As the mismanagement of the situation widened the rift between students, many non-locals of NIT maintain that their fight isn’t with the Kashmiri students, but with the administration that treats them differently. “They have been biased against us. For example, if we have to conduct a job fest, they won’t allow it easily,” said Rajeshwari, a student. “They don’t listen to our problems. We are not allowed to raise the tricolour flag on Independence Day and Republic Day. They are running the institution in their own way. This is not the first time the administration has forced us to sit on hunger strike. That is why we want 50 per cent of the administration to consist of people from outside Kashmir and full security. That, or shift NIT to Jammu.”