Kashmiri Student Attacked | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:59:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Kashmiri Student Attacked | SabrangIndia 32 32 Pahalgam attack sparks nationwide turmoil, Kashmiri students face a chilling wave of hate across India https://sabrangindia.in/pahalgam-attack-sparks-nationwide-turmoil-kashmiri-students-face-a-chilling-wave-of-hate-across-india/ Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:58:38 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=41425 Following the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed over two dozen lives, Kashmiri students across Indian states report threats, evictions, and violence, prompting urgent calls for protection and solidarity

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]]> In one of the deadliest terror attacks in recent years, unidentified militants opened fire on a group of tourists at Baisaran, Pahalgam—popularly known as ‘Mini Switzerland’—in south Kashmir on April 22, 2025. The brutal assault, which took place on a peaceful Tuesday afternoon, claimed the lives of 28 individuals, including over 27 tourists and a local resident. This marked the gravest act of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir since the 2019 Pulwama attack, where 40 CRPF personnel were killed. The massacre has not only triggered national mourning but also ignited widespread outrage across the Valley, leading to an unprecedented shutdown—a rare sight in Kashmir’s 35-year-long history of militancy. (A detailed report may be read here).

While the Valley remains steeped in grief, the ripple effects of the attack have reached far beyond Jammu and Kashmir, causing a fresh wave of anxiety and hostility towards Kashmiri students studying across India. Reports of targeted harassment and violence have surfaced, prompting urgent responses from community organisations and political leaders alike.

Advisory Issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA)

In light of rising tensions and threats following the attack, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) has issued an urgent advisory to all Kashmiri students pursuing education across various Indian states. The association appealed for restraint, advising students to remain indoors unless absolutely necessary, refrain from engaging in political discussions, and avoid posting sensitive content online.

Nasir Khuehami, National Convenor of JKSA, emphasised the volatile nature of the current environment. “We appeal to all Kashmiri students to maintain calm, avoid political debates or provocative content on social media, and not venture out unnecessarily,” he said through his social media account. The association also provided helpline numbers and has activated a dedicated response team to support students in distress and coordinate with local authorities where needed.

Ummar Jamal, the National President of JKSA, condemned the terror attack unequivocally, calling it a “cowardly and inhumane act.” As per report of Rising Kashmir, Jamal reiterated that terrorism has no religion or justification and must be countered with unity and resolve. Expressing solidarity with the victims’ families, the association urged students to focus on their safety and academics, warning against being misled by those seeking to exploit the tragedy for political purposes.

Wave of Harassment against Kashmiri Students

In the immediate aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, JKSA reported a disturbing spike in harassment, abuse, and violence targeted at Kashmiri students in several Indian states, including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab.

  • Uttarakhand (Dehradun): Around 20 Kashmiri students fled to Jolly Grant Airport after being threatened by members of the Hindu Raksha Dal. The group circulated videos threatening students with violence if they did not leave by a set deadline. Later, it was provided by Khuehami that an FIR has been registered against the members of the Hindu Raksha Dal, and arrests will follow shortly.

  • Himachal Pradesh (Arni University, Kathghar and Kangra): Kashmiri students were assaulted in their hostel rooms by individuals who forcibly entered, broke doors, and physically attacked them while hurling communal slurs and branding them as terrorists.

  • Punjab (Universal Group of Institutions, Derabassi, Chandigarh): Students were beaten up by a group of unidentified locals who stormed the hostel premises late at night armed with sharp weapons. One student suffered serious injuries; others were left shaken.

  • Uttar Pradesh (Prayagraj): Reports emerged of students being asked to vacate accommodations by landlords and being forced to leave due to threats from local groups and police inaction.

  • Noida (Amity University): As per The New Indian Express, a Kashmiri student was allegedly beaten severely on campus grounds. The matter has been brought to the attention of JKSA, which is in touch with university officials.
  • Written threats to institutions (Dehradun): The Hindu Raksha Dal issued letters and warnings to various colleges, demanding the expulsion of Kashmiri Muslim students and threatening consequences if their demands weren’t met.

  • Social media threats: Viral videos have surfaced showing fringe groups inciting violence against Kashmiris, with direct calls for assault, eviction, and boycott—contributing to a climate of fear.

