It was an embarrassing moment for the Indian authorities when the students and faculty members of the Law Department of the KashmirUniversity did not stand up when India’s national anthem was played on the arrival of Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir.
According to KMS, as soon as the chief justice and some other dignitaries entered the convocation hall of the university in Srinagar, the national anthem of India was played. The dignitaries, high court judges and other judicial staff stood up in respect of their national anthem. However, the students, both boys and girls and the staff members of the varsity, remained seated.
Even many male students, wearing badges of volunteers, were seen asking students not to stand up during the anthem singing. “Why should we stand up, we are Kashmiris, not Indians,” a law student sitting in the middle row said.
It is not the first time that students in Kashmir have not stood up for India’s National Anthem. Earlier, on May 11, 2011, students did not stand up when the anthem was sung during the opening session of a three-day international seminar on peace and economic development.