The Kashmiri teachers who lost their jobs ‘in the interests of national security’

Rights activists say the blanket use of special laws to terminate government employees could create a chilling effect on freedom of speech, reports Namita Singh

An armoured vehicle patrols a street in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, last November (AFP via Getty)

A 55-year-old teacher, Nisar Ahmad Tantray, was giving online classes from his home in Jammu and Kashmir when someone knocked on his door. He stepped out to find two government employees waiting for him with an envelope in their hands.

It did not take long for him to realise they were carrying an order terminating his services as a senior employee at a public school.

The letter said the lieutenant governor was satisfied that “in the interest of the security of the state, it is not expedient to hold an enquiry in the case” and “accordingly, the Lieutenant Governor hereby dismisses Mr Nisar Ahmad Tantray … with immediate effect”.