Bihari Muslim students clash with Kashmiri Muslim students- The Wire, Quint give it a ‘Kashmiris under attack’ spin

The mainstream media and leftist portals have once again lived up to their reputation of spreading fake news and drawing a communal angle in every possible incident or event. Yesterday, the Police registered an FIR after a clash broke out between two groups of Muslim students in the Mewar University in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan. One of the groups involved in the clash comprised of Kashmiri students and the other group compromised of students from Bihar. The clash broke out after a minor dispute relating to an argument overpasses to step out of the University compound. 

Students from Kashmir reportedly sustained injuries, and the leftist portals found an opportunity to give the entire matter a communal twist. The Wire has reported that the Kashmiris were called ‘terrorists’ and were thrashed by fellow students.

The Wire had even quoted Nasir Khuehami, spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir students’ association, as saying, “A vicious campaign against Kashmiris is being run in the country and we condemn it in the harshest words. Such incidents further contribute to alienating the Kashmiri youth. They increase the sense of insecurity and anxiety among Kashmiri students studying outside as well as among their parents and relatives in Kashmir.”

The leftist portal has also attempted to link this event with abrogation of Article 370 by the Modi government. There is, therefore, a clear attempt to push the politically motivated agenda of somehow proving that the Kashmiri Muslims are facing a security threat in the country. 

Yet another leftist portal, The Quint came out with a misleading report about the clash suggesting that the Kashmiri Muslim students were called ‘terrorists’. The pseudo-secular politicians too have joined in spreading the fake news over the altercation at the Chittorgarh college. Sitaram Yechury, a CPI (M) leader also tried taking full advantage of the clash between the two student groups. Taking to Twitter, he said, “Life continues to be disrupted in Kashmir despite HM’s claim in Parliament. The hatred spread against Kashmiri Indians is resulting in such condemnable incidents. Kashmiris in Mewar Varsity Thrashed, Allegedly Called ‘Terrorists’.” 

https://twitter.com/SalmanNizami_/status/1198235707875061761

This version of the Kashmiri Muslim students being thrashed for their Kashmiri or Muslim identity is far detached from reality. If facts are to be taken into consideration, the Kashmiri students have themselves made it clear that the attack happened because of the dispute and not on account of their being Kashmiris or Muslims. The police too have corroborated this version.

One of the Kashmiri students said, “They (students from Bihar) were angry about us getting passes to go out. We went outside at a shop to buy milkshakes and other eatables… Most of us play in the rugby team. Later during dinner time, the students from Bihar surrounded us. We were not attacked because of our religion and us being Kashmiris as the people from the other side were also Muslims.”

The propaganda machine has subtly overlooked the fact that most of the Bihari students were also Muslim, and that the scuffle broke out over a matter that had nothing to do with the Kashmiri Muslim identity of the boys. The intent was to attack the Modi government over the abrogation of article 370, and to weave a narrative that India is slipping into majoritarian extremism.

This incident is a strong example of how far an entire ecosystem consisting of leftist portals, political players and mainstream media can go in their attempts to twist facts and reality to give a particular illusion and to push their political agenda in a manner far detached with the real circumstances.