‘Discrimination’ charge baseless, say Kashmiri students of NIT Srinagar

If cricket is the force that binds Indians, it is also the game that divides us as it happened at the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, after India’s loss to West Indies in the World T20 semi-finals. It was indeed a heartbreaking news for cricket-crazy fans but not even a die-hard lover of the game would have imagined that it would snowball into such a crisis on the institute’s campus.

The match result exposed the fault lines as they exist on NIT’s Srinagar campus, bringing to fore the issue of discrimination between residents and non-residents of the state. It is a topic of hot discussion on the campus and away from the campus. A section of students have gone on to say about how the non-residents of Kashmir live under constant threat, and how the local students of the state harbour anti-national feelings. 

But does such a hostility exist? PaGaLGuY spoke to students, some of whom are alumni and a few who are currently pursuing their degree in NIT Srinagar, to ascertain the truth. No doubt, the issue has a lot of steam but little substance said former and current students. They added the crisis has been politicised to benefit only a handful.

“The allegations are entirely baseless and only a politicised issue. The issue of discrimination between locals and non-locals didn’t exist at the institute while I was pursuing my degree. Students celebrated after a cricket match, but it was never taken personally by anyone. The next day, India’s win or loss didn’t even matter to us. Being a Kashmiri, I can proudly say that we mingled with everyone, had a fantastic time in college, and the thoughts about local and non-local never crossed mine or anyone’s mind,” said Aamir, who passed out of NIT-S last year. 

The students from the state account for only 20-30% of total hostel residents. “Most of us are day scholars at NIT-S; there are only a few Kashmiri students who reside in the hostel. How can this then turn into such a big deal that the so-called students hailing from outside Kashmir had to approach the MHRD?” said another student, who is currently pursuing his first year M.Tech at the Institute. He further questioned how a cricket match could lead to demands for hoisting national flag, change in faculty and allegations of discrimination on the campus.

Some Kashmiri students, who spoke on condition of anonymity, mentioned to PaGaLGuY that when they go to other cities to pursue higher education, they too face hostilities. “It can’t be a reason for us to demand that the institute be shifted out of the state. These students at Jantar Mantar didn’t appear for their exams either. The institute will conduct another round of examination in the month of May for them. Does this still qualify for discrimination and protests?” said a second-year B.Tech student at NIT-S.

PaGaLGuY also spoke to NITS Director, Prof. Rajat Gupta, who said that the institute has called back all the students who haven’t appeared for their exams. “Another round of exam will be held in May. We will ensure that the students don’t suffer academically.” added Prof. Gupta.

By pitching concerns of discrimination on the basis of a cricket match, students are being unreasonable in their demand. Despite the administration obliging them by conducting the examination again and the Ministry of Human Resource Development promising of external evaluators, is it still fair on the part of some students to make such allegations? Certainly not.