Kashmiri Research Scholar Quits BITS Pilani After Getting Racially Abused By Fellow Students

It’s very easy to express outrage every time an Indian is racially abused abroad – be it in Australia, the USA or most recently – in Ireland. It is incredibly difficult to accept that we are equally as racist back at home and even more so because we are discriminating against our own countrymen.

In a very ugly case of homegrown racism, a 27-year-old Kashmiri research scholar, Hashim Sofi, in BITS Pilani chose to give up his career and go back home because he was racially abused by his fellow students in the prestigious institute.

This is the second incident where a Kashmiri has been abused in Rajasthan. A few days ago, a group of Kashmiri students were termed as ‘terrorists’ and beaten up in a market in Chittorgarh.

 

His fellow research scholars at his hostel wrote racial slurs like ‘Kashmiri dog’, ‘terrorist’, and ‘Kashmiri pervert’ on his door and on his t-shirt. The Bandipore boy’s family was shocked and appealed to him to return home.

He obeyed and promptly informed his research guide and left for Kashmir.

“My career demands that I go back but my conscience does not allow me to…. I think I will not return to that place again.”

Which seems fair enough. Why would he want to go back to a place that discriminates without any punishment whatsoever?

 

The media relations officer at BITS Pilani did admit to The Telegraph that racist slurs were indeed scrawled on the Hashim’s hostel door. But he denied that the institute received any complaint.

It’s shocking that an institute as prestigious as BITS has to wait for a formal complaint to act on such a despicable act. If the incident was not reported by the media, it would have been hush-hushed.

In the last part of a defensive stance, BITS said that Hashim Sofi is yet to be formally registered as a student and was allotted the temporary room in his hostel.

If India’s premier education centres are behaving like this, then only God knows what will happen to the rest of the country.

Source – Telegraph India