'Cursed': Kashmiris Face Widespread Attacks Across India Following Pahalgam Killings

New Delhi, India – Strolling through the cramped and busy streets of Jalandhar, a city located in Punjab’s northern region, Aasif Dar abruptly noticed that "everyone was looking at him."

And they were not welcoming looks.

"I felt as though everyone in the audience had revenge on their minds," Dar recounted.

As Dar and a companion reached an ATM, two unfamiliar individuals confronted them, questioning their ethnic background. Panicked, they fled the scene. The following day, on April 23, Dar ventured out from home to purchase milk. "Three men spotted me and began spewing Islamophobic insults," Dar recounted. "'He’s Kashmiri,' one of them yelled, 'and all problems stem from people like him,'" he added.

On Tuesday, April 22, gunmen opened fire on tourists in Kashmir’s resort town of Pahalgam, killing 26 tourists and injuring a dozen others.

Nevertheless, despite New Delhi accusing Pakistan of orchestrating the assault, which was taken responsibility by a militant organization advocating separation from India, these murders have simultaneously exposed the nation’s religious and ethnic divisions.

As Indian government forces keep searching for the assailants in Kashmir’s thick forests and mountainous regions, Kashmiri individuals residing throughout India, particularly students, have recounted facing ridicule, intimidation, and threats from extreme right-wing Hindu organizations—or sometimes even from their fellow students.

In regions ranging from Uttarakhand, Punjab, to Uttar Pradesh, landlords are evicting Kashmiri tenants, and many shopkeepers are declining to do business with them. Numerous Kashmiri students find themselves spending nights at airports as they attempt to return home.

Another person executed the fatal assault. "And we find ourselves here having to bear the cost," stated Dar.

‘Mistrust everywhere I look’

The disputed region of Kashmir is claimed in full, but ruled in parts, by both India and Pakistan.

New Delhi has accused Islamabad of indirect involvement in “cross-border terrorism” and the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan refutes the allegations and says it only provides moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiri nationalism. It has said that India has not provided any evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack, which has left the nuclear-armed neighbours locked in a tense standoff: New Delhi has walked out of a water-sharing treaty; both nations are expelling each other’s citizens and are scaling back the diplomatic strengths of their missions in each other’s capitals.

However, within India, Kashmiris are facing the impact of the outrage following Tuesday’s assault.

Almost a dozen Kashmiris who talked to Al Jazeera, insisting on confidentiality, mentioned that they remain confined to their rooms across at least seven Indian cities. They refrain from engaging in any external communication such as ordering online services or reserving rides through apps.

Dar is a second-semester student studying anesthesia and operating theater technology at an institution in Jalandhar. This marks the first occasion where Dar has ventured away from his parents and homeland of Kashmir to further his educational pursuits.

There are no chances left in Kashmir, and I am eager to work diligently towards securing my future," he mentioned during a telephone conversation. "Should I excel here, I would have the ability to provide for my family.

However, the truth remains disheartening for him. As his final examinations approach, Dar mentioned feeling increasingly worried and dejected. "I seem to have forgotten all the material I studied over these past few months," he stated. "A persistent doubt haunts me—I might miss classes; return home, and feel utterly lost with no clarity."

There’s distrust all around me," he stated. "Additionally, we’re burdened since our facial features reveal our ethnic background.

Shortly following the assault, numerous survivor testimonies came forward indicating that the attackers divided the targeted travelers based on their religious affiliation. Out of the 26 fatalities, 25 were Hindu males.

However, mostly overlooked amidst the surge of anti-Kashmiri and anti-Muslim hatred engulfing Indian social media platforms since Tuesday was the fact that the 26th victim was a Kashmiri Muslim individual who attempted to prevent the assailants from killing the visitors.

"Xenophobic rhetoric has been prevalent in contemporary India for several years, primarily targeting Muslims," stated Sheikh Showkat, a political analyst and scholar from Kashmir.

“He stated that Kashmiris carry a dual burden: of identifying as Kashmiri—and as Muslims. They often become the easiest targets.”

'Provide this treatment to Kashmiri Muslims'

About 350 kilometers (217 miles) distant from Jalandhar, located in Dehradon, which serves as the capital of Uttarakhand state, the head of an extreme right-wing Hindu nationalist group delivered a menacing statement on Tuesday.

We won't wait for the government to act... Kashmiri Muslims, depart by 10 AM, otherwise you'll encounter consequences beyond your imagination," stated Lalit Sharma, the head of the Hindu Raksha Dal, in a video message. " Tomorrow, our team members will go out from their houses to administer this treatment to Kashmiri Muslims.

Similar warnings were soon hitting the social media feed of *Mushtaq Wani, a 29-year-old Kashmiri student in the city.

Pursuing his master’s in library science, Wani, who is older than most Kashmiri students in the city, started receiving panicked calls from others. “We took the threats seriously,” he said.

There is a history of violence against Kashmiris in the region: soon after the deadly suicide bombing attack in 2019 in Pulwama, which killed at least 40 paramilitary personnel, Kashmiri students were hunted down in Dehradun, beaten up, and forced back home. Several did not return to the city.

This is how our life goes," Wani sighed. "This keeps happening repeatedly—why can’t India eliminate the militants all at once? They possess such vast numbers of troops, yet there are fewer militants…someone ends up killing someone else, and our lives get completely disrupted.

Following the threats, Wani has organized transportation for at least 15 students returning to Kashmir. Regarding his own situation, he remains vigilant, holed up in a friend's house, getting ready for his final exams starting next week. "We are frightened and don’t feel secure, but missing my tests would cost me dearly," he stated.

Wani mentioned that he experienced some relief following the arrest of Sharma, the far-right leader, by the police. He also reassured Kashmiri students that the authorities were committed to safeguarding them.

‘Pahalgam changed everything’

Following the circulation of videos depicting terrified Kashmiri individuals and their physical attacks in almost half a dozen Indian cities across social media platforms, Omar Abdullah, who had recently been appointed as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, called upon fellow state leaders on X to guarantee the security of Kashmiris.

I ask the citizens of India not to view the people of Kashmir as adversaries," Abdullah subsequently informed journalists. "The events that transpired were not sanctioned by us. We do not stand as foes.

In 2019, the Indian government abruptly eliminated the area's semi-autonomous status and split the previous state into two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir, along with Ladakh—in the midst of an extensive communication shutdown. Despite Abdullah taking office last year following the first state legislative elections in ten years, the current Jammu and Kashmir government holds significantly fewer powers compared to other provincial administrations, as New Delhi maintains substantial control.

*Umer Parray, who hails from South Kashmir, has been pursuing his studies in pharmacy at Jammu University for half a decade now. The region consists of Muslim-dominated Kashmir and predominantly Hindu-populated Jammu, which together form part of the same union territory.

Up until Pahalgam, things were going well in Jammu, he mentioned. "However, the Pahalgam attack altered everything," he stated.

Previously, Parray used to take nighttime strolls with buddies to gelato places. Following the assault, he hasn’t ventured outside his house in a locality predominantly inhabited by people from Kashmir.

On the night following the assault, many young males cruised around the area on bicycles—honking loudly and yelling "Jai Shri Ram." Traditionally a religious mantra and salutation, this phrase has been adopted by extremist factions in recent times as an aggressive battlecry.

Later, a video emerged Men assaulting and chasing Kashmiri students in the nearby street.

“We have never seen anything like this,” he said.

* The first names of Kashmiri students have been altered to safeguard their identities due to concerns about potential retaliatory assaults.