Kashmiris made to shout anti-Pakistan slogans
Students at private university near India’s capital allege assailants beat up and taunted them with terrorist remarks.
Kashmiri students from an Indian university have been attacked and forced to shout “anti-Pakistan” slogans by fellow students triggering a fresh controversy, according to reports.
The latest incident comes two month after more than 65 students of Swami Vivekananda Subharti University in north India’s Meerut city were expelled after cheering for Pakistan in the Asia Cup cricket match.
“We don’t feel safe here. Those boys were completely drunk when they entered our room. We called the police but they did not get here on time,” Hindustan Times newspaper quoted Kashmiri students of Nodia International University in Uttar Pradesh state as saying on Monday.
The incident occurred at an apartment block in Greater Noida – a suburb of the capital, New Delhi – that serves as a common hostel for students of various universities in the area.
The university officials have said that a probe has been initiated.
“We are taking all measures for their safety. We have also set up an enquiry committee,” said Utkarsh Chandra, vice-president, marketing, Noida International University.
Chief Minister of India-administered Kashmir said that the Uttar Pradesh authorities should admit their “inability” or “unwillingness” to protect them in a tweet.
The students said they were forced by six fellow students to shout pro-India and anti-Pakistan slogans.
“When I asked them why I should do it, they abused us again and called me a terrorist,” one of the students said.
Similar incidents
In another similar incident on March 8, four Kashmiri students of Sharda University in Greater Noida were expelled for cheering for Pakistan in a cricket match.
Cricket games between arch rivals Pakistan and India are avidly followed in both countries.
Pakistan has always remained a favourite in Kashmir – a bitterly contested territory and a source of tension between both countries since 1947.
Nuclear armed India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars and a limited war in Kargil mountains over the disputed Himalayan region.