Save Kashmiri Students Before Dropouts Increase Once More

In a city that boasts of intellectual tolerance and cultural acceptance, the increasing concern among Kashmiri students in Pune is both pathetic and heart-wrenchingly sad. Although Pune itself has not seen any direct threat, the ripple effect of hate and violence from other states—specifically the reported attacks on students in Punjab and Uttarakhand in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack—is being felt in hushed phone calls from anxious parents and silent disappearances from classrooms.

Alloof more than 1,000 students have come here in Pune from Jammu & Kashmir already. Getting here for all of them did not prove that simple—there was sacrifice asked from families, resistance of fear overcome, gambling with hope against uncertainty of refuge and possibilities. And yet with the fear kicking in now, all this belief can shatter, and its very first victim may be education.

These students, already battling the traumas of displacement, cultural adaptation, and educational stress, are now emotionally besieged—a reminder that for them, even education is contingent. It is not just individual resolve on their part to remain on and learn but also the faith of their parents in a system that does not always shield them when they most need protection, as seen through students like Mohammad Shafi and Ruqaiya Maqbool.

This is not the first time. Post-Pulwama, numerous students went back home in compulsion and never returned. To let history repeat itself is not administrative sloppiness—it is a failure of our collective conscience.

Schools, local police, and civil society in Pune need to act now—not respond later. Meetings with the police commissioner are always welcome, but talk must be turned into policies: 24/7 helplines, checks for safe accommodation, and public messaging that encourages inclusion are the need of the hour. The message must be clear—terror will not divide us, and students will not be punished for crimes they did not commit.

India's promise to its youth is that education will make them better, not worse. To shatter that for any group, particularly one as vulnerable as Kashmiris studying outside their state, is to violate the principles of a fair and democratic republic. Let us not fail them again.