Srinagar: Several Kashmiri students have returned from Punjab and other northern states after allegedly facing harassment and thrashing in the aftermath of the ghastly Pahalgam attack on April 22, which resulted in the death of 25 tourists and a local pony operator.
Following the attack, Kashmiri students in other states started sending distressed messages to their friends and parents in the Valley, fearing for their safety. Dozens of them have returned home by bus via the Mughal road and by air. Alarmed by the dire situation they are in, the Jammu and Kashmir government dispatched five cabinet ministers to Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra to meet CMs and officials about the situation of the Kashmiri students.
However, the ministerial visits didn't reassure students like Sanan Khursheed, studying in Chandigarh. He returned home on Tuesday after travelling with a group of 45 other pupils in a bus after facing "harassment and name-calling".
"Many students were thrashed, and we felt unsafe. Our parents were also distressed and asked us to return home. However, Punjab police assured our security," Khursheed said.
Ummat Shabir, a female student, claimed she could not come out of her private accommodation and decided to return. "A few shopkeepers stopped selling groceries to Kashmiri students. We lived in a private colony where other residents asked us to leave while calling us terrorists. My friend was on her way to the airport, but the cab operator abused and thrashed her," she said.
Hundreds of Kashmiri students are studying in Punjab and various other states. However, they say students from two particular northern states are harassing Kashmiri students.
Asrah, who is staying in Chandigarh and living in the same private colony as Shabir, told ETV Bharat that fear gripped the students initially. "I did not face any harassment from locals, landlords or shopkeepers. We safely go to college, and locals assure us of safety," she said.
Mohsin Andrabi, a scholar at a university in Punjab, told ETV Bharat that most of the students are staying due to local support. "There are some fringe elements among student groups from two particular states who harass and threaten Kashmiri students, particularly in private colonies," he said.
Mudassir Hassan, a Kashmiri working in Chandigarh, told ETV Bharat that around 20,000 students, traders and employees from the Valley are staying in Punjab and they "now feel secure" than in the initial days of the attack. "Some incidents of harassment took place in the first few days of the attack. The intervention by the administration, police and social activists helped in calming down the tense and scary situation among the Kashmiris," he said.
A week after the massacre in Pahalgam, former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti said Kashmiri students across India are living in fear due to "ongoing unrest. "Some institutions have postponed exams & advised students to return home until normalcy is restored, while others have decided otherwise," she wrote on X.
Urging Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of all states to intervene to ensure students' safety, she said, "Additionally, a strong message must be sent to those spreading communal hate on social media. Such divisive forces must be identified and dealt with firmly to maintain peace and harmony."
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah convened an all-party meeting on Sunday, where he appealed to the governments of all states and union territories to come forward with an unwavering commitment to protect the Kashmiri students and citizens who find themselves far from home in these trying times.
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