Srinagar, July 13: As the Madhya Pradesh government formed a committee to ‘scrutinize’ Kashmiri students, panic gripped thousands of Kashmiris studying in the BJP-ruled state.
Students from the Valley pursuing studies in different colleges of Madhya Pradesh told Greater Kashmir that they were feeling insecure after right-wing student organizations staged protests against them compelling the government run by their frontal organization, BJP, to form a committee for scrutinizing their documents. “They have started harassing and intimidating us for taking admission here. They accused us of producing fake verification certificates for getting admission here,” said Irfan Ahmed, a student.
“You are anti-national and pelt stones in Kashmir and then enroll yourself through backdoor here and walk away with certificates. We wouldn’t allow separatists to study here,” the students quoted Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarti Parishad (ABVP) activists as saying.
According to the Kashmiri students, nearly 30-40 activists of ABVP staged protests in the campus of Hamidia College on Monday.
“They raised slogans against Kashmiri students and accused us of being anti-national and even tried to stop us from getting roll number slips, but college administration called the police and shoved away them. We were shocked to see in newspapers today that MP government has decided to scrutinize our documents. These activists even accused us of usurping their rights. We are not alone studying here, but students from other states like Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh come here,” said Nazir Ahmed (name changed), a student, adding that following the massive demonstrations in valley against the killing of 16 teenagers, atmosphere has become hostile for them in MP.
They also accused MP media of targeting them by publishing baseless and concocted stories about Kashmiri students.
“A Hindi newspaper published from Bhopal a few days back published a defamatory story against us following which activists of ABVP held protests against us,” they said.
Thousands of students from Kashmir pursue post-graduation and other degrees in 50-60 colleges in Bhopal mostly in Hamidia College, Safia College, Benazir College, Jawaharlal Nehru College, Indra Priyadarshani College, MLB College and Baraktaullah University.
The mainstream parties of J&K have expressed resentment over the ‘arbitrary’ move of Madhya Pradesh government.
National Conference Member Parliament Mehboob Beg termed this move as “unfortunate and unjust” adding that he would take up the issue with central government.
“I will write to the Union Home Minister about the injustice meted out to Kashmiris in MP,” he said.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, opposition Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti said that move of MP government would further alienate Kashmiris.
“When Kashmiris protest, it is dubbed as agitational terrorism and when they study they are disallowed by dubbing them as anti-national. This decision of the MP government is highly condemnable and deplorable,” she remarked.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST