*This overlooked health crisis is swelling necks, clouding thoughts, and draining energy across Kashmir.* The lump wasn’t supposed to be there. A teacher found it while straightening Amina’s collar in a Kupwara classroom. The nine-year-old didn’t react. Her family hadn’t noticed. But that small swelling was a sign of something much bigger. That swelling was a goiter, a telltale sign that something deep inside her body had gone off balance. And she’s not alone. A 2022 district health survey in Kupwara examined 2,700 schoolchildren. More than 270 had goiters. One in ten. Among ten-year-old girls, the number jumped to one in seven. Goiters, once thought to be a condition of the past, are visible again in Kashmir classrooms. Read Full: https://kashmirobserver.net/2025/06/20/kashmir-is-slowing-down-and-the-thyroid-may-be-to-blame/