Kashmiri youth targeted after Pahalgam incident

After the Pahalgam terror attack, Kashmiri students across India face harassment, assaults, and eviction threats.

Unknown gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, in a brutal attack at the popular hill station of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir. One victim was a resident of Nepal, while the rest were Indian nationals. The attack has sparked national outrage and triggered a large-scale manhunt by Indian security forces to track down those responsible.

The killings have intensified anger among Hindu nationalist groups, pushing authorities to take swift diplomatic and security actions. On Wednesday, India downgraded its diplomatic ties with Pakistan, accusing Islamabad of aiding the attackers—a claim Pakistan has yet to respond to.

In the aftermath, Kashmiri students studying in states like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh have faced harassment. Nasir Khuehami of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association stated that students were forced to vacate hostels and rented accommodations. In Himachal Pradesh, students were allegedly assaulted after their hostel rooms were broken into and vandalized.

Many students have been labeled as terrorists and targeted in a wave of hate, Khuehami said, calling it a deliberate campaign of discrimination against individuals from a specific region and background.

In Dehradun, about 20 Kashmiri students fled to the airport after being threatened by members of the Hindu Raksha Dal. Incidents like these have sparked concern over rising communal tensions and the safety of students from Kashmir.

Indian-controlled Kashmir has long been the center of conflict, with calls for either independence or merger with Pakistan since 1989. This latest attack is one of the deadliest in recent years and is likely to further strain relations between the two neighboring countries. Authorities continue their search for the attackers as investigations intensify.