced the closure of Srinagar-Jammu National Highway due to "frequent landslides" as the reason for its contingency plan for stocking up LPG cylinders.

Orders similar to this "most urgent matter" were issues last year as well, after the airstrike at a terrorist camp in Balakot and when the state was divided into two Union Territories after scrapping off the special status under the Constitution.

" Truth is Expensive ": Aspiring Journalists 

“Not all battles are fought for victory. Some battles are fought to tell the world that someone was there on the battlefield.”
                   - Ravish Kumar.

Freedom of the press is an integral part of freedom of speech. Space for dissent is what keeps the fire ignited in democracy & brings the unspoken in light.  However, how free are we today to speak the unspoken?  and by ' we', I mean all of us. Well, sacrifices! We have to pay for everything, for freedom of expression too.

I was 16 when investigative journalists exposed a well-known medical institution in Jharkhand that was practising female infanticide. Since then, the pursuit of truth, that truth is eternal, in journalism has always inspired me to join the culture of journalism. Journalism, where the voice has power & right words can shatter even the strongest lie.

Well, When I told my parents how passionate I was to become a journalist, the first feedback was," It's Risky Beta".
An aspiring journalist is always made aware that there is a price to pay when unwanted truths tumble out, you have to pay for the truth.

 There's always a line that would not be crossed but, as I inch closer to my dream of becoming a journalist, the line gets blurred. There's no idea for the price of truth. You might have to trade your life.

2017: I was 17 when Gauri Lankesh was assassinated. You have to fight against autocracy and fight against the exploitation of power. I'm a media student right now & our institution stopped us to talk & put the poster of ' Gauri Lankesh'.

 The last few months, in particular, have been a whirlwind for India – from the protests against the citizenship law to police brutality, the Kashmir lockdown and the coronavirus lockdown, a series of arrests of journalists and the deadly Delhi riots – the news industry has barely had a minute to breathe.

But with every reinforced silence, the fight of journalists is weakening. Where criticism of governments is a sign of good journalism, the arrest of such journalists who are trying to bring out the truth is the sign of a failing democracy & you are titled as ' Anti- Nationals'. The first rule of Journalism: BE NEUTRAL. That's the price journalists have to pay: Hide the truth &  so separate from work and fear of repercussions injected into them plays a dominating role.

So when Gauri Lankesh was assassinated or when Masrat Zahra was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, I’m sure many young people dreaming of joining the ranks of the fourth pillar of democracy vanished.

Well, some of my classmates who are pursuing journalism, accept that they experience withering of their spirit when it comes to continuing journalism as their career. No Security for Journalists. So, you have better options :  filmmaking or advertising – which they say are growing sectors.

What about the harsh reality, the dialect that is uttered in journalism? 

Well, stories about, Health journalist Vidya Krishnan being harassed, threatened and humiliated online for calling out the lapses in the way India has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Oh ! that's the security provided to truth-seekers. 

 These cases have lit a fire in the belly may questioning the ethics of journalism.
 Why journalists, on the ground covering the pandemic were not given access to proper gear?  Recently, an on-ground journalist, Ronojoy Roy, died of what was suspected to be coronavirus and he is not the only one. Several more have tested positive.
In the World Press Freedom Index of 2020, India fell by two places and now stands at the 142nd position.

Independent media houses and fact-checking websites sell untruths and half-truths to their audiences: The flagbearers of journalism !! 
Many journalists don't sacrifice their belief system by joining a media house. 

Why many are disappointed about joining a profession where one is ambushed for speaking truth to power?
In a  democratic country, the unrestricted cycle of information is important. 

The battle in me has become dimensionless. But the revolutionary spirit needs to bike phoenix– can be reflamed.