THE central executive committee of SFI, in a statement issued on February 4, has condemned in the strongest possible words the assault of two Kashmiri students by a mob of people in Mahendargarh, Haryana. These students who belong to the minority community had gone to offer Friday prayers. While returning when they were crossing market area they were mercilessly beaten up with sticks, bricks and helmet. What is more shocking is that none of people there or the passersby came to their rescue. The police even refused to register an FIR in the case. It was only after the students tweeted and the former chief minister Omar Abdullah and current chief minister Mehbooba Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir intervened and urged the CM of Haryana to intervene, that a case was registered.  This also exposes the sorry state of affairs of law and order situation in Haryana where CM's intervention is needed to register an FIR.

This not an isolated incident. There have been many such incidents in the recent past; last in 2016 'Pakistan zindabad' slogans were written in Central University of Haryana, Mahendargarh and Kashmiri students were charged and forced to accept the offence. Similar incidents have taken place in Rajasthan, UP and in the entire country where people from a particular religious community are being targeted and assaulted. There is a general atmosphere of hatred and violence in the entire country, be it in the name of religion, caste, ethnicity or gender. While we are aware of the forces behind these attacks, still they continue to enjoy complete impunity from the government; on the other hand the victims are being charged with false cases, the recent being the Pehlu Khan murder case where the victims have been charged with 'cow smuggling'.

SFI demands immediate arrest of all those involved in the assault on Kashmiri students and ensure adequate arrangements for safety, security and medical care of the students injured.