Political leaders and civil society react

The severity of the situation has prompted appeals from political leaders and civil society groups. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah confirmed that the state government is in touch with counterparts in other states to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students. “I’ve requested my counterpart Chief Ministers to take extra care,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti also expressed deep concern. In a statement, she said she had spoken with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, offering condolences for the victims of the attack while urging his immediate intervention to protect Kashmiris facing threats in various parts of the country. She condemned the role of extremist elements in inciting hate and stressed the need for the Centre to act decisively.

Sajad Lone, President of the People’s Conference, echoed these sentiments, calling on the Union Government to protect the lives and dignity of Kashmiri students. “They are being bullied, beaten, and evicted.” he stated.

A targeted campaign of hate

JKSA convenor Nasir Khuehami strongly criticised the coordinated nature of these incidents. “This is not just about security. It is a calculated, targeted campaign of hate and vilification against students from a specific region and identity,” he said

With at least seven major incidents of violence or harassment reported since the Pahalgam massacre, the situation remains deeply alarming. The JKSA continues to monitor developments closely, provide support to those affected, and appeal to national and state authorities for immediate action.

Conclusion: Urging unity, not vengeance

In the face of tragedy, the JKSA as well as the politicians of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently called for calm, compassion, and community support. It has reiterated that violence cannot be met with hate and scapegoating. As the country mourns the victims of the Pahalgam attack, there is an urgent need for national unity—not only against terror, but against the communal rhetoric that threatens to unravel social harmony.

For now, the focus remains on ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable students. Helpline numbers are operational, and support networks are being strengthened. But unless state authorities act swiftly and decisively, the consequences of unchecked bigotry could spiral further, exacerbating the very divisions that terrorists seek to exploit.

 

Related:

A Tranquil Paradise Shattered: The Pahalgam terror attack

SC leads the nation’s legal fraternity as it unites in grief & outrage over Pahalgam terror attack

Muslims in Kashmir & across India strongly condemn Pahalgam terror attack

Indian Muslims, others, condemn the heinous massacre of tourists near Pahalgam, Kashmir

 

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]]> Kashmiri students allege attacks in AMU, write to Shah for probe https://sabrangindia.in/kashmiri-students-allege-attacks-amu-write-shah-probe/ Wed, 28 Dec 2022 05:47:32 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2022/12/28/kashmiri-students-allege-attacks-amu-write-shah-probe/ They have been protesting for three days against alleged harassment faced by them on campus

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Aligarh: The Jammu & Kashmir students association (JKSA) in Aligarh has also written to Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding a ‘time-bound inquiry’ into the repeated attacks against Kashmiri students to ascertain “facts and nefarious designs” behind the harassment.

Nasir Khuehami, convenor of JKSA, said, “The AMU administration needs to initiate criminal proceedings against those who are indulging in targeted harassment of Kashmiri students.”

On Tuesday, a purported video surfaced showing Kashmiri students being attacked by a group of men. In the clip, one of the attackers is seen brandishing a pistol.

Aligarh SSP Kalanidhi Naithani, said, “There has been no complaint so far. No one has been found to be injured and the university administration is looking into the matter.”

Deputy proctor of AMU, Syed Ali Nawaz Zaidi, said, “The matter is being probed. Action will be taken against those seen handling weapons and creating disturbance on campus. The allegation that Kashmiri students are being targeted is wrong.”

According to the Kashmiri students, “This is the fourth such attack on students from Kashmir this month. There are over 1,400 students from Kashmir at AMU and we frequently face harassment. On minor issues, students barge into rooms of the Kashmiri students and beat us up.”

Students from Kashmir at the Aligarh Muslim University have been protesting for three days against the alleged harassment faced by them on campus.

The protests started after a December 25 incident when a Ph.D scholar from Kashmir was allegedly thrashed by other students for requesting them not to play badminton at 1 a.m. on the hostel premises.

A delegation of Jammu & Kashmir students association (JKSA) met Aligarh MP Satish Gautam and demanded “safety and security”.
 

Courtesy: The Daily Siasat

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]]> Kashmiri students allegedly attacked after Pak defeats India in cricket match https://sabrangindia.in/kashmiri-students-allegedly-attacked-after-pak-defeats-india-cricket-match/ Mon, 25 Oct 2021 09:40:58 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2021/10/25/kashmiri-students-allegedly-attacked-after-pak-defeats-india-cricket-match/ Reports of violence in hostels of Punjab's Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology, as well as Rayat Bahra University; trolls add fuel to fire

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Soon after team India was defeated by team Pakistan at the T20 World Cup match on Sunday, online trolling targeting Muslims, including Mohammad Shami, the only Muslim player in the indian team started. However, even more disturbing reports came in from Punjab, where police had to reach the Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology campus after several Kashmiri students were allegedly assaulted there, soon after the match ended. The college is located in Punjab’s Sangrur area.

