Srinagar, Aug 06: For Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, a resident of Chanderhama village in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the government job letter he received on Wednesday was far more than just an official document. It was a long-overdue recognition of loss, struggle, and survival, and, most importantly, dignity.
Ganai is among the 158 next of kin (NoKs) of terror victims who were handed appointment letters by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha under a special employment package aimed at supporting families shattered by decades of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Khurshid was only six years old when his father, GhulamRasoolGanai, a village lumberdar, was shot dead by unknown terrorists in 1996. Five years later, in another devastating blow, his uncle was also killed in a similar terrorist attack. The two losses, just years apart, plunged the family into emotional turmoil and economic hardship.
“Those were the darkest years of our lives,” Khurshid recalled. “I was too young to fully understand what had happened, but I remember the fear, the silence, and how our family struggled to survive.”
Raised by a widowed mother alongside three siblings, Khurshid’s childhood was defined by resilience. Only one of his siblings was married at the time; the rest were left to navigate grief and instability. But Khurshid refused to be defined by tragedy. He pursued his education with determination, eventually completing a Master’s degree and B.Ed. — becoming the pillar his family needed.
On Tuesday, more than two decades after his father’s death, he was appointed to a post in the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department.
“This job is not just about livelihood, it’s about respect,” he said. “It recognises my father’s sacrifice and our family’s suffering. For the first time in 30 years, I feel like our pain was seen.”
Expressing gratitude, Khurshid credited LG Manoj Sinha for keeping a promise many others before him did not.
“We were voiceless for decades. No one ever acknowledged what we went through. But today, LG sahib has heard our silence. He gave hope not just to me, but to hundreds of families like mine.”
He emphasised that this recognition extends beyond one appointment. “There are still many families living with the wounds of terrorism. I hope this mission continues. It tells people like us that our sacrifices were not in vain.”
The administration’s move to provide jobs to the families of civilian victims of terrorism has been widely welcomed across the Union Territory. In communities long haunted by conflict, the gesture has offered something rare — a sense of closure.
“For years, families like Khurshid’s suffered in silence,” said Farooq Ahmad, an elder from Chanderhama. “This decision sends a powerful message — that the State remembers its own.”
As Khurshid walks into his new role in government service, he carries more than paperwork. He carries the memory of his father, the weight of his family’s resilience, and, at last, the knowledge that their pain was not ignored.
