THE Jammu and Kashmir state committee of the CPI(M) in a statement issued on April 8 has said it is unfortunate that, what was a non-issue, has been allowed to gain monstrous proportions by misinterpretations, unnecessary media-hype and mere politicking. As is now clear the incident occurred in NIT Srinagar in the wake of India versus West Indies Cricket match, as a section of local students raised slogans which were objected to, by the non-locals. In the aftermath, there was a minor scuffle but the issue was settled by the management and the institution re-opened after a short time for normal work. However, a section of non-local students staged a protest and tried to come out of the premises despite being told not to do so for security reasons. This led to the police action and the police as usual, dealt with the situation harshly. This again led to more protests and the undue media hype with negative angles and inferences. The hype given to the incident has to be understood in the context of the aggressive pseudo-nationalism propagated by the regressive and divisive forces encouraged by the BJP government. It has to be noted that for the last several years, there has not been any such incident in this institute, despite the fact that Kashmir valley remained disturbed and mass protests took place in 2008 and 2010. There was no sense of insecurity among the non-local students and no one reported any sort of discrimination prior to the present unfortunate occurrence. It is a matter of satisfaction that a number of non-local students of the institute have expressed their dismay on the negative reaction expressed by the vested interests. It is also heartening that locals have come forward for working towards peace and harmony in the institute. The J&K state committee of CPI(M) has urged upon the state and the central governments to deal with the situation cautiously and allow the college administration to sort out the issues with the students amicably. While the genuine grievances of the students should be addressed at the earliest, the government should also make serious efforts for the removal of security related complaints of Kashmiri students studying outside J&K. Those pursuing higher studies and professional courses in any part of the country should live and work with dignity and without any fear whatsoever.