One of the Kashmiri students shared the video of the ransacking on social media and said, “We were watching the match here. UP waale barged in. We came here to study. We are also Indian. You can see what was done to us. Are we not Indians? So what does Modi say?” 

 

According to some reports, similar incidents were also reported from the Rayat Bahra University in Kharar. Nasir Khuehami, the national spokesperson J&K Students Association, told the media that, “Kashmiri students who were assaulted in Sangrur and Kharar Mohali told me that they were rescued by the locals and other Punjabi students. Students from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana had barged into their rooms, thrashed them and went on a rampage.” Khuehami added that, “All the students are from Rayat Bahra University. They said that they were hit by several goons from Haryana.” He further said, “Punjab Police must ensure the protection of Kashmiri students studying in Punjab. I have spoken to several in Bhai Gurdas Engineering and Technology College. They told me that students from Bihar had hit them, vandalised the rooms, damaged the hall, and even abused and beat up a few others.”

However, according to reports, no police case has been filed as yet but “both sides apologised to each other in front of police and college authorities this morning.” The distressing video clips of broken chairs, upturned beds in their hostel rooms and also injuries sustained the alleged assault on their bodies.

Police officials said, “There are about 90 Kashmiri students and around 30 students from UP and Bihar in the college. Kashmiri students stay in 2 wings of the hostel. While the match was on, the students cheered when Pakistan was hitting runs. They also raised azadi slogans. After the match ended, students from UP and Bihar went inside the rooms of Kashmiri students and had a scuffle with them. Later, the Kashmiri students also had a scuffle with the students from UP and Bihar. The police and college authorities pacified things overnight.”

The Indian Express reported that Swapan Sharma, SSP Sangrur district, said, “Both sides have offered their apologies in front of the police and college authorities today morning. The issue has been settled down.” 

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called this alleged vandalism distressing and asked Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to “reassure Kashmiri students.”

Meanwhile Twitter influencers have been fanning the communal fires that the massive defeat of team India at the hands of team Pakistan has ignited. A case in point is former cricket Virender Sehwag, who claimed and taunted that “in parts of India there were firecrackers to celebrate Pakistan ‘s victory. Achha they must have been celebrating victory of cricket. Toh, what’s the harm in fireworks on Diwali. Hypocrisy kyun, Saara gyaan tab hi yaad aata hai.”

Then there one Dr. Monika Langeh, who claims to be “Honoured and Blessed to be followed by Hon’ble PM @narendramodi”, shared that “MBBS and PG students of SKIMS Medical college Srinagar, Kashmir.They are celebrating the victory of Paki$tan over India” calling them “traitors” and claimed she had faced “this behaviour of Mu$lims of Kashmir since College Time. They are pursuing free MBBS degree from GoI.”

With lakhs following them online, such messages only empower the troll and mobs to unleash violence offline, as was seen in Punjab.

Related:

Will no one from Team India speak up for Mohammad Shami?
Aamir Khan: Surviving in the regime’s crosshairs
BJP MP says Aamir Khan’s CEAT Tyres Diwali ad hurts Hindu sentiments
Jashn-e-trolling: What does the festive season mean for bhakts?

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]]> SC bats for Kashmiri Students, asks gov’t to ensure safety https://sabrangindia.in/sc-bats-kashmiri-students-asks-govt-ensure-safety/ Fri, 22 Feb 2019 11:59:42 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2019/02/22/sc-bats-kashmiri-students-asks-govt-ensure-safety/ A day after Kashmiri students were attacked by members of the Yuva Sena in Yevatmal district of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court has directed the government to take necessary steps to prevent acts of violence and discrimination against Kashmiris.   Nodal officers will be appointed as per a list submitted by the Attorney General,  and these […]

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]]> A day after Kashmiri students were attacked by members of the Yuva Sena in Yevatmal district of Maharashtra, the Supreme Court has directed the government to take necessary steps to prevent acts of violence and discrimination against Kashmiris.

Supreme Court

 
Nodal officers will be appointed as per a list submitted by the Attorney General,  and these officers will be responsible for looking into instances of assault, intimidation, social boycott and threats against Kashmiris and minorities. 
 
