Kashmiris Face Nationwide Suspicion After Delhi Blast, Triggering Fears, Profiling Claims, Political Outcry

SRINAGAR: A week after the devastating car bomb blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that killed 15 people and left many injured, a widening wave of fear, profiling, and harassment has taken hold among Kashmiris living, studying, or working across the country. Reports of intimidation have emerged from multiple states, triggering political outrage in Jammu and Kashmir and deep concern among families who fear for the safety of their children and relatives outside the Valley.

The latest flashpoint came from Himachal Pradesh, where Kashmiri vendors were allegedly harassed earlier this week. The incident fuelled anxieties that were already running high in the aftermath of the Delhi attack. People’s Democratic Party leader and MLA Mir Mohammad Fayaz called the targeting of Kashmiri workers a “disturbing new norm”, and said it was painful that every Kashmiri was being viewed “through the prism of terrorism”. He said he had spoken to the Himachal Pradesh Governor, who assured him that necessary action would be taken.

The National Conference also voiced alarm. Party spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar described the Himachal episode as “a new low in racial profiling”, saying even those who rent accommodation to Kashmiris were now being threatened. NC president Farooq Abdullah urged the Prime Minister, Home Minister and chief ministers across the country to ensure that ordinary Kashmiris were not viewed with suspicion. He said it was “painful” that the actions of a few misguided individuals had created an atmosphere of hostility for the entire community.

Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone echoed the sentiment, warning that stereotyping Kashmiris had become “chronic” over the past decade. He said lakhs of Kashmiris living outside for business and education were now extremely anxious, and appealed to the Prime Minister and Home Minister to ensure their safety. The Awami Itihaad Party also expressed concern, with spokesperson Inam Un Nabi calling it a “deeply worrying trend” that Kashmiris were being singled out across various states.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the atmosphere had become so fraught that even he felt uneasy taking out his official vehicle in Delhi. “I don’t know who will stop me and ask where I am from and why I am here,” he said, adding that a perception was being created that the entire community was to blame for the actions of a handful. He said that after the blast, parents would be reluctant to send their children outside the region, and that the responsibility now lay with the government to create opportunities within Jammu and Kashmir.

The ripple effects of the Delhi blast have been felt in campuses as well. A J&K-based students’ group claimed that Uttarakhand Police had placed 1,700 Kashmiri students under heightened surveillance. Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said a wave of anger had swept the country after the attack, but insisted that Kashmiris must not become the target of collective punishment. She said the deceased in the Delhi blast included a Kashmiri, and that the anger should not be directed at the community. Mufti said it was time for introspection within J&K as well, raising a troubling question about why educated youth were “preferring death over life”. She appealed to religious scholars, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, to speak to young people and discourage them from taking violent paths.

Mufti also acknowledged the suffocating atmosphere after the revocation of Article 370 in 2019, saying widespread arrests and pressure had brought the region to a dangerous phase. But she stressed that no grievance could justify turning one’s body into a bomb. She said the actions of the doctor involved in the attack had made “life more difficult” for Kashmiris everywhere, intensifying suspicion both inside and outside the region.

The sense of collective pressure was echoed by Omar Abdullah, who said that despite promises made in 2019, the cycle of violence had continued. He said it was the responsibility of security agencies to explain why bloodshed had not stopped. “If it is not exploding in Delhi, then it is exploding here in Kashmir,” he remarked, after visiting multiple families affected by the Nowgam police station blast.

Meanwhile, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari said the intimidation of Kashmiri students outside the Valley was “deeply unfortunate and highly distressing”. He said parents had approached him saying their children were being taken away by agencies without their knowledge, and urged authorities to ensure transparency during investigations.

The sweeping, multi-agency probe into the Delhi blast has intensified scrutiny on Kashmiris in several states. In Faridabad alone, police have checked more than 500 people from Jammu and Kashmir since the incident. As reports of harassment continue, Kashmir’s political leadership is collectively appealing to the Centre to prevent the situation from escalating into a nationwide crisis of mistrust.

For now, the fallout of the Delhi blast has moved far beyond the crime scene, deepening emotional, political, and social fault lines. The Valley is struggling with fear on two fronts: the fear of being targeted outside, and the fear of further alienation within.