The Kashmiri Pandit Sangarash Samiti (KPSS) expresses deep anguish, sorrow, and unequivocal condemnation over the recent attacks on Kashmiri students in various parts of India, following the tragic incident in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025.
These acts of collective punishment against innocent students, who have neither part nor stake in the prevailing conflict in the Valley, are inhumane, unjustified, and morally indefensible. As an organisation that represents a minuscule and often forgotten religious minority of Kashmir, KPSS knows—too well—the weight of targeted violence, the sting of hatred, and the loneliness of being caught in the crossfire of narratives not of one’s making.
Our lived experiences since 1990 have been a chronicle of persecution, displacement, erasure, and continued struggle for dignity. It is from this lived pain that we raise our voice today—not in anger, but in empathy. The students who are being attacked are young minds who have chosen the difficult path of education and progress, despite coming from a land that has for decades oscillated between hope and heartbreak.
They are not militants, they are not ideologues—they are simply sons and daughters of Kashmir, trying to find a life beyond the shadows of conflict. To harm them in the name of retaliation is to repeat the very cycle of injustice that we as Kashmiri Pandits have always condemned.
It is disheartening that unscrupulous elements are using these vulnerable young students as scapegoats to vent their fury over events in the Valley. This is not only a violation of the principles of justice but also a dangerous blow to the idea of India—a nation that promises constitutional protection and equal dignity to all citizens, regardless of their faith, region, or political backdrop.
KPSS believes strongly that the pain of victimhood should make us more humane, not more vengeful. Those who have suffered must be the first to protect others from similar suffering. Therefore, we make a heartfelt appeal to the wider Kashmiri Pandit community across India—especially in those regions where Kashmiri students are currently being harassed—to rise above bitterness and stand as guardians, not accusers. We must remember: our moral strength comes not from vengeance, but from compassion that refuses to be selective. We understand the anger and frustration that many in our community may feel when yet another flashpoint occurs in Kashmir—a land that never fully accepted us, that abandoned us in our darkest hour.
But to let that pain metastasize into hatred toward innocents who bear no responsibility is to let our trauma win, and to become what we once feared. That is not the path of resilience, nor of justice. It is a betrayal of our own suffering. In this hour, when polarisation threatens to overwhelm dialogue, we must be the bridge. Let us protect these students not despite them being Kashmiri Muslims, but precisely because we know what it means to be hunted for who we are, and not what we have done. We urge the Government of India and the respective State and Union Territory administrations to take immediate and effective steps to safeguard the lives and dignity of Kashmiri students.
Their safe passage, uninterrupted education, and emotional well-being must be ensured without delay. A formal communication highlighting the urgency of the situation has already been submitted to all concerned authorities, including Their Excellencies the Governors and Lieutenant Governors, the Hon’ble Chief Ministers, and the Chief Secretaries of every State and Union Territory, requesting immediate intervention to prevent any form of harassment or targeted violence against students from Kashmir.
These young individuals must not become collateral in the larger conflict. Educational institutions must never be reduced to battlegrounds of identity, and hostel corridors must not resonate with fear. This moment calls not just for administrative action—it is a test of our collective national conscience. In the final analysis, all of us—regardless of our suffering, or our identity—owe it to the future of Kashmir to break this chain of retaliation and rise together in humanity.
The KPSS reaffirms its commitment to a just and inclusive future where no innocent life, of any faith or background, is threatened merely for where they come from. Let us not become the monsters we once fled. Let us, instead, be the light we once searched for.
