Srinagar, July 16 -- In India's leading universities, student politics is a rehearsal for real democracy. It's where future ministers learn how to debate, where civil servants learn to listen, and where journalists sharpen their questions. It's where representation begins.

But in Kashmir, those training grounds remain empty.

Student unions in the region's colleges and universities are either dormant or banned. Elections don't happen. Manifestos aren't written. There are no campus debates about fees, fellowships, or academic reform.

A student in Srinagar or Pulwama can't stand for union president due to paucity of the structure.

This silence isn't harmless. It's a vacuum. And it's costing Kashmir its next generation of democratic leade...