How a Delhi software engineer helped 32 Kashmiri girls in Pune return home safely

“They were panicky,” he told indianexpress.com over the telephone. “I got a call from a woman named Rukaya, She told me that there were 32 Kashmiri girls, all from underprivileged families, just waiting to get back home, because of the recent government moves in Kashmir.”

The girls, who were between 17 and 22 years of age, were in Pune for a nursing training and placement programme as part of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. Ahluwalia said the girls told him that they just wanted to go back home as they couldn’t get in touch with the families due to all communication lines being disrupted.

The girls on their way home. (Source: Harminder Singh Ahluwalia)

The coordinator of the contingent contacted the state government and was assured assistance from the Army once they reached Srinagar. But they didn’t have the funds to get there. Ahluwalia then sought donations to fund the girls’ journey back home with another Facebook live August 8.

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“A Sikh businessman was quick to contact me and sponsored the air tickets for the girls and four volunteers,” Ahluwalia said.

One of the girls, after being reunited with her family. (Picture source: Harminder Singh Ahluwalia)

On August 9, the group reached Srinagar, and with the assistance of the Army, all of them were escorted home and reunited with their families.

Ahluwalia’s actions were widely praised on social media:

Harminder Singh Ahluwalia Ji Has Done a great Honurable Deed. Getting #kashmirigirls safely Home. Salute to People Like You. #kashmir #KashmirIssue #Kashmiris pic.twitter.com/7d8B13WUdb

— Ayshaa (@kicktotrolls) August 13, 2019

“Meanwhile, a Sikh activist from Delhi, Harminder Singh Ahluwalia, collected Rs 4 lakh in donations to buy tickets to help 34 Kashmiri girls, stuck in Maharashtra, reach Srinagar. Harminder and two others also accompanied the girls.”
https://t.co/sIdNRNqHto

— GarvSeSecular فخریہ سیکولر (@GarvSeSecular) August 10, 2019

Big Respect for Sikh brothers 🙏

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Harminder Singh Ahluwalia from Delhi, collected 400,000 rupees in donations to buy tickets to help 34 Kashmiri girls, stuck in Maharashtra, reach Srinagar.
were back home safely in Kashmir!

Respect for that! pic.twitter.com/htOytRZhPN

— Ajmal1979 (@Aadil79Engr) August 12, 2019

Respect 🙏

Harminder Singh Ahluwalia from Delhi, collected 400,000 rupees in donations to buy tickets to help 34 Kashmiri girls, stuck in Maharashtra, reach Srinagar.
Harminder Singh with 3 other Singhs accompanied the girls to ensure they all were back home safely in Kashmir! pic.twitter.com/hdeVDRdW0k

— Sukhvir Garcha (@sukhvirgarcha) August 11, 2019

Amazing story, as is this one I read yesterday…

Humanity above religion…https://t.co/eQjKmMK1Mj

— Avtar Gill (@AvtarGill53) August 12, 2019

Harminder Singh Ahluwalia from Delhi, collected 400,000 rupees in donations to buy tickets to help 34 Kashmiri girls, stuck in Maharashtra, reach Srinagar.

Harminder Singh along with 3 others accompanied the girls to ensure they all were back home safely in Kashmir!#Respect pic.twitter.com/SP7YqRsjJn

— Heer 🌸 (@nikkupikku) August 12, 2019

A proud Shout out to Delhi resident S. Harminder Singh Ahluwalia who help 34 Kashmiri girls, stuck in Maharashtra and helped them reach Srinagar back. the girls to ensure they all were back home safely in Kashmir!
Share with all about these true Guru ke Sikh 🙏🏻 #KashmirLooksAhead pic.twitter.com/MAnhV6jZxi

— Ajit singh (@ajitsingh777) August 12, 2019

Ahluwalia said he had decided to help because after the Pulwama terror attack, there were instances of Kashmiris outside the state being targeted and he didn’t want the same thing to happen to the girls.