India’s commercial hubs are witnessing an alarming pattern of aggression towards Kashmiri shawl merchants, with Jammu-Kashmir Student Association’s Nasir Kheuhami demanding foolproof security from the administration.
Spotlight falls on a brutal episode in Vikas Nagar targeting an 18-year-old from Kupwara. Alerted by Muslim Seva Sangathan, Kheuhami probed deeply: The studious youth, part of a 30-40-year family tradition, was hawking wares when identity probes led to explosive arguments over terror incidents. A mob ensued, battering him with iron bars, causing profuse bleeding and multiple stitches.
This mirrors a crisis unfolding in Uttarakhand’s Almora, Nainital, Dehradun, Garhwal, and Kumaon. Seasonal travelers supporting winter-impacted households, they enrich host economies yet endure peril.
Collective vilification over outliers is the core grievance, Kheuhami asserts. The victim’s stance: Kashmiris are steadfastly pro-India; evidence-based justice, not communal reprisal. Their enterprise sustains kin and commerce.
Kheuhami’s manifesto is unequivocal—fortify protections for J&K laborers everywhere, hammer offenders legally. India’s unity thrives on equal opportunity: Kashmiris, like migrants from any state, claim pan-national rights.
Inaction invites societal rift, he forewarns. Swift measures will affirm that these diligent souls, weaving economic threads with shawl sales, work in honor, not dread. The nation owes them sanctuary to thrive.