‘My family is worried about my career, but I am not going back’

As reported by The Indian Express on Friday, five students from Jammu and Kashmir have quit Swami Parmanand College of Engineering and Technology and gone back home after the clash  on Tuesday night, allegedly over “cheering” the Pakistan cricket team while watching a match on TV. Dozens of students, who were admitted to the college under Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship scheme, have returned to the Valley and were unwilling to rejoin the college.

Recalling the incident that forced these students to  vacate the hostel, Aquib Ahmad, however, had a different version. He claimed that the trouble started when the sports teacher abused a Kashmiri student.“The incident started when all the students were watching a cricket match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the common hall of the college hostel. A Kashmiri student came down from his room wearing only shots. He was asked by a senior to be in proper clothes. As the student refused, the senior switched off the TV. In the meantime, sports teacher also came to the hall and started abusing Kashmiri students that sparked a protest by them,’’ he said.

Aquib, who is still in Chandigarh living with a friend, is waiting for his certificates so that he can return to the Valley. “The situation turned worse when BJP workers and local goons who were carrying knives came into the hostel and attacked the Kashmiri students. Many Kashmiri students sustained injuries in the attack,” he alleged.

Another student Umar Farooq, who returned home after the incident, said that he does not want to go back to the college. “I don’t want to die there. My family is not ready to send me back. The only reason behind the fight is that we belong to Kashmir,” he said, adding that he has left everything in the hostel, including his clothes and books.

Muzamil Fayaz, another second year student from Pampore who returned to Valley on Thursday night, said that he has lost two precious years of his life. “Our career is ruined and we are helpless. Even the J&K government seems to be helpless. My family is so worried about my career, but I am not going back.”

Muzamil alleged the college administration was not returning certificates to the Kashmiri students. “I got my documents back from the college, but more than 100 Kashmiri students enrolled in the college have submitted applications to the principal seeking their documents. But they (college administration) refused to return the certificates.”

On Thursday, the matter was raised in the state Assembly and speaker Mubarak Gul had requested Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Ministers of all the states to ensure safety to Kashmiri students studying outside Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier in March, 67 Kashmiri students were expelled from Swami Vivekananda Subharti University for allegedly cheering Pakistan during the India-Pakistan match at the Asia Cup.