Tensions are running high in the country after the pulwama terrorist attack on our jawans that has rattled the world.

Citizens are angry, government is hunting the cowards responsible and even the opposition is showing complete unity as India stands together.

This has resulted in many smaller incidents across the country, one of which is happening currently in Dehradun.

On Friday, there were reports of 12 students from Kashmir being beaten up by right wing group members including Vishwa Hindi Parishad(VHP) and Bajrang Dal.

The situation has further escalated on Saturday with more Kashmiri students being targetted including girls.

This has resulted in students locking themselves up inside their hostel rooms and rented homes in Dehradun.

One such case is of 20 girl students from Kashmir locking themselves in one of their hostel rooms after the hostel was surrounded by a mob.

The J&K Police has setup a helpline since to assist any students outside Jammu and Kashmir as students are fearing for their lives.

J&K #Police has established a #helpline for the #assistance of #Students/#generalpublic who are presently staying outside J&K in case they find any difficulty. You can call us for any kind of assistance on 0194-2451515. @JmuKmrPolice — Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) February 16, 2019

A student amongst the 20 trapped girls told the Indian Express: “We are up to 20 girls and we have locked ourselves inside our hostel rooms. Hundreds of people have surrounded our hostel. Many of them have lathis and stones. We have switched off the lights. We asked the police for help and they came here, but they are asking us to face the mob and apologise. What should we apologise for? They are calling us traitors, but we haven’t done anything to be called that. We can’t open the door. We are very scared. We have no one to ask for help.”

Another male student studying Geology at BFIT told the India Express, “A mob thrashed two Kashmiri students in front of BFIT yesterday (on Friday). Later, three people reached our rented room, thumping on the door asking us to come out. They asked us whether we were Kashmiris and later came back with over 100 people. They were repeating slogans like ‘Hindustan ke gaddaron ko goli maro (Shoot the traitors of the country)’. We are trapped in the house. The owner is asking us to leave for home, but how do we even enter the streets. The mob is everywhere. We are very scared.”

“I have spoken to the police regarding the safety of the Kashmiri students and they have assured me that they will ensure the safety of the students.”

Nasir Khuehami, a spokesperson of Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Organisation

“We have rented 20 rooms in Chandigarh so that the students who feel unsafe in Dehradun can leave the city (temporarily) and reside in Chandigarh, but the situation is so bad that the students are unable to even step out of their residences,” Khuehami said.

It is estimated that there are around 3000 Kashmiri students currently studying in Dehradun with most students being in the Baba Farid Institute of Technology(BFIT), Dev Bhoomi Institute of Technology(DBIT), Dolphi Institute, Alpine Institute of Management and Technology, and Ras Bihari Bose Subharti University.

The Dehradun Police has denied any incident of violence even after videos of students being beaten have gone viral on social media.

“Since yesterday (Friday) police has been deployed near all institutes in Dehradun where Kashmiri students study. The students are making a big deal out of nothing. They are completely safe. Any student who is scared of any mob can directly contact the police and we will provide all the required help. None of the institutes will let go of any Kashmiri student because of the prevailing conditions, the institute authorities have assured us,” said DG(law & order) Ashok Kumar to the Indian Express.

While India is unanimously behind strict action against any and all actions against the spineless cowards behind the attack, we should target that angers towards people actually responsible for this terrible incident.

We must realize that even though we might speak different languages, eat different foods, wear different clothes, pray to different gods, and even look different, we are all Indians at the end of the day.

The enemy wants us to fight amongst ourselves but we should look up to the example set by our politicians in this incident as they stand together without looking to gain political mileage.

We should not hurt innocents to divide us, but look at our true enemies and show how India retaliates with unity when people attack our own.

The Mirk firmly stands behind all our armed forces, government departments, elected representatives and anyone else helping us run our country. We support the government for a fitting reply to any and all hostilities towards any Indian and we urge the people of our diverse country to focus on the real enemy and not hurt innocents for the dastardly actions of a few.

Note: This opinion piece contains both the author’s and the website’s opinion presented with facts.