Additionally, the bench headed by Chief Justice Gogoi also ordered, “We have also gone through the advisories issued by the Home Ministry to the Chief Secretaries and the DGPs of all states. These advisories already issue shall be reiterated from Time to time. The Chief Secretaries, the DGPs and the Police Commissioner of Delhi are directed to take prompt and necessary action to prevent all incidents of threat, assault, social boycott and other coercive acts in the aftermath of the terrorist attack of February 14.”
 
Attacks on Kashmiris
Members of the Kashmiri community living in different Indian states have been targeted in wake of the Pulwama terrorist attack that killed 44 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Many of those targeted were either students or business owners.
 
Kashmiri shopkeepers were attacked in Buddha Bazaar in Patna on February 15. At least 40 traders were forced to shut down 8 shops. On February 19, two Kashmiri men were abused and beaten up on a train in Delhi. They were attacked when they were taking their merchandise of shawls and woolens for sale to Haryana. There were several other similar reports from other locations, though the Uttarkhand police has rubbished claims of attacks on female hostel students in their state.
 
The Yevatmal Attack
4 students of the Dayabhai Patel Physical Education College, who were living at a rented accommodation at Waghpur Road in Vaibhav Nagar, that falls under the Lohara police station, were stopped by members of the Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena on Wednesday. 
 
The Yuva Sainiks asked the students where they were from and on discovering they were Kashmiris, the students were abused and thrashed. They were also asked if their family members in Kashmir were terrorists. The students were asked to chant “Vande Matarm” and “Hindustan Zindabad” to prove their patriotism! A video of the attack has gone viral.
 
M Rajkumar, (SP, Yavatmal) told Cnn News 18, “The students have been studying here for quite some time. They approached us this morning and the Lohara police in Yavatmal is the process of registering a case. We are recording their statements. We will be identifying the accused.”

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]]> Indians offer home and hearth to Kashmiri students facing harassment after Pulwama attack https://sabrangindia.in/indians-offer-home-and-hearth-kashmiri-students-facing-harassment-after-pulwama-attack/ Tue, 19 Feb 2019 09:31:44 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2019/02/19/indians-offer-home-and-hearth-kashmiri-students-facing-harassment-after-pulwama-attack/ There were allegations of Kashmiri students and businessmen facing harassment from Hindutva mobs in northern India. As social media was filled with calls for war and trumping up hate for minorities, a lot of people took to Twitter and Facebook to offer shelter to Kashmiri students facing trouble. Image: indiatimes.com   Embodying the spirit of […]

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]]> There were allegations of Kashmiri students and businessmen facing harassment from Hindutva mobs in northern India. As social media was filled with calls for war and trumping up hate for minorities, a lot of people took to Twitter and Facebook to offer shelter to Kashmiri students facing trouble.

kashmiri Students
Image: indiatimes.com
 
Embodying the spirit of hate hurts, harmony works, Indians across the country opened their homes and hearts for Kashmiris feeling threatened by the vitiating atmosphere few days after the attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14 left at least 44 security personnel dead.
 
There were allegations of Kashmiri students and businessmen facing harassment from Hindutva mobs in northern India. As social media was filled with calls for war and trumping up hate for minorities, a lot of people took to Twitter and Facebook to offer shelter to Kashmiri students facing trouble.
 
Indian social media has been flooded by locals using the hashtags #UnHateNow and #SafeHaven to offer shelter to Kashmiri people being targeted.


 
The Union home ministry issued an advisory to all states to ensure the safety and security of students and people from Jammu and Kashmir living in their areas.
 
Khalsa Aid International reached out to distressed students and offered them transportation, food and accommodation. The Punjab-based NGO got in touch with Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Organisation (JKSO) and is providing transportation to 250 students waiting to leave for Mohali from Dehradun.
 
“When I saw members of Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Organisation are providing help to students facing threats after Pulwama, I followed up with them. We are giving them transportation, food and accommodation. I saw them hungry and scared,” Amarpreet Singh, managing director, Khalsa Aid International, told News 18.
 
Over 200 Kashmiri students from Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand have taken refuge in Chandigarh, Mohali and surrounding areas.
 
More than 80 such students including girls from Dehradun (Uttranchal) and Mullana in Haryana have arrived in Mohali alone after vacating their rented accommodations and hostel rooms of their respective colleges. Some have even left for their native places in Jammu and Kashmir.
 
The Delhi Commission for Minorities also asked the Delhi Police to be on high alert against those who try to “vitiate the atmosphere and start riots”.
 
Attacks on Kashmiri students have been reported from Dehradun, Jodhpur, Ambala, Panchkula, Delhi, and Patna among others.
 
