‘A collective fight’: Post-Pahalgam attack, 6,000 students unite on WhatsApp to aid Kashmiris facing threats

NEW DELHI: Late at night on April 25, two buses ferrying 110 Kashmiri students from Uttarakhand to Jammu and Kashmir were stopped at Udhampur due to security reasons. The students were fleeing the Universal Group of Institutions, Dehrudun, which had sent them home. Jammu and Kashmir Students Association’s (JKSA) Nasir Kheuhami rang Jammu’s additional DG of police, Anand Jain, and the J-K chief minister’s advisor, Nasir Sogami, to get the buses into Kashmir.

In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, Kashmiri Muslim students have been facing threats and violence from right-wing Hindutva activists, and even fellow students, at university campuses in north India. Around 6,000 students have joined JKSA’s efforts to help them. They are reporting incidents, sharing videos, providing best routes to travel, confirming information, speaking to college and university authorities, organising safe passage away from educational institutions where students have been threatened or giving them shelter, arranging for examinations and when required, busting fake news.

On April 22, the day after the attack, the JKSA had issued a list of helpline numbers. But the number of distress calls was too large to handle. “We soon realised that we cannot address the issues this way. Soon, on the night of April 22, we gave a shoutout on X for Kashmiri students to join the Whatsapp group,” said Khuehami, speaking from Srinagar on phone. “Around 5,000 Kashmiri students studying at different universities across the country joined these groups.” Four other support groups were created.

Over four days, this group has handled around 1,200 distress calls, said Khuehami.

Tackling fake news

The students helped share information on instances of thrashing and threats, fake videos and disinformation spread across social media. “We addressed these issues individually,” said Khuehami.

For example, a video of a Kashmiri student being killed in Kolkata, West Bengal, was circulated on social media on April 24. “However, after verifying from a local student from the city, doing a Google search and checking on X (formerly Twitter), we noticed that the news was two years old,” Khuehami added.

The association, with the help of students, debunked 10-15 similar claims.

“Kashmiri students cooperated with us and worked together to get first-hand information. As most of these students are part of state groups, they have an understanding of their city and state. For instance, the moment the incident happened in Punjab, students reported it,” said Khuehami.

Pahalgam and Pulwama

The pattern of violent reprisal against Kashmiri Muslim students was seen after the Pulwama attack in 2019 as well, when a group of jawans from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed. Then, too, the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association had mobilised to render assistance.

“The difference between Pulwama and Pahalgam is that back then soldiers were killed and this time civilians have been killed. Back then some students had made mistakes and written provocative messages and people’s sentiments were hurt. This time, no student from Kashmir valley has posted anything inflammatory. Despite that, students in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal, Punjab, Chandigarh, Ambala have been assaulted, threatened and brutally thrashed,” he added.

“It's a collective fight for all the people of India and not a fight between Kashmiris or non-Kashmiri,” said Khuehami. “But people across states are accusing Kashmiri students of being sympathisers of terrorists.”

Threats to Kashmiri Students: De-escalating the crisis

Once the association hears about a case, it takes it up with civil society organisations, government, and police; in most cases, response has been immediate. Over the four days since the attack, the association has received more than 1,200 calls from Kashmiri students across the country and received credible reports about a dozen cases of thrashing.

“This started with a provocative video statement released by right-wing people from Hindu Raksha Dal based in Uttarakhand stating that if Kashmiri students don't leave the state within 24 hours. They will face serious repercussions,” Khuehami said.

However, they have successfully de-escalated the situation. “We have personally spoken to DGP Uttarakhand and ensured that a first information report (FIR) was lodged and all the accused who gave threats in the video, were arrested and booked,” he stated.

Khuehami added that he has personally looked into all the other cases that have been reported to them and credits the mechanisms built with different state governments across the country including the director general of police and chief ministers, he explained.

Threats and thrashing of students

Khuehami is quick to point out that the district administration and police have been responsive. Police officials, politicians and district administrators are swiftly thanked, usually publicly on social media.

Several cases of threats and thrashing were reported in Punjab; a Kashmir student reported harassment. The Punjab State Women Commission took suo moto cognizance of the case. The police and district administration spoke to students. Khuehami reported this on X and thanked Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann for his “swift intervention” and for “sending a clear message against any attempts to disturb communal harmony”.

Khuehami stated that they have tried to ensure that no student faces difficulties on their way back to Kashmir.

Over the four days, senior police officials have visited educational institutes in Punjab and Uttarakhand to ensure students are safe and supported. In the case of Punjab, JKSA members spoke with the chief secretary and director general of police (DGP), who has ordered police deployment at educational institutions with Kashmiri students.

Further in Uttar Pradesh, the issues were taken to the advisor of the UP government. “Not only Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or Shiv Sena, multiple people and DGPs have contributed to swift interventions in all the cases reported to us,” he added.

The association also met the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on April 25.

‘Need legal action’ against hate crime

Given that this sort of violence against Kashmiri students is frequent – conflicts crop up even during cricket matches – JKSA wants to see legal action against those who issue threats. It has been documenting hate crimes against Kashmiris – including violence against students, shawl-sellers and others – for a decade and now have a “footprint across India”, says Khuehami.

“There should be some legal action and some precedent needs to be set against all culprits who have issued brutal statements, death threats and controversial and provocative videos against Kashmiri students,” said Khuehami. “It is very unfortunate that the narrative has shifted from tragedy to harassment. While the whole country was crying for Pahalgam victims, some fringe elements have started another narrative in the country, diverting from the real issue.”