Don’t harass Kashmiris, states told

NEW DELHI - Acting on the advice of the interlocutors, the central government Thursday asked all state governments not to harass Kashmiris as that was causing them “a sense of humiliation and a feeling of alienation”.

The advisory asked all states (other than Jammu and Kashmir) and union territories to exercise “utmost sensitivity while making inquiries about residents of Kashmir living in different parts of the country”.

It was issued on the recommendations of the government-appointed interlocutors - Dilip Padgaonkar, M.M. Ansari and Radha Kumar.

“It has also asked the states to issue appropriate instructions to all police stations that they should not be singled out unnecessarily for police reporting merely on grounds of their being original Kashmiri residents,” a home ministry official said.

The interlocutors during their visit to the state received lots of complaints from common people and politicians that Kashmiri boys and girls are singled out by the police in other states, causing them harassment.

“This kind of treatment affects the sensibility of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir and they experience a sense of humiliation, leading to feeling of alienation and injustice. The Indian constitution and the law of the land do not permit discrimination on account of race religion caste and creed,” the advisory says.