In view of reports of alleged harassment, the CRPF launched a helpline­- CRPF Madadgaar with the Twitter handle @CRPFmadadgaar. Students and the general public, presently out of Jammu and Kashmir, can contact the 24×7 toll-free number 14411 or SMS at 7082814411 for speedy assistance in case they face any harassment.


 

 

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]]> Hate Attacks: Kashmiri Students brutally attacked in Haryana https://sabrangindia.in/hate-attacks-kashmiri-students-brutally-attacked-haryana/ Sat, 03 Feb 2018 09:21:19 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2018/02/03/hate-attacks-kashmiri-students-brutally-attacked-haryana/ In a brute manifestation, yet again, of the burgeoning hate crimes in India, two students hailing from Jammu & Kashmir were brutally beaten up by a group of people in Haryana’s Mahendragarh. Even the Haryana police had to admit to this adding that six persons have been identified, two of whom were arrested. It was […]

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]]> In a brute manifestation, yet again, of the burgeoning hate crimes in India, two students hailing from Jammu & Kashmir were brutally beaten up by a group of people in Haryana’s Mahendragarh. Even the Haryana police had to admit to this adding that six persons have been identified, two of whom were arrested. It was fellow students from the college who ensured that the injured (who live in the hostel) were given succour. Photographs of the injured men were also sent to Sabrangindia by fellow student Ravindra Meena from Rajasthan.

Kashmiri Students

There was absolutely no ‘reason’ for the violent attack. “They started beating us for no reason. I was lying on the ground and don’t know what happened… the police also reached the spot after the locals called them. They (police) dropped us in the hospital and left,” Aftab said.

The identity of the assaulted students has been established as Aftab Ahmad (23) and Amjad Ali (22), both pursuing MSc (geography) from Central University of Haryana in Mahendragarh district and are reported to be the natives of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir. Aftab informed us in a telephonic conversation that a group of not less than 10 people started following them soon after they came out of a mosque in Mahendragarh. 

“Total six people are accused in incident of assault on two Kashmiri youth in Mahendergarh out of which three people have been arrested and 3 others identified on the basis on a CCTV footage. Investigation is underway,” informed Kamaldeep, Superintendent of Police (Mahendergarh) to news agency ANI.

The Indian Express reports that J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed shock at the incident as she sought strong action from the Haryana government on Friday. Haryana chief minister ML Khattar assured Mufti in a reply to her tweet that those behind the assault will not go unpunished.
 
 

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]]> Target Kashmiri Students: India’s Hate-Driven Internal Proxy Wars https://sabrangindia.in/target-kashmiri-students-indias-hate-driven-internal-proxy-wars/ Sat, 09 Apr 2016 13:22:24 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2016/04/09/target-kashmiri-students-indias-hate-driven-internal-proxy-wars/ Kashmiri students were attacked by local students, Jodhpur Ali[1] is an intense-looking Kashmiri young man studying in Hyderabad. There is the Maulana Azad University (MAU) and the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), both institutions that have Kashmiri students; where each of them experience a special style of everyday discrimination. Be it at the MAU or HCU, […]

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Kashmiri students were attacked by local students, Jodhpur

Ali[1] is an intense-looking Kashmiri young man studying in Hyderabad. There is the Maulana Azad University (MAU) and the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), both institutions that have Kashmiri students; where each of them experience a special style of everyday discrimination. Be it at the MAU or HCU, talking about the unrest within Indian universities with Kashmiri students, invariably the conversation turns to the valley and the situation there.

“Every day my folks are worried; they worry more when they hear or read about or see the agitation in Hyderabad. In Kashmir we are in a permanent state of curfew, sometimes surveillance; our family does not want us to get involved here, too!!” says Ali.

My thoughts turned to Ali and his fellow travelers, in Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai…. Especially when we read today how some Kashmiri students are abused and thrashed in quid pro quo assaults, all over the country.

This morning, April 9, The Hindustan Times reported one such brute assault.

Jodhpur
A group of Kashmiri students was assaulted in Jodhpur’s Vyas Dental College on the evening of April 7, in an alleged backlash against the police attack on ‘non-local’ boys studying at Srinagar’s National Institute of Technology (NIT) three days ago. A mob of 30 people armed with knives, iron rods and sticks attacked the Kashmiri students at the annual cultural event of the private college, some of the victims in Jodhpur told the media.  The assaulters reported had their faces covered, chanted the predictable “Pakistan Murdabad” slogans, were on the look-out for Kashmiri students and proceeded to beat up every one they could find.  Some students who sought refuge inside the hostel were also allegedly assaulted, their furniture damaged. Today they live in fear for their lives.
More than 100 Kashmiri students study in this college. It was local students and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) that had started the assault, raising ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogans. The institute’s director Manish Vyas is flatly denying the assault!

