A year on, two schools in Jammu & Kashmir, which bore the brunt of the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May last year, stand testimony to the cost of war, tragedy, and trauma, staring at a long road to recovery.
Also Read | Operation Sindoor 2026 news updates
With Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on the other side of the nearby hills, the Christ High School in Poonch is finding it hard bury the memories of the war. “Who would want a war that leaves children dead? In pursuit of justice for the Pahalgam victims, there was addition to the list of civilian deaths. War exposes the vulnerabilities of human beings,” Father Shijo, principal of the school for the past seven years, told The Hindu.
Three students – Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima, twins who were in Class 5, and Vihaan Bhargav of Class 8 – were killed in Pakistani shelling when they were trying to move to safer locations between May 7 and 11. They were among 21 civilians, including five children, who died on this side of the border during Operation Sindoor, launched against Pakistan following a dastardly terror attack that left 26 civilians, including 25 tourists, dead in Pahalgam.
“Parents of two Class 5 students were evacuating them out of their native village when a shell hit them. The third student was on the way to Jammu in a vehicle when splinters from a shell exploded and hit him,” said Mr. Shijo, as he recalled how the Poonch town was hit by shelling for at least two days. “I have never witnessed or experienced anything like that in my life,” he added.
