A year after Operation Sindoor: Two schools in Jammu and Kashmir stand testimony to the cost of conflict

Two schools in Jammu and Kashmir, which bore the brunt of the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May last year, are bearing witness to the toll of war, tragedy and trauma a year later and looking ahead to a long road to recovery.

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While on the other side of the nearby hills lies Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), Isa High School in Poonch is struggling to bury the memories of the war. “Who wants a war that leaves children to die? In the search for justice for the Pahalgam victims, new ones have been added to the list of civilian deaths. War reveals people’s vulnerabilities,” said Father Shijo, who has been the school’s principal for the last seven years. Hindu.

Three students – twin sisters Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima in Year 5 and Vihaan Bhargav in Year 8 – were killed in Pakistani shelling between May 7 and 11 while trying to move to safer locations. These students were among 21 civilians, including five children, who died on this side of the border during Operation Sindoor, which was launched against Pakistan following the dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians, including 25 tourists.

“The parents of two Class 5 students were evacuating them from their home village when a shell hit them. The third student was on his way to Jammu in a vehicle when fragments of a shell exploded and hit him,” Mr. Shijo said, recalling how the town of Poonch was hit by shelling for at least two days. “I have never witnessed or experienced anything like this in my life,” he added.

On the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor on Thursday, staff at the 1,500-student school offered silent prayers for the dead and visited two families for a memorial gathering, but avoided any ceremonial events on campus.

“We did not involve the students in any commemoration event because it would recreate the scenes. It took more than four months for the students to recover from the trauma. We had to arrange local NGOs to provide counseling and chat with the students to reassure them. We also invited the parents last year, many of whom broke down while sharing their distress, to ease their burden emotionally,” Mr. Shijo said.

The school had to close club classes and the rooms where the deceased students studied. “The students, especially the deskmates of the deceased, were not willing to study in the same classroom. At every sound of crackers, the students would get scared. They lived in fear for months,” Mr. Shijo said.

The school suffered a major power outage during the war and relied on boreholes for water. Additionally, window panes were broken and the roof was damaged during the bombardment. “We rebuilt it. We actually have an underground space, but we can only accommodate 200 people,” he added.

About 141 km away from the Poonch school, another school in Pulwama district tells a story of loss. The school was damaged in the explosion, but since the nature of the explosion is not yet known, it is not included in the compensation list for those who were damaged in the conflict and those who received aid money. The two-storey building of high school named Madrasa Taleem ul Quran in Wuyan, Pulwama was hit by an unidentified aerial object before sunrise on May 7. Locals said the administration did not provide any compensation for the loss or explain the cause of the explosion that shattered the school building.

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School coordinator Shabir Ahmad Sheikh said, “I heard that the school was hit on the morning of May 7. I ran to check the damage but was stopped by security forces. Later, I saw that the computer laboratory was completely damaged. It took the brunt of the explosion. After dismantling the building first, we got a child safety certificate from the education department. It was not safe. But compensation was not given.” Hindu.

Last June, the school sought financial assistance following a loss of ₹23 lakh. “An aerial object hit the school. Revenue department officials visited the school and assured financial assistance along with an estimate of school building damages,” the letter read.

Mr Sheikh said all expansion plans for the 350-pupil school fell through due to war damage. Local legislator Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra also appealed to the government for compensation but to no avail.

In a letter to the management, Mr Parra said: “Critical infrastructures such as the school building, computer and science laboratories, sports equipment, CCTV system and smart digital board were damaged in the incident. I strongly recommend that financial assistance be conveyed to the institution on a priority basis. The school serves the local community devotedly and plays a vital role in the delivery of quality education.”

Since the nature of the explosion has not yet been determined, the school is awaiting compensation to improve its infrastructure.

It was published – 07 May 2026 18:56 IST