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National Institute of Management

Senior Management Course 25

“WAVE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST KASHMIRI

STUDENTS AND THE RESPONSE OF
SIKH COMMUNITY”

Presented By : Ghalib Ramzan (IB)

Sponsored DS: Mirza Khalid Amin
Presented On: 10 June, 2019
 Currency of the Issue 2

 Srinagar, May 16 In occupied

Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh
acts of state terrorism martyred 8
Kashmiri youth in Pulwama, Shopian
and Baramulla districts
 The killings triggered massive
clashes between protesters and Indian
forces’ personnel in the Pulwama
area. The authorities imposed curfew
and suspended internet services in the
district.

https://kmsnews.org/news/2019/05/16/indian-troops-martyr-five-youth-in-iok/ (accessec on 17 May 2019)

 List of Acronyms 3

 JeM Jaish-e-Muhammad
 JNU Jawaharlal Nehru University
 KSKashmiri students
 SCSikh Community
 CV Communal Violence
 RWH Right Wing Hindus
 IAP Indian Army Personnel
 IHK Indian Held Kashmir
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SEQUENCE
 Scope  Reaction against KS
 Methodology  Response of SC
 Introduction  Hindutva
 Genesis of the Issue  Hegemonic designs of
India
 History of CV in India
 Conclusion
 Pulwama Incident
 Recommendations
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SCOPE
 Examining recent wave of violence against KS, particularly
after Pulwama incident
 Analytical mapping of communal background of Indian society
and promotion of state sponsored hard-line Hindutva ideology
 Better appreciation of response of SC towards the KS
 Exploration of causes behind natural bonding, including
heightened fear among minorities as a condition for survival
 Space for opportunities in all these adversities
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METHODOLOGY

 Online research journals and newspapers

 Semi-structured interviews with civil & military intelligence personnel

 Discussion with journalists

 Focus group discussions with peers

 Special guidance by the concerned DS

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INTRODUCTION
 Recent wave of violence against KS: past origins
 Pulwama incident, and subsequent hate campaign: trigger
 SC rescuing KS from becoming victim of Indian state sponsored
terrorism
 This initiative diffused violent manifestations
 Short but quick gesture with far-reaching impact in coming days
 SC identified themselves with Kashmiris
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Situation Analysis
 GENESIS OF THE ISSUE 9
 India: one of the most religiously varied countries in the world
 Population 1.25 B (3rd largest Muslim population/172.2 M)

Christians Sikhs 1.3

2.3 % %

Hindu Muslim
majority Minority
(79.8 % 14.2 %

Buddhist Jains
0.7 % 0.3 %

http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/india-population/
 COMMUNAL HISTORY OF INDIA 10
No. Communal Incident Details
1 Oct – Nov 1984, Post-PM (Indira Gandhi) assassination by two
Delhi Sikh bodyguards:
● Anti-Sikh riots in Delhi
● More than 3700 deaths
● Holy site, Akal Takht, damaged
2 May 1984, Agitation / hate speech by Hindu extremists
Bombay and Bhiwandi, ● CV broke out between Hindus and Muslims
Maharashtra ● Well-orchestrated attacks and arson
● Hundreds dead (large majority Muslims)

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Akal-Takht
 COMMUNAL HISTORY OF INDIA CONTD. 11

No. Communal Incident Details

3 Mar – Jun 1985, Dispute between upper and lower-caste Hindus
Ahmedabad, Gujarat ● Turned in CV against Muslims
● Death toll exceeded 200

4 May 1987, Minor land dispute turned into large-scale rioting

Meerut, Uttar Pradesh ● Hundreds killed
● Muslim neighborhoods burnt & looted

5 Oct 1989, Ram Shila procession dispute escalated into violence

Bhagalpur, Bihar ● Actual death toll at over a thousand
● Including 896 Muslims

Minority rights group international, CSSS, A narrowing Space: Violence and discrimination against India’s religious minorities
 COMMUNAL HISTORY OF INDIA CONTD. 12

No. Communal Incident Details

6 Apr – Dec 1990, Mobilization by RWH
Various ● Issue of the Babri Masjid
● Hundreds killed across various parts of India.

7 Dec 1992 – Jan 1993, Demolition of the Babri Masjid by RWH

Various ● 900 lives lost
● 575 were Muslim.

8 Feb-Mar 2002, Hindutva terror gangs killed nearly 2000 Muslims

Gujarat ● BJP state government accused of complicity in violence

Minority rights group international, CSSS, A narrowing Space: Violence and discrimination against India’s religious minorities
 COMMUNAL HISTORY OF INDIA CONTD. 13

No. Communal Incident Details

9 August 2008, Assassination of a Hindu nationalist leader
Odisha ● Led to violence against local Christian community
● 39 Christians died
● 230 places of worship vandalized

10 Sep 2013, Communal riots targeted against Muslims

Muzaffarnagar and ● At least 65 died
Shamli, Uttar Pradesh ● 50,000 displaced
● High levels of sexual violence against minority
women

Minority rights group international, CSSS, A narrowing Space: Violence and discrimination against India’s religious minorities
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PULWAMA INCIDENT
 Vehicle-borne suicide attack in
 Pulwama district
 49 IAP killed
 Were traveling in two buses
for Srinagar
 Deadliest suicide attack after
Uri incident (2016)
 19 army personnel were
killed

Editorial, Daily Dawn, 16 February, 2019

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PULWAMA INCIDENT CONTD.
 Suicide bomber:
 Identified as Adil Ahmad Dar
 Local from Pulwama
 Probable connection with JeM
 Evidence extended by India
 Alleged video message of Dar

 JeM Pak did not claim responsibility

 Explosive used was obtained locally

Rahimullah Yusufzai, “The Jaish Links” The News 3 March 2019

Anwar Iqbal, “Pulwama explosive obtained locally, says Indian commander” The daily Dawn 17 Feb 2019
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BACKLASH AGAINST KS

