The Pulwama terror attack on the CRPF convoy that claimed the lives of more than 40 jawans, sent the whole nation into shock.
There is still grief and outrage, and that has given rise to some controversies, some disagreements and some hostility; especially towards Kashmiri students.
There were reports of Kashmiri students being forced to lock themselves up in their Dehradun hostel because of a hostile mob that had gathered outside.
The rage on the ground was also reflected on the trends online, especially on social media.
Hashtags like #ExposeDeshDrohis, #KashmiriStudents, #TimeForRevenge were trending for the better part of Sunday, 17 February 2019. The names of the separatist leaders like ‘Hashim Qureshi’, ‘Gilani’, ‘Shabir Shah’ were also trending in light of their security cover being revoked by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
Hostility Towards Kashmiri Students at Peak
Post the attack, there were also people who were defending this call of violence against Kashmiri students. More than defending, some were also calling for an exodus of sorts that asked for Kashmiris to go back to Kashmir.
On ground there were ‘Anti-Kashmir’ protests in Dehradun, Ambala, Jaipur among a few other places.
Support For Kashmiri Students Pour In
After the stories of hostility towards Kashmiri students started to emerge, there was also support online for students including CRPF issuing a list of emergency contacts for students who feared that they might face violence.
A user took help of a popular meme to show how bizarre the call for violence and hostility really sounds.
Many people also posted statuses and tweeted saying that there doors were open to Kashmiri students if they feared for their safety. Some also started using #SOSKashmir.
‘#TimeForRevenge’: Revenge Takes Center Stage
On the day of the attack, 14 February 2019, there was a hashtag ‘#BadlaKab’ or when will we take revenge that was trending on Twitter. Later, ‘#timeforrevenge’ started trending with many tweets calling for violence to be inflicted on Pakistan and also a possible call for war.
People including student activist Gurmehar Kaur, criticised this narrative by saying that the call for war is not the answer and that it only leads to more bloodshed.
Kaur and other twitter users were trolled for sharing their “anti-national” sentiments.
There were also videos being circulated online that allegedly showed Kashmiris being beaten up in various parts of the country. While others again called for hostility and violence.
(The Quint does not independently verify these claims.)
The hashtag ‘#ExposeDeshDrohis’ was being used under various connotations. Most of it was being used to hit out at people who condemned the call for “revenge”.
A user also pointed out how there was a request by the CRPF team to transport them aerially which was not granted, and by that means the government can also be termed as a ‘traitor’.
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