Kashmir: Students allegedly remain seated during national anthem, videos go viral

Students of the Central University of Kashmir allegedly remained seated while the national anthem was played during the university's convocation in Srinagar.

Two video clips of the incident have gone viral on social media.

The convocation at SK International Conference Centre was attended by Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah. The anthem was played at the start of the event after the governor reached the venue.

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However, speaking to WION, the university's public relations officer said everyone was standing in the main hall. "We are checking the video which has emerged from the second room where other students were sitting," he said.

On being asked if the videos are fake, he said "we are checking the authenticity of the videos. University will cooperate in everything."

Kashmir BJP leader Altaf Thakur, while demanding action be taken, claimed the university's vice-chancellor and others authorities were trying to save themselves by dubbing the videos as "fake".

Senior Congress leader Taj Mohiuddin told WION that the students should have respected the national anthem, that there was a need to take such incidents seriously, and that the former BJP-PDP government was responsible for widening the gap between the mainstream and the state's youth.

"Everyone should respect national anthem by heart and the BJP-PDP government was responsible for widening the gap between mainstream and the youth in the state," Mohiuddin said.

The state's oldest political party, the National Conference also held the PDP-BJP responsible for the youth's isolation from the mainstream. Salman Ali Sagar, a youth leader of the party, said the students should have stood for the anthem.

Similar scenes were witness last month during a Ramadan party organised by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had attended the party.