Grief, shock and anger against the terrorist attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama, Kashmir has given way to a slew of discriminatory incidents against Kashmiri settlers students, traders and working professionals across the country.
While Kashmiris in parts of West Bengal and Dehradun have reportedly faced violent attacks, Hyderabadis have not given in to such hateful feelings, and are instead opening up their houses to any Kashmiris who are feeling unsafe. Concerned citizens have in fact been tweeting to fellow Kashmiris to reach out to the locals in case they face any form of violence from jingoistic mobs.
Interestingly, Hyderabad with its well-proportioned percentage of religious groups has not witnessed communal clashes very often. In this instance too, the city has not reported any acts of vandalism, unlike in Bengaluru where Hyderabad-based Karachi Bakery was not only forced to cover up the name ‘Karachi’ after mobs protested, but was also compelled to put out an official comment explaining the Indian origin of the bakery.
Layeeq, a research scholar from the University of Hyderabad, Department of Political Science, says, “The incidents across the country have been very unfortunate. But I haven’t faced any violent or discriminatory behaviour nor have I heard any close acquaintance complain of anything. While there have been protests against the attack in the campus, no one has targeted us.”
Maulana Azad University in the city is yet another institution that houses a lot of Kashmiri students. Mudasir Ali Lone, an MTech student hailing from Kashmir’s Pulwama says, “Honestly, we haven’t faced any form of intimidating behaviour from anyone yet. Hyderabad is a pretty safe place.”
Resonating the feeling, Hadif Nisar, a postgraduate student in the city says, “I have been in the city for eight to nine months now. The city has not given me a bad experience yet. Unlike other cities, Hyderabad seems like a much safer place to be in. However, I was recently reading a news report where a student in Pune put out a social media post about how Pune is safe and got attacked by a mob the very next day. The environment is obviously tense all across the nation. Hope everything will be fine.”
