At least 1.5 million Kashmiri students remain out of school. Virtually all private schools are closed, and most government schools are shut — one of the clearest signs of the fear that has gripped Kashmir since the Indian government locked down the disputed territory and separatist militants began carrying out attacks to disrupt its control.

The Indian government wants students to return, and teachers at the few open schools are reporting for duty. But their students are not: Officials estimate attendance at those schools to be around three percent.

Parents in the Kashmir Valley say they are terrified of sending their children out with troops everywhere and separatist militants on the prowl for trouble. The militants are demanding that civilians boycott work and school, and they have killed several people to assert their resistance to tightening Indian rule.

This week, militants dragged construction workers onto the street and shot them, witnesses said, leaving five dead and one wounded. It was the deadliest single attack on civilians since Kashmir’s autonomy was stripped.