SrinagarAs India and Pakistan brace up for a high-voltage cricket match for Champions Trophy 2017, parents of students studying outside Jammu and Kashmir are a concerned lot as they fear for the security of their wards.
Many parents across the valley have called their wards back home for some days in order to avoid any un-toward incident.
I called my younger brother back home few days ago because we were concerned about his safety due to tensions associated with any Indo-Pak cricket match. He is diehard fan of Pakistan and may cheer for them during the match, said Mudasir Ahmad of Bandipora whose brother is currently pursuing MBA in Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU).
Kulsooma Bano, from north Kashmir area echoed the same view saying, My son is passionate about cricket since childhood. Keeping this in my mind I thought it was better to call him back to home for a while in order to avoid any incident which might destroy his career as many students were expelled in recent years following controversies over the fans cheering their favourite teams.
Another parent from the Srinagar said that he had called his son back to valley as he is worried that after the cricket match between India and Pakistan he might be attacked by right wing activists if India loses the match.
Cricket matches between India and Pakistan tend to be high-voltage dramas, played out in a charged atmosphere with millions of people watching on television.
Many students from Kashmir Valley studying in different Indian states usually gather in hostels and other venues where they together watch such matches. Their cheering of rival Indian teams often invites assaults from students and activists associated with the right wing parties.
Kashmiris support any team that is playing against India, It is the anti-India political sentiment that surfaces during such situations, it is a form of non-violent resistance to India rule in Kashmir, student Danish Noor claims.
The same sentiment is what worries the parents of the students who are studying outside the Jammu and Kashmir. The result of the cricket match will also determine the situation of which the parents of these students are apprehensive: A Pakistans win might invite trouble for the students while a loss may mean a brief sadness but a calm situation, he said.
When Kashmir Observer contacted Education Minister of the state, Syed Altaf Bukhari about the fears parents of these students, he said State Govt will take up the matter with the police chiefs of different states and ensure no harm comes to any Kashmiri student studying there.
We will contact police in different states to ensure the safety of students studying there, Bukhari said adding, but I want to appeal students to behave maturely, Its just a game and it has to be taken in the spirit of a game.
It is pertinent to mention that in 2014 around 67 Kashmiri students studying in Meerut University were suspended over cheering for Pakistan cricket team in the Asia Cup.
The apprehensions grew more after the UP government charged these students with sedition which were dropped later on after outrage from various quarters in the Valley. The minimum punishment for a sedition offence is three years and the maximum is life sentence.
Another university to expel students for celebrating Pakistans victory over India in the Asia cup, in past, was the Sharda University in Greater Noida. Local students had rallied to demand the expulsion of six Kashmiri students following their provocative posts on social media.
India will take on Pakistan in their opening ICC Champions Trophy 2017 match at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, England on Sunday.
As the history suggests, it has been one of the blockbuster events and above all which has been witnessed by millions of fans across the border, beyond gentlemans game.
However, the mouth-watering contest has always delivered a punch more than its expectations be it one or another way.
The India vs Pakistan match is much more than just a game. Both the sub-continental neighbours share a hostile relation and have not played a bilateral cricket series since 2012. It is only during the ICC tournaments that these two countries play against each other and their last encounter was at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2016.
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