After Pahalgam Attack, Kashmiri Students Assaulted in Punjab: A Tragic Blow to Unity
In the shadow of tragedy, India faces another deep wound—this one self-inflicted. Just days after the horrific Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir that claimed the lives of 26 innocent tourists, reports have emerged of a shocking backlash in Punjab. Several Kashmiri students were allegedly beaten by a group of Bihari youths, their clothes torn, their dignity trampled.
This isn’t just a news story. It’s a reflection of pain, of fear, and of a nation that sometimes forgets to differentiate between grief and vengeance.
The Incident: Fear, Anger, and Misplaced Rage
What Happened in Punjab?
According to eyewitness reports and local media, a group of Kashmiri students studying in a college in Punjab became the target of violence shortly after the news of the Pahalgam attack went viral. A few Bihari youths, overwhelmed with grief and anger, allegedly stormed the dormitory housing these students, accusing them of supporting terrorism.
What followed was nothing short of horrifying:
The students were physically assaulted.
Their clothes were torn in public.
Verbal abuse rained down upon them—taunts of being “traitors,” “terrorists,” and “outsiders.”
For those young men and women, many of whom had left their troubled homeland in search of education and peace, this moment turned into a nightmare.
Emotional Impact: When the Nation Forgets Its Own Children
This act was not just one of physical violence—it was emotional terrorism. To be Kashmiri and Indian at the same time should not be a contradiction. And yet, in that moment, these students were made to feel like neither.
Their families back home in Kashmir already live under a shroud of uncertainty, waking up every day to check on the safety of their loved ones. Now, even in mainland India, they fear for their children’s lives—not because of any foreign enemy, but because of their own countrymen.
Voices From the Ground
One of the assaulted students, speaking anonymously, said:
“We cried and begged, but they called us terrorists. I was born in 2003—I’ve never held a stone, let alone a gun. Why am I being punished for someone else’s crime?”
These are voices that don’t make headlines often. But they echo in the hearts of every Indian who believes in justice, compassion, and the Constitution.
A Call for Unity, Not Division
Terrorism has no religion, no region, and no justification. The attack in Pahalgam was an atrocity—one that every Indian, including Kashmiris, mourns deeply. But punishing innocent students in Punjab is not justice. It is injustice layered upon injustice.
India must rise above the impulse of collective blame. As a democracy, our strength has always been in our unity—not our uniformity. Diversity is not a weakness; it’s our power.
What Must Be Done
Authorities must act swiftly to bring the attackers to justice.
Educational institutions need to increase security and awareness campaigns.
Citizens must speak up against such violence, not stay silent in complicity.
Media houses should report responsibly, avoiding sensationalism that fuels hate.
Let Grief Unite Us, Not Divide Us
Grief is a strange emotion—it can unite strangers in silence or push people into darkness. What happened in Pahalgam should have brought us together in mourning, in resilience, in the determination to preserve humanity.
Instead, in a small college campus in Punjab, it led to more pain, more division, and more tears.
Let us remember: true patriotism is not in raising your hand against the weak. It’s in holding hands across differences, especially when the world tries to tear us apart.
