For quite some time now we are receiving the news of harassment of Kashmiri students studying in different states or while travelling. Students are beaten, abused and sometimes even picked up for interrogation. Kashmiris in general have been virtually declared suspects and the students are the main targets of harassment. There have been incidents of thrashing and harassment in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and even in the capital Delhi. Sometimes when a large group of students travels together, the students are questioned why they are travelling together? Recently a Kashmiri student, with his two friends was forced out of a rented house in Punjab after a police raid for “hidden weapons”. Punjab Police denied the harassment allegation, saying the search operation was a routine exercise. Thus every Kashmiri especially a student is a suspect and searching him and harassing him is a “routine exercise”! There have been protests about this harassment even in the state assembly. According to Mr. Tarigami, “a hate campaign has been unleashed on Kashmiris outside the state and it has the patronage of communal forces in the country.” According to Omar Abdullah, “This hyper-nationalism built around the propaganda that all Kashmiris are terrorists and stone pelters will drive young Kashmiris further away from the national mainstream”. Well, it has already driven young Kashmiris towards militancy. Some highly educated Kashmiri young men have joined militancy because of undue harassment. The Home Minister has reportedly asked all Chief Ministers to ensure safety of Kashmiri students. The Home Ministry has also issued an advisory to states to take “strict action” against those responsible for such incidents. However, in spite of all the advisories and directions, the harassment continues because it serves the aim of those interested in raising communal bogey as Kashmiri students are a good target, giving wide media mileage! It is not enough to issue direction and advisories. The government needs to initiate criminal proceedings against people found guilty of harassing Kashmiri students. Failure to do so will swell anger and further alienate the general masses from the mainstream. In fact, the State Home Ministry itself needs to constitute some teams to visit Kashmiri students studying in different parts of the country to ascertain their welfare and assure them of complete safety. They can also get assurances from the respective Home Departments for preventing harassment of Kashmiri students and ensuring their safety. The sooner it is done, the better.
Harassment of Kashmiri Students
