IIT-G students from Valley wait for news from families

GUWAHATI: "We are unable to speak to our parents and family members. We want connectivity restrictions to be removed so that we know how are family members are," a student from Kashmir, pursuing his PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G), said. His concerns mirror that of about 10 others who are waiting to get some news from their families.
On Monday, Home minister Amit Shah announced in Parliament the government's decision to revoke Kashmir's special status with a presidential order. Thousands of newly deployed troops arrived and internet and phone services were cut in the restive Himalayan region. This decision put Kashmiri students, hundreds of miles away, in Assam's IIT-G in a great dilemma. With Eid al-Adha around the corner, a lot of them were hoping to get back home. Now, they can't even talk to their loved ones, let alone travel to their homes. A Kashmiri student, who is pursuing his PhD at IIT Guwahati, on condition of anonymity, told TOI that those from the Valley have been forced to cancel their plans of going home.
A few of his colleagues had booked tickets well in advance but the series of political events has shattered their plans. "We don't know what is happening there. Where should we go? When will the curfew will be lifted? Probably we will not go home," he said.
Adil Majeed Rather, a research scholar at the institute who hails from the Valley said that on Monday night the students from Jammu and Kashmir gathered and consoled each other in the wake of the prevailing situation. "We sat together at dinner time yesterday (Monday) and tried to contact our family members at home but we failed. Unless we get to know the ground reality, we cannot determine our travel plans. Nevertheless, we are all determined to stay calm in any kind of situation," Adil said.
IIT Guwahati public relations officer, Labanu Konwar, said that the situation at present is normal inside the campus and the Kashmiri students are spending their time as they do everyday. Even though an advisory has been issued by Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to its Kashmiri students asking them to not move out of the campus, Konwar said that no such restriction is in place when it comes to IIT-G but they are keeping a close watch on the situation in the area.