Sedition charges dropped against Kashmiri students who cheered Pak

(Update: Late Thursday evening, the sedition charges against the students were dropped, but the students remain suspended.) The decision of a private university in Meerut to indefinitely suspend 67 Kashmiri students enrolled in various courses, after they allegedly rooted for Pakistan during the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup match on Sunday has generated considerable anger in the Kashmir valley. Back in Kashmir, many expelled students from the university protested the decision in Srinagar on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_142209” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Three of the students after their return home. Image courtesy ibnlive[/caption] Authorities at the Swami Vivekanand Subharti University in Meerut had suspended 67 Kashmiri students after they allegedly shouted pro-Pakistan slogans on campus soon after the match was over on Sunday. The expelled Kashmiri students said the university’s decision to suspend them was ‘unfair’ and ‘biased’, as they were not allowed to explain the situation leading to the events of Sunday night. Meanwhile, the Meerut Police registered a case of sedition against the students under Section 124 (a) of the Indian Penal Code. The case appeared to have been registered based on a complaint from the university – the v-c of the varsity also met a BJP delegation of leaders demanding action against the “anti-national” students. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, meanwhile, tweeted his support to the students saying the punishment was unduly harsh and that Kashmiri youth would be further alienated through such a move. The students had not only been summarily told to vacate their hostel rooms but were also dropped off at Delhi and Ghaziabad railway stations and told to head home. Saqib, a student at Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, told Firstpost the expelled students struggled to return home as most did not have any money. “We are not denying that we were clapping when Pakistan won the match. Whenever Pakistan loses a match, the local students there would tease us. So when India lost, we also clapped, which infuriated the local students. They abused us, threw stones at our hostel and also broke the windows of our hostel,” Saqib said. However, the vice chancellor of SVSU Dr Manzoor Ahamd said the behavior of the group of students was not conducive to peace on the campus. The situation might have turned ugly had the authorities not suspended these students, he said. “How can they celebrate the defeat of the national team? I am not saying every one was involved but since no Kashmiri student come forward we suspended all Kashmiri students who were in these two hostels,” Ahmad said. He added, however, that the issue was being unnecessarily politicized. The students said they were not given any explanation why they were being sent home. They said until the police arrived at 5:45 am on Monday, everything was quite normal. “The head of the Kashmiri students cell, MK Khan, came and gave us 5 minutes and told us to vacate and take whatever we could and leave the university. Their was a notice for us, without even asking for our explanation. Why did they not suspend the students who had been taunting us since the Asia cup started?” Adil Ramzan, a student of BBA at the university, said. P K Garg, the Registrar of Subharti University, said there are almost 150 students from Kashmir enrolled in the university who are still in the hostels. “The suspended students must appear before the committee. They have every right to appeal to second and third level committee to plead their case,” he said. Nayeem Ahamad, a resident of north Kashmir’s Pattan, whose son is a BCA student in the university, told Firstpost that for the indiscipline of a few students the university had unfairly suspended all those students living in those two hostels. “Some miscreants created the problems so why suspend others as well? When I came to know about the incident I advised my son to leave the university for Delhi but in the evening he said they had been expelled.” He said. In Kashmir the politics over the suspension of the students has already started with the People Democratic Party (PDP), the key Opposition in the state, trying to corner the Omar Abdullah government over the issue. The issue was also raised in the state Assembly. “This government does not care. It is unfortunate. What kind of message are you giving Kashmiri people? I am sure these students have been provoked,” PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said. A group of protesting students, however, said on Thursday that most of the toppers in the university are from Kashmir. That has irked local students. Muneer Ahamd, a BBA student, said that even the teachers would always tell the local students that Kashmiri students were far more hardworking then others. “One of the reasons for their hostility is also this. In almost three courses all the toppers in the university are Kashmiri students, which is also the reason behind the simmering anger against the Kashmiri students,” he said. In Lucknow, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav defended the action taken by the university saying it was aimed to defuse the tension in the campus and in the already sensitive city of Meerut. However the Bharatiya Janata Party seem to all set to make a political issue out of it, demanding that the suspended Kashmiri students be booked for alleged “anti national activities.” A delegation lead by BJP MLA Satyaprakash Agarwal surrounded the SSP’s office and demanded strict action against the students. It is ironic that most of these students are studying under the Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship scheme for Kashmiri students launched in the aftermath of the 2010 unrest in valley. The project aimed at building bridges between mainstream India and the Kashmiri people. The chief minister’s tweets were as follows: 

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