Kashmiri Students in AMU Advised Not to Step Out

New Delhi: In the wake of the clampdown in Jammu & Kashmir prior to the amendment of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Monday issued a verbal advisory to its Kashmiri students, asking them not to step out of the campus as a precautionary measure. The advisory was issued during a meeting of all the provosts and the Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor.

“The advisory is not in writing. It is more of a precaution keeping in view the security of students on the campus. The Kashmiri students are advised to stay in their hostels and avoid moving out for the time being,” a university official was quoted by the media.

Besides increasing security around the premises, special measures were taken to protect religious sites in the district. Security was tightened around educational institutes as well.

Aligarh District Magistrate (DM) C.B. Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Aakash Kulhari visited various parts of the city on Monday night, especially the communally-sensitive areas.

In Aligarh, Rapid Action Force personnel conducted a flag march and imposed Section 144, which prohibits assembly of five or more person in the city.

Around 1,000 Kashmiri students are enrolled for various courses in AMU. However, with the new academic session having just begun, most of these students have not turned up.

Kashmiri students studying in AMU are a worried lot as they have been unable to contact their families in the Valley, after the authorities imposed Section 144 across Srinagar, snapped internet connections and shutdown mobile services there.

AMU is the most favoured destination of Kashmiri students for pursuing higher education, with hundreds of students from the Valley enrolling every year.

Even though the administration has directed the officials concerned to ensure the security of Kashmiri residents in the state, students are under constant fear as all means of communication have been snapped in the valley.

Sajid Bashir, a student of science at AMU, said, “We are very disturbed and cannot concentrate on our studies in this atmosphere. We cannot even a make a call to our families asking them for money as curfew has been imposed all over Kashmir. We are worried about them. We have to go to home on Eid, which is on August 12, but all transportation have been shut off.” Like Sajid, many other students shared the same concern. Many students want to go back home but with the restrictions in place, they do not know how to reunite with their families.

Last year in February, Kashmiri students in AMU were issued a similar advisory that cautioned against moving out of campus after the Pulwama terror attack.