Mohali: In the wake of Pulwama terror attack, and with news reports citing expulsion and suspension of students from several universities and colleges across India on the account of posting celebratory messages on the social media, fear and terror continue to push Kashmiri students residing in Dehradun out of the city.
So far, more than 300 students have been sent off to Jammu from Mohali, out of which, the commute for 250 students was facilitated by non-profit organisation Khalsa Aid, claimed volunteers. They said about 40 more students were expected to arrive in the city on Wednesday morning.
With assurances of protection given to them by the Punjab Government and Chandigarh Administration, 140 students flocked at Gurdwara Sahib Singh Shaheedan, Sohana, on Monday night. However, with only four rooms available at the Gurdwara, former SGPC member Amarinder Singh facilitated their stay at Gurdwara Sacha Dhan. “Nine out of 13 girls who arrived at the gurdwara have been sent to Jammu, while four of them will board the flight to Srinagar from Bathinda on Wednesday morning,” he shared. As many as 140 students were sent off to Jammu in nine tempos provided by the non-profit organisation on Tuesday.
Media spoke to girls who arrived from Dehradun on Monday night.
“It’s a terrible situation in Dehradun. Our classmates, who we spend most of our time with, are posting hateful messages against Kashmiris. We came here to make a career. I am studying radiology and in this atmosphere, it’s difficult to study. We didn’t leave our rooms until Sunday, when a bus from Khalsa Aid brought us here,” said a student from Uttaranchal (PG) College of Bio-Medical Sciences and Hospital. Aged between 19 and 22, a group of six girls recalled ostracism they faced at the ISBT where they were staying.
One of the students shared: “At 6:30 pm on February 15, some people started hurling abuses and raised anti-Kashmir slogans. They banged our doors and we saw from the window that they were carrying sticks. Fearing for our lives, we stayed locked in our rooms, but our landlord, who’s a single lady, was threatened. She was told that if we don’t evacuate the house within 10 days, they’ll come back for her. We tried to call people and asked if they could rent us an accommodation, but our requests fell on deaf ears.”
Girls stated that not only were they sidelined by their college friends, but also teachers and principals.
Another student shared: “A friend’s father from Kashmir tried calling the principal of our college, but no one responded to him. As girls, putting up in hostels and PGs, we felt helpless and abandoned even by people who know us well. What have we done to deserve this?”
When asked about facing the music for the ‘anti-national’ posts uploaded by a few Kashmiri students, the girls said: “Those who did that have faced the repercussions and we cannot be held responsible for someone else’s wrongdoings. It’s not justified. It’s not fair. We don’t trouble people who come to work in Kashmir from different parts of our country. In fact, we are being made to feel like outsiders in our own nation. We, too, lament the death of our soldiers,” they signed off.
