Kashmir Needs To Stop Treating Morality Like An Old Idea

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
KO File Photo by Taha Wani.

By Nusrat Hassan

It's not something we talk about much, but most people feel it. Something has shifted in the way we live together in Kashmir.

The warmth in relationships, the sense of right and wrong, the basic manners that once made us who we are-they feel like they're slipping.

Morality isn't some grand theory. It's the simple stuff. Telling the truth. Helping without being asked. Respecting others. These values guided how elders raised children and how neighbours treated each other. Today, many of us are worried they're fading fast. What changed?

One reason is parenting. Families are more stressed than ever. Parents are juggling jobs, finances, and social pressures. In the rush, they often have less time to listen to their children or teach them values.

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Children grow up watching, not just hearing. When parents don't model patience or honesty, kids pick up other cues, from screens, from peers, or from no one at all.

Schools, too, have become places of pressure. Marks matter more than morals. Teachers are buried in syllabus deadlines. There's barely time to talk about right and wrong, let alone show how to live it. In the past, a teacher's words shaped generations. Now, moral lessons are often left out.

And then there's the phone in every hand.

Social media gives us endless content: some good, much of it not. Short videos full of shouting, showing off, or cruelty get the most attention. What do young people learn when that's what they watch all day? It shapes how they talk, behave, and even how they see themselves.

Add to that a kind of over-pampering. Some parents give too much and expect too little. They fear upsetting their children, so they avoid setting rules.

But children need limits. Without them, they don't learn responsibility. They grow up thinking the world owes them something.

All this adds up. We see more aggression, less empathy. More selfishness, less care. Families break down. Communities feel scattered. People feel lonelier. And in that emptiness, stress and anxiety take hold. But the picture isn't all dark.

Change starts small. A parent putting away the phone and talking with child. A teacher taking five minutes to discuss honesty, even during a packed school day. A friend reminding another not to share hateful content online. These things may seem minor. They're not.

We need more community spaces where people of all ages can come together. Not just for weddings or funerals, but to learn, talk, and share values.

We need to stop treating morality like an old idea. It's what keeps our homes safe, our friendships strong, our streets kinder.

Kashmir has always had strength in its people. Let's not lose the soul that binds us. The change begins not with systems, but with us.

• The writer is a 6th semester student, majoring in Islamic Studies, at GDC Ganderbal. She can be reached at [email protected] .

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