From aid to airlift, Indian students take up cudgels for Afghan friends

GURUGRAM: Various student organisations have come forward to identify and help Afghans who are studying in colleges and universities across Delhi-NCR and neighbouring states.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has left many Afghan students panic-stricken. Most of them have not been able to contact their families back home. Those who could have been asked to stay back in India itself, at least for the time being.

But many of these students are staring at an uncertain future because their visas are set to expire in a few weeks.
Since they have been issued only student visas, they would also not be able to take up jobs to sustain their stay in India after their courses are over.
Outfits like Indian National Students Organisation (INSO), which is affiliated to JJP, have launched a helpline for Afghan students from Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and NCR. Its members said they had already received hundreds of calls from Afghan students studying in various colleges in the region, including those in Delhi University and JNU.
“The situation is precarious. Their families have not been able to send them any monetary help. All of them have asked for scholarships and financial help to sustain their living. They have also sought an extension of their visas and permission to work in India for a brief period. We have been identifying such students and connecting them with the administration for support,” said Pradeep Deswal, the INSO president.
The organisation is also planning to pool money to support the students in distress. Its members said they had identified around 50 such students in Rohtak alone. Abdur Rahim Wardak, a post-graduate from Maharshi Dayanand University, is one such.
“I have not been able to contact my family for the past one month. There has not been monetary support from their side either because of the failure of the banking system there. I appeal to the Haryana government to provide me a scholarship and hostel accommodation. My visa also needs to be extended. This will be a huge help in this hour of distress,” said Abdur, who had come to Rohtak three years ago.
Several members of INSO and a delegation of Afghan students met deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala — he is also the JJP president — on Wednesday and sought his help. “He has assured us that the government would do its best to consider the demands of these students,” Deswal said.
The organisations said they had also been getting calls from students stuck in Afghanistan. Many of them had returned home when colleges shut during the lockdown. There are also students who have taken admission in colleges in NCR, Haryana and Rajasthan but have been attending online classes from their home.
Sources said the students who met Chautala had asked him to consider airlifting their batchmates from Afghanistan. Apart from INSO, organisations like AIDSO have also come forward to raise similar demands and help out their Afghan friends. Teachers from various universities and colleges have also joined the drive and sought the protection and well-being of their Afghan students.
“These are troubled times for students of Afghan origin who are studying in Haryana and elsewhere in the country. They are cut off from all support systems and going back to their land is not an option now. A lot of students were sent back to their country because colleges closed down during the pandemic. We need to bring those students back and provide them hostel accommodation. Hostels should be opened for all such students. Also, the government must actively consider extending their visas and providing monetary assistance,” said Umesh Kumar, the state secretary of All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO).
JNU advisory to foreign students over visas
Jawaharlal Nehru University has issued an advisory stating that foreign students whose visa was about to get expired should contact the head of their respective centres for the necessary certificate.
The students have been asked to contact the chairperson/dean of the respective school and centre.
The order from the university comes after students of Afghanistan raised the matter. Many students, who are in the terminal programme, had raised the matter.