The Sikh community in India has extended a helping hand to students and traders from Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK), who are facing violence in several cities in the wake of the Pulwama attack that killed more than 40 Indian paramilitary troops.
Hundreds of Kashmiris are facing threats of violence and are being forced out of cities across India after a 22-year-old suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into a convoy of paramilitary personnel, killing 44 Indian soldiers last Thursday.
Since the Pulwama attack, there have been several incidents of violence against Kashmiri students and traders in some parts of India while hundreds of Kashmiris studying in colleges outside the valley have been forced to leave.
However, amid the prevailing terror, some Kashmiri students have been housed at a gurdwara in Mohali and Khalsa Aid — an international non-profit aid and relief organisation founded on the Sikh principles of selfless service and universal love — is providing them transport to Jammu.
Over 12 Vehicles Provided by Khalsa Aid are on the Way to Jammu, and Chandigarh from Dehradun Comprising near about 250 Kashmiri Students.Thanks team @Khalsa_Aid for your love and care for Kashmir students. We'll never forget your kindness.https://t.co/Q5Mg4MgyYI pic.twitter.com/cIN47lRs59
— Nasir Khuehami (ناصر کہویہامی) (@NasirKhuehami) February 18, 2019
According to media reports, colleges in Uttrakhand where over 4,000 Kashmiri students are studying, have also been told not to admit any students from Kashmir. An office bearer of Bajrang Dal – a hardline Hindutva organisation — said they will ensure that no Kashmiri Muslim studies or stays outside the valley.
In Mullana near Ambala, an announcement was made to “throw out” all young Kashmir men and women from their rental accommodations, the Huffington Post reported. This prompted a strike in held Kashmir which forced a complete shutdown on Sunday in protest of the attacks against Kashmiris across the country.
