Tap Kashmiris young so they are not spoiled, MOS tells RSS Muslim wing

students from various educational institutions in Rajasthan, Noida and Delhi. Singh was the only minister who attended the meeting; Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was to be the chief guest, and J&K Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh did not turn up. J&K BJP leader and Lakshadweep Administrator Farooq Khan and Jamia Vice Chancelor Talat Ahmad too spoke at the conference.

While MRM had projected the conference as a “way forward towards Kashmir’s complete integration into Indian Union” and “a defeat to separatist forces in Kashmir”, the students in the audience had no idea about the organisers. Most of them believed it was a government function where representatives of various Central ministries, especially Home and Human Resource Development, would be present to resolve their issues related to government scholarships and address their concerns about “personal security” and “problems of harassment and police verifications” while studying outside J&K.

A majority of the students at the conference were from Mewar University, a private institution in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. Ashok Kumar Gadiya, chairman of Mewar University who led his contingent of more than 100 students, said, “We have around 1,100 students from Kashmir in our university. There is a student from almost every tehsil of the Valley. We brought them to attend this conference because we wanted their issues resolved. Some of our students are on the PM’S special scholarship while there are others who pay their own fee... This is a wonderful platform for our Kashmiri students. We brought them here to share their problems and aspirations about themselves and the country.” Gadiya said he was “not associated with the RSS as such” and that he joined this programme “for the welfare of my students”.

Sharafat Ahmad of Anantnag, an undergraduate at Mewar University, said they had received an email from the University authorities asking them to join the conference. Ruqaya Mohammad, a student of physiotherapy at the university, said they were told that they would meet “important government officials and ministers who will resolve our problems, especially (those related to) scholarships”.

There were a few students from Galgotias University in Noida and Panipat Institute of Engineering and Technology (PIET), who said they were here on the invitation of a BJP youth leader from Kashmir.

One of the main organisers of the conference and vice-president of BJP’S youth wing in the Valley, Engineer Ajaz, did raise issues of security and scholarships in his address. “Why are our students harassed? Why are they being rusticated (by institutions)? Students feel scared as soon as they leave Kashmir. If you go to a hotel, they check your Aadhar card thrice and keep asking questions before letting you stay,’’ he said. He criticised the government’s implementation of the various scholarship schemes for Kashmiri students.

Minister Singh said the government was duty-bound to help youngsters studying outside the state, but said, “Few of the issues will have to be raised with the state government too,’’ he said.

He was critical of the J&K government too. “We gave two AIIMS, an IIT, and an IIM (to the state)... But how will (the state government) run them... In a situation where our children don’t want to stay there, which young super specialist would agree to go and serve (at AIIMS in J&K)? We have to improve the situation and create incentive for the outsiders to serve us.”