In Jhansi as part of integration scheme, 18 students from J&K Navodaya Vidyalaya sent back after protest

The local students gheraoed the hostel where the Kashmiri pupils were staying and raised slogans demanding that they be handed over, school authorities added. However, the school staff arrived before they could enter inside. They then safely shifted the Kashmiri students to the staff room.

Meanwhile, the police were informed. A team arrived soon after and sent the students back to their hostel. On Friday morning, students of NV, Jhansi staged a protest alleging that the police used force on them when they protested on Thursday night. They also sought action against the officers. When contacted, Circle Officer (Jhansi) Sneha Tiwari denied that the police team used force to disperse the students.

R P Tiwari, principal of Jhansi’s Navodaya Vidyalaya, said, “Taking serious note of the situation, we sent the Kashmiri students back to their place early on Friday. We also asked our counterparts (at NV Rajouri) to send our students back.”

The Kashmiri students were sent back to Rajouri in private vehicles under the supervision of NV, Jhansi staff. “The principals of the Jhansi and Rajouri schools are in touch with them and coordinating for the safe return of the children,” said a police officer.

Tiwari added, “Under the scheme, students are sent for a year. However, due to the present situation, we have cancelled the scheme midway. The principal of NV, Rajouri has also sent our students back.”

A senior officer of the school said they came to know that a student of Navodaya Vidyalaya got injured in the attack in Rajouri. “The picture will be clear only after all 20 students – all of them studying in Class 9 –return to Jhansi,” he added.

“We are also trying to convince the students staging protest (to discontinue it),” added the principal.

The Kashmiri students – also in Class 9 – came to Jhansi in the first week of August under Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti’s scheme titled Migration of Students for National Integration. The scheme allows for migration of students from one Navodaya Vidyalaya (NV) to another that is situated in a different linguistic region in a bid to promote an understanding India’s diverse cultures.