In gratitude, Kashmiris offer discounts and free services to Sikhs

Amarjot Kaur
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 21

A non-profit organisation, Khalsa Aid, on Wednesday night received several messages and calls from the Kashmiri students who were ferried to Jammu free of cost.

People of the Kashmir Valley have now taken to social media for posting their gratitude towards the Sikh community.

From free car services from Car Plaza, Anantnag, and Dr Adil Wani’s free dental services for one month, to Alburaq Group’s free air tickets to IPTS Heights School offering free of cost education to Sikhs, Kashmiris are offering discounts and free services to Sikhs. 

In a state of panic, more than 800 Kashmiri students fled Dehradun, Ambala and several other parts of nort India to escape backlash from the locals in the wake of Pulwama terror attack.

Initially, 21-year-old Khawaja Itrat, a student of CGC, Landran, and a member of Jammu and Kashmir Students Organisation (JKSO), had made arrangements for facilitating Kashmiri students’ stay in Mohali at his residence.

There, former SGPC member Amarinder Singh had made provision for the students’ billeting at Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan, Sohana, last Sunday. However, most students chose to leave for Jammu in the evening. On Sunday night, when nearly a hundred students arrived in Mohali on the assurance of protection given to them by the Punjab CM, Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan made four of its rooms available to the students.

Within 24 hours, Khalsa Aid, a non-profit organisation, offered to ferry the students back to Jammu free of cost.

The volunteers have reported to have sent off more than 400 Kashmiri students back home, safely.