In a shocking incident that has ignited fury across Jammu and Kashmir, two Kashmiri shawl sellers were brutally assaulted in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The attack has prompted strong condemnation from opposition party PDP and the Jammu Kashmir Students Association, who are demanding immediate intervention from the central government.
PDP workers took to the streets in Srinagar on Sunday, staging a vocal protest outside their party headquarters. Leader Sara Naema passionately addressed the crowd, highlighting the victim’s ordeal: ‘Our Kashmiri son was beaten in Uttarakhand simply because he is Kashmiri and Muslim. This is unacceptable.’
Party chief Mehbooba Mufti amplified the outrage on social media platform X, decrying the lack of protection for the young vendor who was nearly beaten to death while selling shawls. She contrasted this with the heavy police deployment to crush PDP’s peaceful demonstrations against such atrocities. ‘Kashmiris are imprisoned in their own union territory,’ she wrote. ‘When they venture out to earn an honest living, they are thrashed. Where are Kashmiris supposed to go when even living is treated as a crime in the new India?’
The Jammu Kashmir Students Association has escalated the matter by writing directly to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In a detailed letter, national coordinator Nasir Khuehami described the horrific events in Dehradun’s Vikas Nagar area. The teenage seller, out with his family during harsh winter months to make ends meet, was first interrogated about his identity. Upon learning he was a Muslim from Kashmir, the situation erupted into savage violence.
The boy was mercilessly beaten with iron rods, resulting in a fractured left arm and severe head injuries requiring 13 stitches. The association labels this not merely a criminal act but a blatant case of identity-based violence that undermines India’s constitutional values, national unity, and social harmony.
As protests continue and calls for justice grow louder, the incident underscores deepening concerns over the safety of Kashmiris outside the valley. Authorities have yet to respond, but the clamor for accountability is reaching a fever pitch, raising questions about protection for migrant workers from the region.