 Indian media launched massive

campaign for revenge
 Since the alleged suicide bomber was
a Kashmiri youth, the RWH extremist
launched campaign against KS
 Students faced attacks, including
violence and harassment,  and
eviction from their homes

AFP, “Kashmiri students flee Indian backlash after Pulwama suicide stack”, The daily Dawn, 21 February 2019
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BACKLASH AGAINST KS CONTD.
 RWH groups/pundits encouraged violence on media
 Uttrakhand colleges (over 4,000 KS) told not to admit students from
Kashmir
 Pronouncements in some areas to “throw out” all young Kashmiris
from their rental accommodations
 JNU professor publicly called for execution of 40 Kashmiris to
avenge suicide bombing
 Two other colleges announced they would no longer accept
Kashmiri students
Joana Slater, “The Washington Post ‘I have never felt so insecure’: Kashmiris face backlash after unprecedented attack” 19 Feb 2019
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RESPONSE OF SC

 Indian SC extended all possible

support to these destitute KS
 UK based Sikh organization
“Khalsa Aid” remained prominent
 With their help, 400 KS were
evacuated and subsequently sent
back to Kashmir safely

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/02/19/sikh-community-comes-to-kashmiri-students-rescue/ (accessed on 7 May)

 RESPONSE OF SC CONTD. 19

 Sikh organizations/Gurdwaras came

forward, opened doors for KS
 Sikhs stood guard outside universities
and colleges to prevent vigilante mobs

 Many innocent Kashmiris would have

lost their lives in absence of that
response
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Issues and Challenges

Unresolved Kashmir Dispute 21
 The Kashmir dispute is the oldest unresolved international conflict in the world
today
 Pakistan considers Kashmir as its core political dispute with India.
 From Jan 1989 till Apr 30, 2019
 Total Killings 95,349
 Custodial Killings 7,123
 Civilian arrested 146,608
 Structures Destroyed 109,318
 Women Widowed 22,901
 Children Orphaned 107,761
 Women gang-raped 11,120

https://kmsnews.org/news/ (accessed 29 May, 2019)

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HINDUTVA
 Common issue of minorities in India
 Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s uni-
cultural theory of preserving cultural
homogeneity
 Not follower of a Hindu deities but
must be a follower of the common
culture of the Sindhu land

 Savarkar himself was an Atheist

Hindutva And Politics, Encyclopedia of India  2006 Thomson Gale, https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-

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Hindutva Contd.
 Defined Hindu not by the theistic value but by the
cultural implications of the Hindu history
 BJP represents the political face of India's Hindutva
ideology
 Belongs to family of organizations known as Sangh
Parivar which strictly follow ideology of Hindutva.
 This inherent tendency in BJP is bringing minorities
closer to each other

Hindutva And Politics, Encyclopedia of India  2006 Thomson Gale, https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-

maps/hindutva-and-politics
 Hegemonic designs of India 24

 Ancient dream of Akhand Bharat

 Nepal , Sri Lanka and Maldives under pressure
 Bhutan under complete control and Bangladesh
being managed through puppet regime of Sheikh
Hasina Wajid
 Afghanistan, Chanakia philosophy
 Pakistan is standing independent against all odds
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CONCLUSION
 Root cuase of turmoil is unresolved Kashmir dispute
 Backlash towards KS is not an isolated incident

 SC has faced similar situation many times

 Both communities are victims of state terrorism & Akhand Bharat

 Sikhs also dream for Khalistan

 Gesture of SC towards KS has deep undertones

 Unity of minority groups, good omen for the region

The Frontier Post, “Sikhs burn Indian flag in Washington DC” 26 January 2019 https://thefrontierpost.com/sikhs-burn-indian-flag-in-washington-dc/ (accessed 7 May 2019
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RECOMMENDATIONS
• State terrorism of India against Kashmiris must be exposed at international
level : early resolution of Kashmir dispute should be stressed
• Identification of miseries of minority groups including Sikh community in
India need to be handled in a carefully designed strategy
• Soft Power image of country needs to be utilized effectively to heighten
perception index and to caution India from resorting to any misadventure
against Pakistan.
 Bibliography 27

 Minority rights group international, CSSS, “A narrowing Space: Violence and discrimination against India’s
religious minorities”, https://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/MRG_Rep_India_Jun17-2.pdf
(accessed 5 May 2019)
 Sikhnet, “Akal Takhat-the attack” https://www.sikhnet.com/pages/akal-takhat-attack accessed 7 May
2019Editorial, Daily Dawn, 16 February, 2019
 Rahimullah Yusufzai, “The Jaish Links” The News, 3 March 2019
 Anwar Iqbal, “Pulwama explosive obtained locally, says Indian commander” The daily Dawn 17 Feb 2019

 Editorial, Daily Dawn, 16 February, 2019

 Navid Siddiqui, “Fear engulfs occupied Kashmir after attack” The daily Dawn, 17 February, 2019
 AFP, “Kashmiri students flee Indian backlash after Pulwama suicide stack”, The daily Dawn, 21 February 2019
 Hindutva And Politics, Encyclopedia of India 2006 Thomson
Gale,https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hindutva-and-
politics (accessed 5 May 2019)
 https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/02/19/sikh-community-comes-to-kashmiri-students-rescue/
 The Frontier Post, “Sikhs burn Indian flag in Washington DC” 26 January 2019 https://thefrontierpost.com/sikhs-
burn-indian-flag-in-washington-dc/ (accessed 7 May 2019)
 https://kmsnews.org/news/2019/05/16/indian-troops-martyr-five-youth-in-iok/ (accessec on 17 May 2019)

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THANK
YOU