Kashmiri Students Face Backlash Across India After Deadly Pahalgam Attack

Kashmiri students studying across several Indian states have reported incidents of harassment, intimidation, and forced evictions in the aftermath of a deadly militant attack in Pahalgam that killed more than two dozen people earlier this week.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, students from Indian-administered Kashmir were targeted in states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh following Tuesday’s assault — the deadliest attack on civilians in the region since 2000. The victims, mostly Hindu men from various parts of India and one Nepali national, were shot dead in the popular tourist destination of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

Survivors of the attack said the gunmen spared only those who could recite the Islamic declaration of faith, Indian media reported, underscoring the communal nature of the violence. The killings have sparked widespread outrage across India, particularly among Hindu nationalist groups.

Nasir Khuehami, convenor of the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association, said several Kashmiri students were asked to vacate their rented accommodations and university hostels on Wednesday. In one instance at a university in Himachal Pradesh, students were reportedly attacked after their hostel rooms were broken into. Some were allegedly called “terrorists.”

“This is not just a security issue,” Khuehami told reporters. “It is a deliberate and targeted campaign of hate and vilification against students from a particular region and identity.”

In Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, nearly 20 Kashmiri students fled to the airport after members of the Hindu Raksha Dal, a fringe right-wing group, issued threats. The group reportedly warned Kashmiri Muslim students to leave the city immediately or face dire consequences.

The escalating tensions come amid heightened security operations in Jammu and Kashmir, where Indian forces have launched a massive manhunt for the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack. Numerous arrests have been made as part of the investigation.

India has accused Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” in connection with the attack, and responded by downgrading diplomatic ties with its neighbor. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the incident.

Kashmir, a majority-Muslim region, has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since 1947. Both countries claim the territory in full but administer separate parts. A decades-long insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1989.