New Delhi: It was 2 pm when 20-year-old Imran’s phone buzzed with a video that changed the course of his day. A BSc paramedical student at a university in Dehradun, he saw a member of the Hindu Raksha Dal warning Kashmiri Muslim students to leave campus before 10 am on Thursday morning.
Shocked, Imran immediately gathered Kashmiri students in his hostel room, contacted the college CEO, and requested a cab to the airport. He is currently waiting at Dehradun Airport for his flight back to Kashmir.
“Our CEO also advised us to leave for now, saying the situation might worsen. Once things return to normal, we can come back,” Imran, a resident of Kupwara in Kashmir, told ThePrint.
Threatening calls to leave the state, scuffles among students, and landlords asking Kashmiri Muslims to vacate—such scenes are unfolding across states in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 28 tourists in Kashmir. The family members of the victims have claimed that the terrorists checked the religion of the deceased before shooting them. The incident took place at Baisaran valley, also known as mini-Switzerland, a well-known tourist destination, in Pahalgam.
The attack has sparked a wave of anxiety across India. Worried Kashmiri parents are urging their children to return home. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir student organisations have launched helpline numbers. They are tracking distress calls and urging the government to intervene and ensure the safety of these students. Delhi’s J&K Resident Commission has also shared helpline numbers for students in various states. Social media is flooded with Reels asking people to stop visiting Kashmir.
J&K Resident Commission, New Delhi shares helpline numbers for students studying in different states@diprjk pic.twitter.com/1Fk887DYYZ
— Information & PR, Srinagar (@ddprsrinagar) April 24, 2025
“Stop visiting Kashmir until the government can guarantee your safety. The whole of Kashmir depends on tourism and if you choose to stop visiting, they will truly suffer,” read one such post.
For the first time in three decades, Kashmir witnessed a shutdown in the wake of a terror attack. Shops, eateries, and public institutions were shut on Wednesday. A protest by Kashmiris condemning the incident was also witnessed at Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
The students say that the fear this time is, the backlash would be more immediate and intense than what they experienced after the Pulwama attack. Back in 2019, Kashmiri students across India were harassed and forced to leave campuses. In 2019, a terror attack was carried out in Pulwama by a suicide bomber, resulting in the death of 40 CRPF personnel.
“There are eight confirmed cases of Kashmiri students being harassed across India—including in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Jammu. We’re coordinating with state ministers and urging them to take action. Everyone is involved to ensure Kashmiri students are safe,” said Nasir Khuehami, national convenor, J&K Students Association. The body is connected to thousands of Kashmiri students across India.
Landlords worried
A man in a black shirt sits on a revolving chair, the letters ‘HRD’—Hindu Raksha Dal—flashing in bold red behind him. He stares into the camera, voice brimming with aggression, and begins speaking. The video is now being circulated online.
“I can’t express how upset I am because of the terror attack in Pahalgam… I don’t know what to do, except one thing: If we see even a single Kashmiri Muslim in Dehradun tomorrow, hum uska ilaj karenge—we will deal with them,” he said.
Incident Number 4th.
Hindu Raksha Dal has issued an open threat to Muslim Kashmiri students studying in the state just now, vowing to 'pick them up one by one'. They've set a chilling ultimatum, demanding that all Kashmiri Muslim students vacate the state by 10 AM tommrrow.… pic.twitter.com/LKUUPJXO8b
— Nasir Khuehami (ناصر کہویہامی) (@NasirKhuehami) April 23, 2025
And he has a plan too. He says that on Thursday at 10 am, Hindu Raksha Dal teams will step out of their homes and start searching for Kashmiri Muslim students in Dehradun. “We won’t sit depending on the government. We no longer can live this life of cowardice.”
And then he gives the ultimatum: “Kashmiri students, you have only time till 10 am tomorrow [Thursday]. Pack your bags and leave.”
“After the video went viral, around 20 to 25 students from Uttarakhand rushed to the airport and were sleeping at the airport last night. Students are returning home now,” Khuehami said.
Also read: ‘For one death, 10 necks’—India’s news TV calls for revenge after Pahalgam terror attack
Prayagraj
Within hours of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, two young men working in a woodcutting factory in Prayagraj were promptly pulled aside. Both were Muslim men from Kashmir.
“My manager said it’s not safe and that we need to go home,” said one of the workers. Since then, he’s barricaded himself in his room, waiting for the public to calm down.
“Our manager said everything will be fine in a week’s time. Till then, I am not stepping outside my house,” he said. But his colleague and roommate, fearing for his safety, left Prayagraj and went to Chandigarh.
Dozens of Kashmiri workers and students in Prayagraj associated with the J&K Students Association have received ‘ultimatums’ from landlords to vacate the city immediately, Khuehami said.
“Landlords asked some of the students to leave the city since the current atmosphere of very heated emotions might not be safe for them,” Khuehami added. “Landlords told them to leave today, saying they might be beaten tomorrow.”
One such youth who has been asked to leave immediately has been “crying and shivering with fear”.
The Prayagraj police have dismissed these claims, calling them rumours.
“Students and landlords were contacted by concerned ACP rank officers, neither such a complaint has been made by students nor has any landlord asked anyone to vacate. Kindly don’t spread rumours,” said Prayagraj police.
Also read: Pakistan’s isolating itself in the Muslim world by backing terrorism
Himachal Pradesh
A Kashmiri student from Arni University in Himachal’s Kangra was sitting in his room, which he rents outside of campus, when a group of students knocked on his door. Some of his friends were with him. When none of them opened the door, the students outside kicked the door and shouted, “You terrorists, come out.”
The incident took place on Wednesday night. The 23-year-old, along with his friends, remained huddled in the room until they called the warden. The warden identified the students involved and instructed them to apologise.
“We are safe and at the university. The warden really helped,” the student said.
However, the anxiety hasn’t gone away. He says he wants to go home but doesn’t have the money to book a flight ticket, which is exorbitantly priced.
Khuehami said that the J&K Students Association has been receiving calls and messages from students and workers to book their tickets as they are short of money.
“We are trying to arrange it. We have also spoken to the offices of PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti to help us out.”
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)