Pulwama attack fallout: Kashmiri students fear for their security

New Delhi, February 17

Several Kashmiri students in several parts of the country faced harassment, news reports said, days after the Pulwama terror attack.

A Kashmiri student from Jamia Millia Islamia, who did not wish to be identified, said, "Just the fact that one is a Kashmiri, irrespective of his ideology or leanings, is enough to put one's life to risk. It is happening across the country. Kashmiri students are being harassed and hounded, be it Dehradun, Ambala or Bangalore. We really fear for our security here too".  

JNU activist Shehla Rashid, who hails from Kashmir, said, "Throughout India, mobs are attacking Kashmiri students, verbally abusing them, asking for them to be expelled and filing false cases against them. The pretext being given in each case is that they said Pakistan Zindabad and even police is buying into these false claims".

Noting that it was happening in other cities and it could happen in the national capital too, she said there was an intense sense of fear of mob lynching among students.

The girls in Dolphin Institute Dehradun are safe. @uttarakhandcops are protecting them. Rumors and insinuations that the incident had something to do with "Pakistan" are false. Would like to thank Srinagar Mayor @Junaid_Mattu for being available and ensuring safety of the girls.

— Shehla Rashid شہلا رشید (@Shehla_Rashid) 17 February 2019

Anis Ahmed, a Kashmiri student at Delhi University, said, "We are not at all reacting on social media to any abuses which are being hurled at us even if we are being labelled as terrorists. Students who are staying on rented accommodations rather than hostels are even more scared about their safety". 

Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma tweeted that security had been strengthened all across the national capital, including minority dominated areas. 

Security has been strengthened all across the National Capital including minority dominated areas. Visibility of police personnel has been increased. We'll ensure the safety and security of every citizen including Kashmiri inhabitants and students living in Delhi.

— Madhur Verma (@IPSMadhurVerma) 16 February 2019

"Visibility of police personnel has been increased. We'll ensure the safety and security of every citizen, including Kashmiri inhabitants and students living in Delhi," he said.

Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam also condemned the alleged attacks on Kashmiris.

"What kind of hatred and frenzy is being spread in the name of religion? The country has not even recovered from the Pulwama attack that reports of ill-treatment of Kashmiris have started pouring in," he tweeted.

धर्म के नाम पर ये कैसा की घृणा व उन्माद फैलाया जा रहा है ? अभी देश #Pulwama के हादसे से उबरा भी नही कि कश्मीरीयो के साथ बुरे बर्ताव की खबरे! ऐसा करनेवाले अपवाद है, देशप्रेमी कतई नही।
भारत के अधिकांश नागरिक देश की एकता,अखंडता,भाईचारे के जीवंत प्रतीक है।https://t.co/rPQwPlKRLG

— Rajendra Pal Gautam (@AdvRajendraPal) 17 February 2019

Gautam further said the perpetrators of these attacks were not patriots.

The Home Ministry had on Saturday issued an advisory to all states and Union territories to take measures to ensure the safety and security of Kashmiris.

The advisory came hours after Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured an all-party meeting of doing the needful for the protection of the Kashmiri students and people who were allegedly threatened after the terrorist attack.

Some Kashmiri youths studying in Uttarakhand's Dehradun alleged that they were harassed and asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations fearing attacks on their properties in the aftermath of the attack.

A Kashmiri student studying in a Bengaluru college was Saturday arrested for allegedly hailing the Jaish terrorist while another from Dehradun was booked for allegedly sending WhatsApp messages supporting the Pulwama suicide attack.

CRPF Madadgaar, the central force's helpline had on Saturday night tweeted, "Kashmiri students and general public, presently out of Kashmir, can contact @CRPFmadadgaar on 24x7 toll free number 14411 or SMS us at 7082814411 for speedy assistance in case they face any difficulties/harassment".

Kashmiris presently out of #Kashmir can contact @CRPFmadadgaar on 24x7 toll free number 14411 or SMS at 7082814411 for speedy assistance in case they face any difficulties/harrasment. @crpfindia @HMOIndia @JKZONECRPF @jammusector @crpf_srinagar pic.twitter.com/AJBXg3MaOE

— Shehla Rashid شہلا رشید (@Shehla_Rashid) 16 February 2019

AMU advisory

The AMU has issued an advisory to its Kashmiri students asking them "not to move out of the campus" as a precautionary measure after protests broke out in this city in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, varsity authorities said.

AMU Proctor Professor Mohsin Khan told PTI, "The university authorities are maintaining constant vigil on law and order situation on the campus, especially in the wake of highly inflammatory social media posts emanating from the city".

Khan added, "We are very clear that there is going to be zero tolerance on our part towards any act of lawlessness, especially one which smacks of anti-national activity even remotely."  The AMU proctor said it suspended a Kashmiri student for his alleged objectionable tweet in connection with the Pulwama attack.

"Kashmir-origin undergraduate student Basim Hilal, suspended from the university after an objectionable tweet following the Pulwama outrage, is no longer at the campus. An FIR was lodged at the Civil Lines police station against Hilal on Friday after the post went viral on social media," Khan said. 

‘Provocation’

Uttarakhand police on Sunday appealed to Kashmiri students studying in the state to not issue “provocative” statements on social media.

"People are outraged across the country over the Pulwama attack and students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in Uttarakhand should not issue provocative statements on social media to add fuel to the fire," Additional Director General of Police Ashok Kumar told PTI.

However, Kumar added Kashmiri students have no reason to worry as police is there to ensure their complete safety.

On allegations about Kashmiri students who locked themselves in, he said, "The matter had been blown out of proportion".

"They had shouted anti-India slogans when a candle march was being carried out by locals, triggering tension. However, police intervened immediately and the matter was resolved. But they blew up the matter while talking to a section of the press," he said.

The ADG said one Kashmiri student, who had sent a message to his friends on WhatsApp expressing happiness over the terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, has been arrested.

The student named Kaishar Rashid was arrested late on Saturday night and sent to jail, he said. A case under Section 505(2) of the IPC had been registered against Rashid, SSP Nivedita Kukreti said.

On Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik reviewed with senior officials the security of students from the state studying in universities and colleges across the country.

The police said some female Kashmiri students allegedly pelted stones on some of the right wing activists from a hostel in the city. However, timely action by the police averted a clash.

The officials informed Malik that liaison officers were coordinating with university authorities and the local police to ensure safety of the students. — PTI