Srinagar: Despite many appeals by J&K Government to students against holding protests, intense pro-freedom sloganeering was witnessed in Sri Pratap (SP) College in Srinagar on Monday.
Kashmir Valley has been witnessing pro-freedom protests by students during class work hours since army men entered a government run college in Pulwama last month.
The besieged students had expressed resentment against allowing army to enter the college premises which later resulted in violent clashes during which many students were injured.
The protests spread across Valley in following days with students in Srinagar and other districts coming out of their educational institutions seeking “freedom”.
Reports coming from the SP College said that students started pro-freedom and anti-India sloganeering inside the college premises and they later tried to come out on the busy M A Road. However, the reports added, men in uniform stopped the march of students which resulted in clashes.
“Forces fired scores of tear gas canisters to stop the protests but students reacted by pelting stones and raising pro freedom slogans,” eye witnesses said.
Last some weeks witnessed Lal Chowk turning in to a battle zone between students clad in white uniform and men in Khaki. Many students, both girls and boys, have sustained injuries during these protests.
The protesting students belonged to SP College, Women’s College and SP Higher Secondary School.
As a precautionary measure, the Srinagar administration on Sunday ordered closure of SP Higher Secondary to “avoid the protests”.
In past weeks, similar steps were taken in other districts where authorities shut schools and colleges to avoid uniformed students from coming on streets.
Describing the student protests as ‘legitimate’, J&K Education Minister, Syed Altaf Bukhari, told a newspaper, “when police and other security forces will barge into colleges, like in Pulwama, students will react.”
“Students were reacting to the high-handedness of forces. They were also expressing solidarity with the college students of Pulwama. So, the protests of students are legitimate”
On a question whether protesting students were demanding political solution to Kashmir, Bukhari said, “they are young minds who have no idea of politics. Neither they have put such a demand before me, nor have we come across such demands in the past one month.”
“Students were reacting to the high-handedness of forces. They were also expressing solidarity with the college students of Pulwama. So, the protests of students are legitimate,” he added.
After student protests refused to stop, governor N N Vohra shot an appeal and asked “all leaders” to join hands “for peace”.
He even called several meetings to discuss the issue and directed Valley based varsities and colleges to counsel students.
In an attempt to calm down students’ tempers, Bukhari made his personal cell number as well as e-mail ID public asking students to register their grievances with him.
