‘You are all militants, won’t let you live here’
IDENTITY CRISIS Kashmiri students who travel in search of education and security often face verbal and physical abuse
Shakib Ashraf was arrested on the allegation of cooking beef in his university hostel. A lab test revealed it was mutton. Umar Rashid was thrashed after he told two people that he was from Kashmir. K alee mullah was called a “terrorist” after an altercation with another student. Mujahid Zahid was beaten with wooden sticks and logs. Bahar Ahmed Giri was told to go back to Kashmir by local sat a market. All of these incidents, drawn from reports in national newspapers, took place in the last one year in Raj as than, Ha ryan a and Madhya Pradesh.
These names represent just a handful of the Kashmiri students who travel every year across the country for education, employment, and security. Their dreams are facilitated by the central government through the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship Scheme for Jam mu and Kashmir. Launched in 2011 with a grant of ₹1,200crore, it funds 5,000 students from the state annually.
But once they leave Kashmir, these students often face vicious verbal and physical abuse. Many end up returning home more alienated than they were to begin with. The federal funds have not made integration any easier.
Prejudice against Kashmir is isn’ t new. But conversations with young Kashmir is in North India suggest that the anti-Kashmiri sentiment has amplified. There has been a surge of nationalism in India. As a result, the violence and political strife in the Valley are constant threats for them when they are outside Kashmir.
On April 12 this year, a video of a CR PF jaw an being beaten by young men in Budgam went viral. The country erupted in condemnation.
A few days later, a group of around half-a-dozen Kashmir i students at Me war University in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, were beaten with hockey sticks at the local market. Three were seriously injured. They were called “terrorists”.
Tauseef Ahmed, 20, the roommate of one of the victims, said that the horror didn’ t end there .“When we took them to the hospital, a group of locals barged in and said ,‘ You areallKa sh miri militants. We won’t allow you to live here.’”
For two months, Tauseef said, they were not allowed to leave the campus by the college authorities, who feared for the students’ safety. “Our parents send us [out of the state] to protect us from the turmoil of Kashmir—arrests and stone- pelting ,” said Tauseef. But, he added, such attacks mean “we are not safe even outside Kashmir”.
Mudassir Rasool, 30, has also suffered personally from the increasing estrangement between Kashmir is and average Indians. The 2016 summer unrest led to a 52-day curfew in the Valley. Having worked at a travel agency in Delhi in 2008, he decided to move back for employment opportunities.
During the shutdown, it was not easy to leave Rafiabad, his hometown. “The airport was 60 kilometres away from my home so in the dead of the night, I hi din an apple truck that was leaving for the plains,” Mudassir recounted.
Once there, Mud as sir enrolled himself int heUda an project, another central government initiative for Kashmir is. The ₹750-crore program aims to help unemployed youth with skill training and to connect them with corporations.
About 25 days into skill training with a private company in Noida, a petty but angry argument with a colleague ended, Mudassir said, in a physical assault. The colleague he argued with banded together with three other men and accosted him when he stepped outside office. They beat him and threatened to hit him with bricks, “like you do in Kashmir”.
“No one came to my rescue ,” said Mudas sir .“I remembered the Dadri lynching and was worried for my life.” He pulled himself free from the attackers and ran back into his office, where he complained to a senior.
Unconvinced that the company would do anything, he tried to register an official complaint but was rebuffed by multiple police officials and helplines set up for Kashmiris. Finally, “the police and company officials scared me into accepting a compromise, calling it a ‘scuffle’,” Mud- assir said angrily. “But it was also about my Kashmiri identity.”
Mud as sir returned to Kashmir in April 2017. He is worried for his two younger brothers studying in Uttar Pradesh. “Most ordinary Indians have not been to Kashmir or know much about the problem. Their impression is based on news reports, which add fire to this hate.”
Tauseef plans togo back to Kashmir or abroad after he graduates .“Why is the government giving us scholarships if it can’t keep us safe, if people can’t accept us?”