I don't understand why kashmiri students making it to foreign universities should be made into news. They are not representative of kashmiri students in any sense. In focusing on these success stories, we often underplay the everyday struggles of a vast majority of

not-so-privileged lot. Many of you will speak of how them making it to places is exceptional and stuff. But it really is not. I've known the admission process intimately enough to be able to say that everything about it screams PRIVILEGE.

And the amount of coverage these kids are given and the way their stories are told is nothing but a blatant whitewash of the concerns of kashmiri students. Why do we not speak the toll three years of no proper academic activity has done to kashmiri students as much as we talk

about a certain kid receiving a "scholarship" from a fancy place. When the media speak of these "achievers" as much as they do, and underplay what students here have been going through, it puts unimaginable pressure on kids who are clearly not as privileged and who struggle every

day to stay sane. And these supposedly brilliant kids never talk about how ugly the process is. Not does the media. They make it seem like a piece of cake which it most certainly is not. There's nothing glamorous or truly exceptional about securing a place at a foreign university

Not to mention these "scholarships" are more often than not "financial aid packages". They've to do with need and not with merit. Not that merit is unproblematic. And many people who make it to these places with aid are still not able to afford them. It's a fucked up system.

Khair, kehne ka maqsad ye hai ki hosh ke nakhun lein. Capitalism ko samjhein. Meritocracy ke flaws par dhyaan dein. Aur khabron par zara sar khapayi karein. And kiddos, don't beat yourself too much over people doing "wonders". THINK.

Bael ma khaelyukh kalas.