Srinagar, July 2 -- By Farooq Ahmad Khan

The schoolboy who questioned Jammu and Kashmir's education minister during the recent heat wave became the latest target of public judgment.

His complaint came after days of sweltering classrooms and growing demands for summer vacations.

Speaking into a reporter's microphone, he wondered whether the minister even had school-going children and accused her of sitting comfortably in an air-conditioned room.

Social media exploded within hours. Admirers praised his courage, while critics rushed to blame his parents.

Almost nobody stopped enough to examine the institution that influences children almost as much as their families do.

That instinct says plenty about Kashmir's public discourse.

Adult...