A social media user has claimed that 100 students of a medical college in Srinagar were chanting pro-Pakistani slogans, and the Indian government has revoked their degrees.
Fact Check:
After investigating this claim, it was found that the claim is false. In 2021, after the T-20 World Cup Final, an incident took place in the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir, where the students were chanting pro-Pakistani slogans, “Jeeve Jeeve Pakistan.” This act of the students in J&K led to government intervention. This incident instilled fear among the students outside the J&K Union Territory. A Punjabi student filed a complaint as the students were being abusive and rude to him for supporting his country. In accordance with Sections 505 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13 of the UAPA (illegal activity punishable by jail), the police filed a complaint. However, the J&K Students Association urged that the charges be dropped, as they would ruin the students’ future. A similar incident took place again in 2023, where the students chanted pro-Pakistani slogans, resulting in the intervention of the police. In both cases, government and police intervention was noted, but no action was taken against the students involved, as it would be too harsh and would ruin their future.
As per a news article from The Wire, “Nasir Khuehami, national spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association, told The Wire that the action against the students is “too harsh”. “UAPA against students is harsh and can ruin their careers and further alienate them,” he said. He said he has appealed to Jammu and Kashmir Governor Manoj Sinha to urgently look into the matter and withdraw the UAPA charges.
According to additional research, this incident has been widely reported by numerous news outlets, including NDTV, The Hindu, and The Hindustan Times; hence, the user’s claim is unfounded because it is not a recent occurrence.
Conclusion:
The claim is false; the incident occurred in 2021 and later in 2023, not recently. No students had their degrees revoked, making the viral post misleading.
