New Delhi: Srinagar’s National Institute of Technology has announced winter vacations and asked students to vacate the hostels amid protests over an alleged social media post on Prophet Mohammad by a student from outside Kashmir simmering. The state government has also suspended offline classes in the Valley’s colleges and directed the college administrations to switch to online classes.
“All students (boys and girls) are directed to leave the campus/ hostel by or before 10 am tomorrow on December 1,2023,” read a notice issued by the Dean, Students Welfare, NIT. The mess service in the campus too will be suspended from breakfast onwards, it added.
It has also issued an order prohibiting “posting, uploading or propagating by way of forwarding or sharing” any message or content that promotes “ill will on religious grounds” and is likely to disturb public order and tranquility.
Media reports said that directions in this regard had come from the state government.
According to the police, a case under IPC sections 153 and 295 has already been filed against the NIT student, based on a complaint by the Registrar. Protesting students are, however, demanding his arrest.
On Thursday evening, J&K’s higher education department also ordered the suspension of offline classes in colleges from December 1 to December 31. While the government has said this has been done because of the weather, sources said authorities want to ensure protests over the issue don’t spread.
Ripples of the alleged incident have already been felt at Srinagar’s Amar Singh College, where students took out a march on Wednesday, as well as at Islamia College of Science and Commerce in downtown Srinagar.
“Due to early onset of winter, students enrolled in Government Degree Colleges of Kashmir Division are facing major challenge in commuting to college and, thereby, attending classes. Situation has got compounded due to disruption to normal class work with inadequate heating arrangements,” reads the government order.
“In order to ensure unhindered academic delivery in adverse and extreme cold conditions, it is impressed upon all the Principals of Government Degree Colleges of Kashmir Division that classes will be conducted via online mode from December 1 till December 31, or till winter vacations are announced, whichever is earlier,” it states.
The faculty have, however, have been asked to attend college regularly.
In an order, Deputy Commissioner Kupwara Ayushi Sudan said that some “anti-national persons or groups are resorting to misuse of social media networking platforms on internet by ‘preparing’ or ‘posting’ or ‘uploading’ or propagating by way of ‘forwarding’ or ‘sharing’ incendiary messages and propaganda of terrorist and separatist outfits”. The order states that under Section 144, any such social media activity is prohibited with immediate effect.
Police have also registered a separate FIR after a complaint from a woman student of NIT, who alleged that her pictures with the student accused of the social media post were being spread online alongside abusive comments, The Indian Express reported.
