Many Kashmiris working and studying in different cities of India have been harassed, threatened and assaulted since suicide bombing against Indian troops in Indian-administered Kashmir. Whereas Indian media is almost mute on the attacks on Kashmiris in various cities, and in fact it helped stoke the violence, social media has exposed Indian government and its extremist Hindu outfits for attacking Kashmiris’ shops and threatening students throughout India, and forcing them to evict from those cities. A video showed vandalism and attacks by Hindu extremists forcing Kashmiris to close their shops and leave Bihar. Independent MLA, Engineer Rashid-led Awami Ittihad Party (AIP) and Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) held protests against the attacks on Kashmiris in Jammu and outside in the wake of the Pulwama suicide bombing attack that left nearly 45 Continued on page 7
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They carried banners and placards that read “Stop targeting Kashmiri people living in India”, “Give protection to Kashmiri people in Jammu”, “Solve Kashmir issue by self-determination”, “Don’t celebrate killings”, and raised slogans against Jammu police and its administration for not preventing attacks on Kashmiris. While talking to media, Engineer Rashid said the people of Hindu-dominated Jammu and other parts of India are attacking innocent Kashmiris in its reaction and try to give it a communal angle. In a call from Hindu extremists for shutdown (Bandh), more than 100 cars were torched, and police gave a free hand to the miscreants. It was shameful that the goons and fringe elements are being given free hand and no stern action is being taken to protect life and property of Muslim community in various parts of Jammu and other places.”
In the northern states mainly Haryana and Uttarakhand, the situation is worse; however the interior ministry issued an advisory to all states to “ensure their safety and security and maintain communal harmony”. Yet more than 700 Kashmiri students, workers and traders returned to occupied Kashmir from the rest of India to escape reprisals for the attack. Kashmiri student in Uttarakhand capital Dehradun said the owners of the houses they were staying in had asked them to move out fearing an attack on his property. Some Kashmiri students were assaulted by members of Hindu rightwing groups in Uttarakhand. Fear engulfed Kashmiri students in Haryana’s Ambala district after a video on social media showed a village headman asking people to evict Kashmiris in the area. A round-the-clock curfew remained in place in Jammu city, after mobs vandalised and torched properties belonging to Kashmiris.
Some Kashmiris have been suspended by Indian universities for their social media comments on the case. Others have been arrested on sedition charges. Immediately after the attack, mobs and vigilante groups engaged in vitriolic hate speech and began attacking, and threatening Muslims and Kashmiris throughout the country. Mohammad Yasin Khan, president of Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation, told AFP that threats of violence were still being made, as 300 students from Uttarakhand state alone have returned to Kashmir. In Maharashtra, Kashmiri students were assaulted by Hindu extremists. Abdul Rehman Veeri, leader of People’s Democratic Party asked the government to protect life and property of Kashmiris. On withdrawal of security of five Kashmiri leaders, Abdul Ghani Bhatt said that we don’t want security of gun of policemen but from Allah.
In the same video, student Munteha Amin and Rida Akhoon blamed the violence to the BJP leadership for creating anti-Kashmir and anti-Muslim sentiment, and that Indian media is also stoking the communal sentiments. In another video, Indian female anchorperson was furious with Pakistani anchorperson Mona Alam and said that Pakistan stabbed India in the back. Mona Alam had only started replying stating that military personnel killed in Pulwama, but Indian anchorperson interjected and did not let her complete the sentence, stating that they were not killed but martyred (shaheed). Mona Alam said that “in Islam those who die for just cause are called shaheed, and I don’t know which term is used in Geeta for them. I don’t understand why you are feeling so insecure. Indian anchorperson sarcastically said that it was now Pakistan’s turn to feel insecure.
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