Despite Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah taking up their case with his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Akhilesh Yadav for a “successful resolution”, the 67 suspended Kashmiri students of Swami Vivekanand Subharti University (SVSU), Meerut, are wary of returning to the university.
The students were suspended by the university authorities for allegedly cheering the Pakistan cricket team during a cricket match with India. Even as some students are demanding migration certificates from Uttar Pradesh citing safety as a reason, the circulation of a two-minute video purportedly showing non-Kashmiri students protesting and taking a vow to “teach Kashmir students a lesson” has added to their fear.
The video was reportedly sent by some students of SVSU to a few Kashmiri students, who are studying at the university under the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Programme for J&K students.
The video ( also with Hindustan Times) shows some students wearing brown sweaters bearing university logos on the premises of Dingra hostel on the SVSU campus calling the suspended Kashmiri students “traitors and Pakistanis”. The students are also seen shouting slogans - “Kashmiri students won’t be spared”.