Cricket
Kashmiri students taunted as 'Pakistani' and attacked in Punjab after India loses match
The aftermath of the India-Pakistan match took a turn for the ugly as Kashmiri students were attacked in Punjab colleges and blamed for the loss.
The dreary side of the India-Pakistan match; Kashmiri students attacked in Punjab colleges (right)
The hype generated around the India-Pakistan match was palpable as India begun their campaign at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. After setting a lowly target of 151 for 7 wickets, the Virat Kohli-led side could not offer any resistance whatsoever against a determined Pakistani team who won the match with 13 balls to spare and zero wickets dropped. The aftermath of a result like this, however crushing it was for every Indian fan, was translated differently towards Kashmiri students in Punjab, who came on the receiving end of violent attacks from 'people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar'.
Just as age-old is the rivalry between India and Pakistan, when it comes to any event, similarly the air is rife with tension for Kashmiri's as they get subjected to such atrocities after being taunted as Pakistani's. Just as the India-Pakistan match concluded in Dubai, things took a turn for the ugly in certain colleges of Punjab where Kashmiri students reside.
Students from Bhai Gurdas Institute of Engineering and Technology in Punjab's Sangrur district sharing videos from inside their hostel post t20 match today...@DGPPunjabPolice pic.twitter.com/xP508ioHYW
— Mohammad Ghazali (@ghazalimohammad) October 24, 2021
At Bhai Guru Das Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sangrur, Punjab, Kashmiri students were attacked with sticks and rods by alleged students from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Live-streaming the horrifying incident on Facebook, a student from Kashmir showcased the brutality of the attack.
"We were in our hostel rooms when we heard some noise coming from outside. We went to see what is happening and saw some people attacking Kashmiri students in the other block. They had broken the window panes of their rooms and were continuously shouting 'you are Pakistanis'," Shoiab, a student from the same college mentioned to the Free Press Kashmir.
As it is, the air in Kashmir is heavy right now with the valley brewing with unrest owing to successive deaths taking place and being cited as militant attacks. At a time like this, an attack on Kashmiri's that fans hatred in this way, is quite glaring and unjust. Nasir Khuehami, the spokesperson for the Jammu and Kashmir Student Organisation was informed by other students in various colleges across Punjab that they were also on the receiving end of such outrageous behaviour.
Pictures from Punjab where students from Bihar barged in their (Kashmiri Students) rooms, harassed, thrashd them & beat up a few others after Ind Vs Pak cricket Match. Extremely distressing.@MuzamilJALEEL @NandyAsmita @AdityaMenon22 @ghazalimohammad @ZafarAafaq @AakashHassan pic.twitter.com/oNYPP96zWJ
— Nasir Khuehami (ناصر کہویہامی) (@NasirKhuehami) October 24, 2021
Only an intervention by the local Punjabi's could help in halting the attack and the Punjab police and the college authorities have also been involved and they have promised to delve into this matter with seriousness and take strict action against the offenders.
Spirit of cricket.
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) October 24, 2021
Spirit of sport.
🇮🇳🇵🇰 #INDvPAK | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/hb8L0j0lP8
While India on the one hand, rejoiced at the sight of Virat Kohli and Mohammad Rizwan hugging it out after the match in true sportsmanship spirit, it is quite distressing to see another section of India taking to violent means and channeling their hatred towards Kashmiri's and calling them out as Pakistani's and fanning hatred.
