Kashmir Teen, Blinded By Pellets, Clears Class 10 Exams

Sheer determination can help move mountains. 16-year-old Insha Mushtaq inspiring story proves this saying right. On Tuesday, the blind girl was overjoyed to learn that she had cleared her Class 10 exam, held by the J&K State Board of Secondary Education.

The Kashmiri teenager, who aspires to be a doctor, couldn’t believe her ears after hearing the news

Insha was 14 when she was blinded to a pellet gun injury during the protests in the summer of 2016. It happened in the Kashmir Valley when the security forces gunned down Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. Since then, the girl, who hails from a remote village in south Kashmir's Shopian district, became the face of pellet victims.

She lost vision in both of her eyes after being hit by pellets while watching the protests from her window.

The pellets hit her in the face, ruptured the retina and optic nerve of her eyes, damaging her vision. Though she underwent six operations, she couldn’t regain her vision. In such a scenario, learning the news that she had cleared the Class 10 exams was an unexpected joy for the teenage girl.

"The board people have shown me as having failed in mathematics, but it was not one of my subjects," she said.

"She is extremely happy and so are we. She could not concentrate on studies but has still qualified the exam," her father Mushtaq Ahmad Lone said, NDTV reported.

According to the Indian Express, “None of us in the family could help her with her subjects. She and her tutors spend hours on getting good grades,” her father said

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah congratulated the girl on social media:

A special shout out to young Insha who was blinded by pellets during the 2016 protests & has cleared her 10th exams today. May Allah keep rewarding your hard work & efforts.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) January 9, 2018

"I took music as a subject and have passed that," she told PTI.

Mushtaq is studying music after she lost her sight. Now she hopes to study further

#Kashmir 's #Pellet victim Insha Mushtaq who lost her eye sight in 2016 clears her 10th class exam. Indeed an achievement despite such a handicap

— Shujaat Bukhari (@bukharishujaat) January 9, 2018

Congratulations to Insha Mushtaq and her family. The child who was blinded by pellets has cleared her 10th class examination. Salute the grit and strength of character showed by traumatised Kashmiri children. Congrats to the entire batch of 2017 in general.

Photo: @Wani_Adnan_ pic.twitter.com/vUpt0vkEoo

— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) January 10, 2018

#EXCLUSIVE | I want to be a doctor: Insha Mushtaq tells @maryashakil on #Epicentre pic.twitter.com/YcWtYcKiUd

— News18 (@CNNnews18) January 10, 2018

After #InshaMushtaq ,daughter of #kashmir (#PelletVictim). Now Galib Afzal, son of Afzal Guroo who was hanged and buried in Tihar Jail, qualified 12th class with distinction. pic.twitter.com/2KBBMkFfRf

— Umar Ganie (@UmarGanie1) January 11, 2018

#KASHMIR | In Photo: Insha, daughter of Kashmir celebrates her 10th class success with her father.#InshaMushtaq#PelletVictim pic.twitter.com/ZnlXuoZ8gH

— Banday Majid باندے ماجد (@MajidBanday) January 11, 2018

Insha Mushtaq teenage #Kashmiri girl blinded by Indian occupational forces celebrates her success. #pellet #InshaMushtaq #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/t9CXP0w9uI

— Saad bin Nushad (@EngrSaad008) January 10, 2018

Hurriyat leader and chairman salvation movement Zaffar Akber Bhat visited Sedhaw #Shopian early morning and congratulate #InshaMushtaq for his Success in Matric examination and said she has made us and kashmir nation proud #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/GpOcOSq38Q

— Younus Bashir(یونس بشیر) (@younustraluk) January 10, 2018

My heartiest congratulations to #InshaMushtaq on her success .#pelletvictim #bravedaughterofkashmir pic.twitter.com/aFjpVA3XCd

— Maham (@buttmaham1) January 9, 2018

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

READ: Meet Soliha Yousuf, Captain Women’s Rugby Team, J&K

READ:When Sportswomen Made Us Proud In 2017​

Read More Stories By Ria Das