Protests have erupted over an alleged derogatory Instagram post about Prophet Muhammad by a 20-year-old outstation student from Maharashtra at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar, who was rusticated for a year on Monday, 26 November, by the institutional authorities.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police has also booked the accused student, who is in his seventh semester at the NIT’s Chemical Engineering Department under Sections 153 (provocation), 285A (outrage religious feelings), and 153A (promoting enmity) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Police sources, however, told The Quint that the student, Prathamesh Shinde, has not been arrested yet.
The FIR (156/23) registered at Nigeen Police Station in Srinagar mentions that the student’s actions “have hurt the religious sentiments of a particular community with a potential to disrupt communal harmony and can create law and order situation within and outside the campus.”
Students Shared The Clip With College Administration
The news of the alleged blasphemous post spread within the campus on the night of 26 November, as one of Shinde's colleagues took a screen recording of his video story on Instagram, where a random speaker appeared to be making disparaging remarks about the Islamic faith and the Prophet.
“On the same night, the students sent the recording to the college administration,” one student at the campus told The Quint, pleading anonymity. “He was asked to leave campus on the same night. The next day, the students realised that no action had been taken against Shinde for the offensive post. So, they assembled outside the gate to demand punishment against the accused.”
The student added that the administration agreed to take disciplinary action on 28 November, debarred the accused student from appearing in the examinations, and also denied him hostel services. “The students thought this was inadequate as punishments like these are generally given to those who indulge in campus brawls.”
Holding protests for the second time, the students demanded legal action while raising pro-Islam slogans. In response to the uproar, officers from the J&K Police met the protesting students at the site and assured legal action, after which the protests dispersed.
“After some time, a group of non-locals came out shouting slogans like Bharat Mata Ki Jai. They also alleged that we were raising pro-Pakistan and anti-national slogans. But that is a wrong allegation,” a student who was part of the protests said, requesting anonymity. “There was a police presence there. Are we supposed to believe that we shouted anti-national slogans in front of the police?”
This is not the first time that local and outstation students at the NIT have clashed over issues with political overtones. In 2016, classes at the institute were briefly suspended after a confrontation between local and non-Kashmiri students over India's loss to the West Indies in a T20 World Cup game.
Protests Erupt In Other Institutions
On Tuesday, classes at the NIT remained suspended as the controversy over the offensive Instagram post continued to spark protests in other colleges in the city too. Videos all over social media show students taking part in demonstrations inside Amar Singh College and the Islamia College of Science and Commerce in Srinagar.
A police source confirmed to The Quint that both videos were authentic.
“As of now, the situation is under control. No protests were held at NIT today, while in some other colleges, protests occurred peacefully,” official sources said.
“The police’s primary focus is maintaining law and order, and any disturbance will not be tolerated. Cyber teams are actively monitoring social media to prevent the spread of hateful content that could disrupt law and order. Action has been initiated against some users posting such content, although no arrests have been made yet. The police are implementing all necessary measures to ensure a peaceful environment,” they added.
The UAPA Shadow
The protests come just days after the J&K Police arrested seven students at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) at Shuhama in the Central Kashmir district of Ganderbal.
The students were booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for raising pro-Pakistan slogans at the campus on 19 November after India lost to Australia at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Finals.
The arrest of students under the country’s powerful anti-terrorism law generated anger across the Valley, with regional politicians denouncing the authorities for resorting to what they describe as a harsh step.
“This incident shows that the BJP has even criminalised the spirit of sports when it comes to Kashmir. It is ironic that the people who after dismembering J&K celebrated the collective humiliation of the people can’t tolerate Australia’s superior game on the day to be cheered,” former state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said. “This is when the country’s Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] himself cheered Australia for its game.”
On 28 November, J&K Police defended its decision to invoke UAPA against the 7 SKUAST students saying, “These slogans, as has usually been the case with (a) select few bullies, were aired to intimidate those who disagreed, and also to identify and vilify those who choose to keep a distance,” the police statement read, adding that it was also about normalising an abnormal. “That everyone hates India [as different from the government of the day and party in power] ‘openly’.”
In the aftermath of the scrapping of Article 370, J&K has seen a runaway increase in the number of UAPA cases. The 2021 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data reveals that J&K had the highest incidence of UAPA cases filed in a single region across India.
The Alleged 'Bhagwa Love Trap' Story
The anti-blasphemy protests in Srinagar this week also reflect a sense of frustration over what several social media users in Kashmir described as the duality of State action: while students cheering against India in a cricket match were charged under terrorism laws that are likely to prolong their detention, those indulging in religious provocations were slapped with the usual criminal offences.
On social media, the debates over the blasphemy episode at NIT also veered towards aspects of the accused student’s personal life, with the users posting pictures of him and a Muslim female college mate he was allegedly dating. Several rightwing handles appeared to link the protests with the alleged affair story.
However, the NIT students who were involved in the protests denied this was the case. “The protests were held because of the Instagram post over which students took offence,” another student who spoke anonymously said. “These allegations are being used to shift the narrative.”
Meanwhile, police sources also told The Quint that action will be taken against the users who are sharing the pictures of the female student.
(Shakir Mir is an independent journalist. He tweets at @shakirmir. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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