Socio Political Impact of Conflict Situation on Youth in Kashmir with Special Focus on District Shopian

Conflict as a social phenomenon of competition between actors with incompatible goals is as old as human civilization Conflict is a part of social interaction when state delegates on issues on what concerns them, it becomes a conflictual situation. Nowadays conflicts and wars are numerous and often extremely cruel. As such they are a serious threat to the health and well being of millions of people. Emerging political struggle, armed conflict and wars have a very different impact on present population than the conventional war of the past. psychologists dealt with inner conflicts and dynamics of attitudinal change and political philosophers addressed themselves to questions of power and authority, physiocrats concentrated on competition for the necessities of life; and anthropologists studied conflicts rooted in primitive customs that had integrative functions. To philosophical category, they denote conflict the clash of power in the striving of all things to become manifest. A distinct category of social behavior- as two parties trying to get something they both cannot have. The Kashmir conflict remains one of the most protracted in the world. It cannot be compartmentalized into a particular typology of conflict and its complex dimensions are geo-politicial, ethnic and religious in nature. High unemployment, corruption and nepotism are important factors for the alienation of Kashmiri youth who see bad governance as the failure of the Indian state. The student community has been extremely disappointed with the failure of the government to tackle the problems of unemployment and low-quality education at all levels. The sense of political powerlessness is strong amongst students who have no platform to be part of the political processes engaging with the conflict.Conflict in Kashmir has affected various aspects of the youth, including student life. Ahmad (2013) has argued that heavy militarization makes students vulnerable to insecurity, abuse and harassment, especially females. Another study has documented the widespread psychological disorders including depression and stress amongst the youth as a consequence of conflict and its impact on everyday life (Aminet.al, 2009). There is scarcity of literature on the theme of conflict and education in Kashmir. There is only study dealing with the impact of the conflict situation on youth.Freedom of expression granted by the Constitution of India is also applicable to discussions on nationalism. For Kashmiris, it is at the core of the Kashmir conflict and needs to be given a safe space to engage with. This will also facilitate discussion amongst the fragmented mobilizations of students and make them a strong stakeholder which can engage politically with the community and the political elite.The present study is identifying and analyzing the impact of ongoing conflict situation on Youth of District Shopian. The qualitative and quantitative methods were adopted to answer the research question.

Keywords:
Kashmir conflict situation 2016, youth impact, preventive measures