Dedicate success to my parents: Insha, indomitable Kashmiri orphan

Dedicate success to my parents: Insha, indomitable Kashmiri orphan

Father killed in encounter, mother dead a week before, house burnt to ashes — all this during her Board exams

Shopian: Dedicating her success to her parents who died within a week of each other — the father slain by government forces, the mother dying of a heart attack a week before — in December, when she was appearing in her Class 12 Board exams, Insha has secured 480 out of 500 in these exams, even after all her books and household goods were burnt to ashes during a counter-insurgency operation.
Zahoor Ahmad Lone, Insha’s father, a resident of Inder village in Pulwama district, died on 18 December 2020 when he succumbed to injuries sustained a day ago in an encounter with government forces at an Anantnag village. Zahoor Lone had announced he was joining militant ranks on the day when Insha was going to appear in her Physics paper. She has scored 100 out of 100 in that paper. “I dedicate my success to my late parents who guided me all my life. They are my only inspiration,” Insha told Kashmir Reader.
A week before Zahoor Lone was injured in the gunfight with government forces, his wife had died of a heart attack. Insha said that when she was preparing for the exams, an encounter took place in their rented accommodation at Rangreth Srinagar, which reduced all her books and household goods to ashes.
“The very next day of the encounter, my father went missing. Even though the exams were near, I spent days searching for my father. I studied a little during nights,” she told Kashmir Reader.
She said that it was tough to prepare as she had to live in a neighbour’s house after the encounter at the Rangreth accommodation where the family was staying.
“The day I was going to appear in the Physics paper, an audio clip of my father surfaced, in which he announced he had joined militant ranks. With my father missing and no books, and then the circumstances, it was a tough job. But I am happy with my grades,” Insha said, adding that she wants to be a doctor and for the purpose she is taking NEET coaching.
She said that she borrowed books from friends and relatives to study for the exams. Sources in Inder village told Kashmir Reader that a brother of Zahoor was also killed as a militant in 1999.
Abdul Gani Lone, grandfather of Insha, said he was delighted at the performance of his granddaughter. “I am so happy to learn of her results. She did it even after what happened with her and our family,” Lone said.

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