NEW DELHI: An Indian government warning against universities in Pakistani-administered Kashmir has caused a backlash in the disputed territory.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule of the subcontinent in 1947. Both South Asian countries claim the territory in full and have fought two wars over it.
Last month the regulatory body for higher education in India, the University Grant Commission (UGC), asked students not to register with unapproved institutions in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) is an integral part of India. The educational institutions including universities, medical colleges, and technical institutions situated in PoK are neither established by the Indian government nor recognized by statutory authorities including the UGC, AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education) and the Medical Council of India,” UGC secretary Rajnish Jain said in the advisory.
“Students are therefore cautioned and advised against taking admission in a college, university or technical institution in any territory under illegal occupation of Pakistan.”
The warning angered activists and educationalists.
“It is an extremist step by the Indian government,” G. N. Var, chairman of a private schools’ association, told Arab News. “This is also against the basic concept of universal education. You cannot deprive students from seeking admission in any part of the world. Such an advisory sends a wrong signal.”
He said he had been receiving calls from students across Kashmir about the advisory.
“The students are confused, angry and in panic. They are worried what will happen if they return with a degree from Pakistan. Will there be any future for them here or not?”
Barring students from going to Pakistan-administered Kashmir was a ruse, he added, as New Delhi was taking its animosity with Islamabad to “another level.”
Arab News contacted students in Srinagar for their reaction, but most refused to talk for fear of a government crackdown.
But one student spoke on condition of anonymity.
“All spheres of life are under government control now,” he told Arab News. “I cannot decide for myself where I want to study. This is a tragedy.”
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors have soared since February, when a suicide attack on an Indian convoy in Kashmir killed 42 paramilitary troopers. Responsibility was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and there followed military escalations and even an aerial dogfight.
Last month India suspended trade across the disputed border, alleging that weapons and drugs were being smuggled across the route. A key highway has also been closed to civilian vehicles for two days a week to keep it open exclusively for military and paramilitary convoys.
Srinagar-based separatist leader Mirwaiz Mohammad Umar Farooq called the UGC advisory an “unfortunate politicization” of education.
“Kashmiri students are like students worldwide and they have every right to study anywhere they want,” he said in a statement. “Barring them from seeking admission in educational institutions of Pakistan-administered Kashmir makes no sense.”
Prof. Sheikh Showkat Hussain, from the Central University of Kashmir, said the advisory was absurd. Few students went to Pakistan-administered Kashmir as most went to the big cities like Islamabad and Lahore, he told Arab News. He said the bigger picture was aimed at discouraging students from going to Pakistan.
Sushobha Barve, from the Center for Dialogue and Reconciliation, said the advisory should not be given too much weight.
“If Kashmiris take degrees from universities based in Pakistan-administered Kashmir they will not be recognized by India. But degrees from other universities in Pakistan are recognized. So students should not be ignorant about the reality,” he told Arab News.
“Until India and Pakistan start talking to each and new confidence building measures are taken these issues will not be resolved.”
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