Over 500 students from the University of Kashmir staged a protest against Aligarh Muslim University's decision to suspend two of its students for offering Janaza Namaaz (funeral prayer) for the slain militant Manan Wani. The two students, Wasim Ayub Malik and Abdul Mir, who hail from Kashmir were booked for sedition.
The protesting students questioned the basis of the suspension, as they believe offering prayers is a basic right for any Muslim and it is not a valid enough reason to charge someone with sedition. "Mannan Wani was a Muslim and he deserves a proper funeral. That is the only thing that our brothers in Aligarh Muslim University did. This shouldn't be a reason to suspend them. The government and the authorities are clearly discriminating against them just because they are Kashmiris," says Shafaz Mansoor, a second year MSc student at the University of Kashmir.
Mansoor alleges that Kashmiri students are treated differently and are often seen as terrorists in all other parts of India. "By default, we're tagged as anti-national. This has been going on for years," he says. He also says that Manan Wani, who was a PhD scholar in AMU was a militant only till the day he died. "Manan Wani is no longer alive and it is unfair to call him a militant even now. He deserves a proper funeral. We should think about what prompted an intelligent student like Manan who had a humble upbringing to take to guns. As Kashmiri students we want those issues to be solved," he says.
The protest began at 11 am Monday, however, it did not affect regular classes at the university. Mansoor also says that the faculty have been silent about the incident.
