Hyderabad: “Mujhe koi wish mat karna kyu ki mere liye koyi Id hi nahi hai, mere liye ghar walo se baat hoge woh hi mere Id hai (No one greet me, I am not celebrating the festival. If I can talk to my family that will be my Id).”
This is the status on social media of Kashmiri students at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University who have not been able to speak to their families since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5.
There are 200 Kashmiri students on the campus, 50 of them girls. Each one of them is trying to reach their family members for a week.
On Friday, when there was a let up but only 10 of them got messages from their home that they were indoors and not moving out.
Maryam Jameel Naik from Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, explained, “It is seven days and we do not know anything about our family members. Stopping the communication system completely was not the right thing to do by the government. There is no mood of festivity at all as we have not done any shopping. All of us from J&K want to know if our parents and immediate family are fine.”
This anguish shows on social media. Attaulah Nizai, former student leader and PhD scholar in Manuu’s department of commerce, said, “Most of us are very depressed and we are giving support to each other that things will settle and we will soon be able to speak to our loved ones. That is the only way we are trying to keep ourselves calm.”
A senior software professional on condition of anonymity explained, “My sister’s husband is with the J&K police and has a satellite phone. He has sent a message that my parents have stocked enough supplies and are safe. He cannot say anything more of the situation there. Those away from home are very upset but there is no platform to express our concerns and neither is there an audience to listen to our woes.”
