‘Such Treatment Leads To Alienation, Injustice’
New Delhi, Feb 3: The Centre today asked all the states and Union territories not to target people from Jammu and Kashmir for police reporting for merely being residents of the state, an issue that was vociferously raised almost by all the successive governments in the state right from 1996.
In an advisory to all states and UTs, the Ministry of Home Affairs asked them to exercise utmost sensitivity while making inquiries about residents of Jammu and Kashmir living in different parts of the country.
“It has also asked the states to issue appropriate instructions to all police stations that they (Kashmiris) should not be singled out unnecessarily for police reporting merely on grounds of their being original Kashmiri residents,” a statement issued by the Ministry said.
It asked the states and Union territories to report to it the action taken in such cases.
It said the interlocutors visiting the state had received representations from the common people and various stakeholder groups that Kashmiri boys and girls were singled out by the police in states outside J&K and asked to report to police stations merely on account of the fact that they belong to Kashmir.
“This kind of treatment affects the sensibility of the residents of state and they experience a sense of humiliation leading to feeling of alienation and injustice. The Indian Constitution and the law of the land does not permit discrimination on account of race, religion, caste and creed,” it said. The advisory comes close on the heels of Mumbai Police issuing unsigned notice to its police stations asking them to keep a close watch on Kashmiri people.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also raised the issue of harassment of Kashmiris outside the state with the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
He had also assured 24x7 assistance from the state police if there was any query from other states and Union Territories.
Pertinently, almost all the successive governments in the state had raised the issue with the Union Home Ministry on several occasions and had also said that this was insulting for the residents of the state.
Kashmiris, mostly students and businessman are facing humiliating enquiries from the police in various states while they are travelling outside. They were being asked to report to the concerned police stations and even have to undergo strict verification while staying in hotels, especially in the run up to the Independence Day and the Republic Day functions.
Over the years, Kashmiris are seen as suspects outside the state and on numerous occasions Kashmiri students’ have been held for questioning by security agencies’ merely on the basis of suspicion. On other occasions, even fabricated cases have been registered against them for medals and promotions by police in various states.