Chittorgarh, Mewar
All of March and April saw Kashmiri students being targeted in different parts of Rajasthan.
Kashmiri students were attacked reportedly by students from Jammu on April 2 after India lost to the West Indies in the T-20 Cricket match!! The incident took place at Mewar University in Chittorgarh. Of the nine persons arrested, four were the victim Kashmiri students themselves!

What is it about Cricket, India, Pakistan, and Kashmir that seems to bring out the very worst in us?

The police have reportedly arrested four of the assaulters as also the victims!

The same institution, a fortnight earlier has been the scene of another assault on Kashmiri students
On the night of March 14, word went around in Mewar University in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, that a few Kashmiris were cooking beef in their hostel room. Soon a crowd of students gathered around to protest. A picture started circulating on WhatsApp with the caption “Kashmiri students cooking beef”. A mob, reportedly including members of the militant Hindutva group Bajrang Dal, assembled outside the private university, demanding action.

Violence seemed likely. The police arrived at the campus in the middle of the night and broke up the mob. They also took away four Kashmiri students along with a sample of the half-cooked meat. The next day four other Kashmiri students went to the police station and turned themselves in “on the advice of the [university] administration”. They were in detention for two days, until a board of experts confirmed the meat was not beef. It turned out a few Kashmiri students had sneaked some meat into the hostel that is “strictly vegetarian by policy”. They were cooking it in their room when someone smelled it and raised a protest, thinking it was beef. Things spiraled quickly from there.

But for over two decades, India and Indians have let young Kashmiris bear the brunt of brute attacks, a situation that reflects deep seated individual and institutional prejudice.

Jaipur
Following the happenings at NIIT in Srinagar, Kashmiri students here had to bear the brunt. Suresh Gyan Vihar University in Jaipur, where a Kashmiri B-Tech student said the row had created a negative perception about Kashmiris. “Every J&K student is painted with the same brush …J&K students otherwise enjoy an amicable relationship with students of other states.”

Bhopal
The higher education commissioner of Madhya Pradesh has asked colleges to ensure safety of Kashmiri students as about 300 students of the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology in Bhopal took out a march in support of NIT Srinagar’s non-Kashmiri students.
 
Citing a letter issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the Department of Higher Education, Madhya Pradesh, has directed colleges in the state to ensure the safety of students from Jammu and Kashmir studying on their respective campuses. In a letter addressed to both, principals of government and private colleges, OSD (higher education) Amit Jain said that the principals should make such arrangements on their campuses that students from the state of Jammu and Kashmir remain safe and feel protected.

The letter was issued after a missive from Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The missive states: “Students of the State of Jammu and Kashmir are studying in different colleges and universities located in various states/UTs of the country. There is perception among the people of Jammu and Kashmir that their wards are being treated with suspicion and hostility outside the state.

“In this regard, it is requested from the State governments to ensure the protection of the students from J-K. Incidents affecting these students may be handled with utmost care and sensitivity,” the missive reads. Meanwhile, the Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) has decided to collect information on all the students from J-K studying in colleges affiliated to it.

2015
In January 2015, the police detained 10 Kashmiri students at NIMS University, Rajasthan, after clashes broke out between them and students from Bihar. Fearing more violence, many Kashmiri students left the hostel. Two month after that, Kashmiri students in a Kanpur institution alleged that local students attacked them.

2014
In February 2014, for instance, 67 students from the Swami Vivekanand Subharti University in Meerut were suspended and told to leave the campus for celebrating the Pakistan cricket team’s win against India in Asia Cup. The vice chancellor called the students' behaviour “unacceptable” and the police accused them of disturbing communal harmony. The charges were dropped later.( http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/sedition-charges-against-kashmiri-students-who-cheered-for-pak-dropped/312097)

In May 2014, three Kashmiri students at a private university in Greater Noida were abused, assaulted, called terrorists and forced to raise anti-Pakistan slogans.

In December 2014, locals attacked and injured eight Kashmiri students at the Global Research Institution of Management and Technology, Haryana.
Kashmiri students say people frequently tell them to be thankful to the central government, particularly if they are benefiting from scholarships.

 

[1] Name changed to protect his identity

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