Srinagar, June 19 -- These young students, most of them from our Valley, had just gone through days of uncertainty in a foreign land. They should have been welcomed with care and comfort. Instead, they stepped into an airport where there was no one from their own administration to receive them. Not a single official from the Jammu and Kashmir government showed up. Other states were there. Their representatives met their students, helped them, stood by them. Ours were left alone.

I find it painful that our government didn't even think it necessary to send someone. These children are not just students-they are sons and daughters of Kashmir. At the very least, they deserved a warm welcome and a safe plan to get them home.

But what shocked ...