STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: HRD Ministry officials have rejected the demand of outstation students of NIT Srinagar for shifting the institute out of Kashmir but assured them of addressing their “genuine” issues.
A group of outstation students of the NIT met Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar along with officials of Union HRD Ministry last night to discuss the situation at the institute.
“The demand for shifting the NIT out of Kashmir has been outrightly rejected by the HRD Ministry officials. It has been made clear to the students,” official sources said on Saturday. The sources said the ministers and HRD officials, however, assured the students that their genuine demands like better amenities on the campus and improvement in the academic atmosphere will be addressed.
“The Board of Governors of the NITs will be meeting on 11th April where all these issues will be addressed,” the sources said.
They said the ministers told the students that security has never been an issue at the NIT but the State Government will ensure that concerns on this front are addressed.
“The ministers asserted that students of the institute have been here at the peak of militancy and no one has ever been harmed,” the sources said.
Meanwhile, an official of the NIT said the meeting was positive as the situation inside the campus is improving.
The situation is calm but the outstation students are seemingly still on protest, Registrar, NIT Srinagar, Fayaz Ahmad Mir said.
He, however, said there were no protests on the campus this morning.
The students are in their hostels as there was no class work today since weekends are off, he said.
The registrar said it was a positive point that there was no confrontation between non-local and local students.There have been no group confrontations and that is a positive point, he said.
He said the administration has been approached by few injured students who want to go home and as per the directions of the Union HRD Ministry, arrangements are being made for them.
Remaining students, who want to go, may also submit their details so that necessary action may be taken, he said.
Chairman, Board of Governors, M.J Zarabi appealed to the students to help restore normalcy at the campus and help the institute scale great heights.
“I have been very distressed at the recent turn of events at this institute. As chairman Board of Governors NIT Srinagar, my dream and indeed my endeavour would be to see the institute improve its standard,, excel at least in certain areas and improve its rating further,” Zarabi said in his appeal to the students.
He said Kashmir is known as an abode of saints and it is “my dream that NIT Srinagar grows into an institution that serves as a leading example of amity among people from different regions and faiths.”
‘Chalo NIT’: BJP’s yatra stopped at Lakhanpur
JAMMU/NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s NIT yatra from New Delhi to Srinagar was stopped at the Lakhanpur border on late Saturday night.
Around 150 students on Saturday morning embarked on their journey from Delhi to Srinagar to show solidarity with the non-Kashmiri students at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Jammu and Kashmir, following the unrest at the institute.
Holding the national flags, the youths led by Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena’s head Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga commenced the protest march in the morning from Rakabganj Gurudwara Delhi to reach NIT Srinagar.
Bagga, in a press statement said, two buses and seven cars have been arranged for the youths participating in “Chalo NIT” rally. They will reach Srinagar on Sunday.
“Seeing the tense situation in Jammu and Kashmir, we will hand over national flag and show that it is not a crime to hoist the Tricolour in the state. We want to show our support to the non-local NIT students who stood up for the nation and were brutally bashed up by the locals and the police,” Bagga said in the statement.
Youngsters from various professions like IT, architecture have joined the movement to support the non-Kashmiri students, who have been protesting peacefully in the campus.
They were resorted to severe lathicharge by the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Many have joined the rally on the way from Sonipat, Ambala, Panipat and other places during the course of the journey.
“This country has to stay united and fight against anti-national forces. The meaning of nationalism is fading away. We support these youngsters for their endeavour,” President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Manjeet Singh, said.
The Gurdwara management has arranged for the participants’ meal. Meanwhile, security has been tightened at the NIT Srinagar.
JKLF ‘assures’ safety
Srinagar: Amidst the unrest in the National Institute of Technology (NIT) here, separatist leader and JKLF chairman Yaseen Malik on Saturday sought to assure outstation students about their safety, saying Kashmiris will uphold their values of secularism and brotherhood at any cost.
“Kashmir is famous for brotherhood between various communities and secularism and we will uphold them at any cost,” Malik told reporters here.
The JKLF chairman said the separatists in Kashmir did not want to indulge in politics over the NIT issue and people from outside the State have never been put to any harm.
“No pro-freedom leader has ever said anything on educational institutions as they are meant only for education.
We have never said anything that could put non-locals in danger. We do not indulge in politics in the name of educational institutions,” Malik said.
Tension gripped the NIT campus here last week after India lost to West Indies in semi-final in the T20 World Cup, prompting some local students to rejoice and burst crackers.
This led to a protest by outstation students, resulting in clashes.
Malik claimed that many Kashmiri students studying outside the State were facing harassment and some of them have been beaten up for not chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ or ‘Jai Hind’.
He called for a peaceful sit-in at Lal Chowk on Monday and a complete strike on Tuesday to protest against the harassment of the students of Kashmir.
Parents worried
Jaipur: Parents of some students hailing from Rajasthan, who are studying in NIT Srinagar, said they are worried about the security of their wards and have decided to meet the HRD Minister to raise their concerns.
The parents held protests in Jaipur and Kota on Friday against the J and K government for the police Lathicharge in the campus on Tuesday.
They demanded that students be sent back to their respective hometowns.
They also asked the Home Minister to intervene in the matter and they will also meet the HRD minister in Delhi with a request that students be taken out of the campus.
“The students are very much frightened and no one is hearing them. Force is being used against them and they want to leave the campus as soon as possible because they are not safe there,” Mahesh Chand Sharma, whose son is studying in the NIT Srinagar said on Saturday.
According to him almost 100 parents from different parts of the State would reach Delhi today or tomorrow to take up the matter.
Another guardian from Kota said that NIT should be shifted out of J and K to ensure security of the students.
“Students are unsafe and worried about their future and career. They are receiving threats and are under distress. The government should take appropriate action to make the students secure there,” he said.
A student from the state studying in NIT alleged that the students from other states are receiving threats from locals.
