Pulwama attack: 2 Uttarakhand colleges say won't admit Kashmiris, those in Delhi fear for their security

Amid reports of alleged harassment of Kashmiri students after the Pulwama attack, two colleges in Dehradun have decided not to admit those from the Valley from the upcoming academic session. This comes after several Kashmiri students from different cities have been slapped with sedition charges for allegedly supporting the Pulwama terror attack.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has asked students outside the state to not pay heed to any rumours and try to stay put at their respective places. (Representational photo: PTI)

NEW DELHI: Amid reports of alleged harassment of Kashmiri students after the Pulwama attack, two colleges in Dehradun have decided not to admit those from the Valley from the upcoming academic session. This comes after several Kashmiri students from different cities have been slapped with sedition charges for allegedly supporting the Pulwama terror attack. Dehradun-based Alpine College of Management and Technology, and the Baba Farid Institute of Technology have decided not to admit any Kashmiri students from the upcoming academic session, PTI reported on Monday. Top officials of the two colleges, according to PTI, have confirmed the development in separate letters shared with students' unions, who have been demanding expulsion of all Kashmiri students following the attack. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has asked students outside the state to not pay heed to any rumours and try to stay put at their respective places. In the Uttarakhand capital, some Kashmiri youths had also alleged that they were harassed and asked by their landlords to vacate accommodations fearing attacks on their properties in the aftermath of the Pulwama incident. On Friday, a student in Dehradun was also booked for allegedly sending WhatsApp messages supporting the Pulwama suicide attack. About 280 Kashmiri students from Dehradun reach Mohali, many head for homes Over 300 Kashmiri students have reached Mohali from Uttarakhand and Haryana on their way to their homes, a student body arranging their stay in the Punjab town said. Over the past two days, nearly 280 students have arrived from Dehradun and up to 30 from Haryana's Ambala district, said Jammu and Kashmir Students Organisation president Khwaja Itrat. He said nearly 150 of the total students have moved towards Jammu, from where they will head to their homes in Kashmir Valley. Fear for our security, say students A Kashmiri student from Jamia Millia Islamia, who did not wish to be identified, told PTI, "Just the fact that one is a Kashmiri, irrespective of his ideology or leanings, is enough to put one's life to risk. It is happening across the country. Kashmiri students are being harassed and hounded, be it Dehradun, Ambala or Bangalore. We really fear for our security here too." JNU activist Shehla Rashid, who hails from Kashmir, said, "Throughout India, mobs are attacking Kashmiri students, verbally abusing them, asking for them to be expelled and filing false cases against them. The pretext being given in each case is that they said Pakistan Zindabad and even police is buying into these false claims." Anis Ahmed, a Kashmiri student at Delhi University, said, "We are not at all reacting on social media to any abuses which are being hurled at us even if we are being labelled as terrorists. Students who are staying on rented accommodations rather than hostels are even more scared about their safety". Singling out Kashmiri students helps 'venemous' cause of separatist elements: Congress The Congress has termed as "reprehensible" the alleged targeting of students from Jammu and Kashmir in various parts of the country and said singling out students from the state would only help the "venomous" cause of separatist elements. Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: "The unprovoked attacks on the students of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in different parts of the country are also reprehensible and unacceptable." Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and neither Pakistan nor any terrorist force by any name can ever undo this reality, he said at a press conference. Those who are attacking the students from J&K are attacking India's citizens, Singhvi said. (With inpputs from PTI)