Kashmiri students at AMU to boycott annual celebrations

Kashmiri students at the Aligarh Muslim University on Wednesday said they will boycott the annual Sir Syed day celebrations, including a traditional dinner on Thursday, to express their anguish over the situation in the Valley following the revocation of the state's special status.

There are about 1,300 Kashmiri students studying at the AMU currently.

Talking to reporters in the Aligarh, Sajad Rathar, a Kashmiri student leader and former vice president of the AMU Students' Union, said, "When the rest of the world is celebrating the 202nd birth anniversary of Sir Syed Khan, we are living in pain."

He claimed that contrary to media reports and official claims 'only 5 per cent of the postpaid cell phones have been activated in the Kashmir valley till now'.

Rather said how could the students think of celebrations when their families were living in 'acute distress'.

He said most of the students still did not know how their loved ones were doing 72 days after the lockdown in the Kashmir valley.