This Kashmiri Village Boy Was Written Off. Now He's Changing Lives

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
Representational photo

By Gowher Bhat

The village of Pingalgam in south Kashmir doesn't often make news. It's the kind of place where time feels slow, schools are modest, and young people often carry more doubt than direction. But every now and then, someone quietly rewrites that script.

Asif Majeed Bhat grew up here, in a setting far removed from the polished classrooms and promising resumes that usually shape success stories.

As a boy, he struggled to focus in school. Teachers saw him as just another distracted student, someone unlikely to go far. But something inside him resisted that label, even if he couldn't articulate it then.

Over the years, that resistance turned into a steady determination. Asif didn't just pass through the education system, he transformed his relationship with it.

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Today, he holds two postgraduate degrees, one in Urdu and another in Mass Communication and Journalism. He is preparing for his PhD and aiming to qualify for the National Eligibility Test.

For someone once written off as below average, the academic milestones are remarkable. But they're only part of the story.

Asif's life today is shaped less by his CV and more by his choices. He helps his neighbours get to hospitals when they have no one else. He negotiates with doctors, stays through treatments, and follows up after.

Often, the people he helps are strangers. But for Asif, it's all part of being present in his community.

One of the causes closest to him is girls' education. In a region where old attitudes still influence whether daughters finish school, Asif often intervenes. Not with loud arguments, but with calm conviction.

Parents who once planned to pull their daughters out of school say they changed their minds after he visited their homes. He doesn't offer pressure, he offers perspective.

His social activism doesn't end there. In nearby villages, he speaks to young people about the value of sports, clean water, trees, and waste reduction. He makes time for small gatherings and big ideas, hoping that even one changed mind might ripple outward.

Still, his favorite medium is language. Urdu isn't just something he studied, it's something he lives.

Asif writes poetry, runs podcasts, and organizes informal literary events where young writers are encouraged to read their work aloud, often for the first time. For many, it's the first time they've been told their voice matters.

He's helped friends go from scribbling poems in private to publishing their first books. He uses social media, recordings, streaming, to keep a centuries-old language alive and relevant. Through podcasts, he brings scholars, officials, and everyday people into the conversation, connecting tradition with contemporary challenges.

And while he may be known in his district as a reformer and a thinker, in his home, he's simply a son who helps his mother in the kitchen and his father in the garden. Neighbours often mention how grounded he remains. Despite his workload, he still carries groceries, tends to chores, and stays connected to village life.

What stands out about Asif isn't just his service, it's his consistency.

He doesn't lead a campaign or an NGO. He simply shows up, day after day, choosing to help, choosing to learn, and choosing to lift others as he climbs. His work is stitched into the rhythm of rural life: quiet, steady, and deeply human.

He recently published his first book and is working on a second. But writing, for him, isn't about recognition. It's about reflection. He sees it as a way to preserve voices and challenge injustice, especially in a place where silence often surrounds social issues.

In a time when many young people feel stuck between pressure and confusion, Asif's story offers an alternative: growth through effort, meaning through service, and change that begins at home.

• The writer is a Pulwama-based English language instructor.

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