How Kashmir's aspiring doctors demand rescue from an alien war

As missiles fly overhead and smoke billows from the ruins all around, all that Moin Mushtaq, a third-year MBBS student at the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences holed up with six colleagues in a deserted dormitory, can see through the smashed windows are scenes of agony and devastation caused by the Israel-Iran conflict. 'This is hell, literally, with power outages and the internet going down,' the 22-year-old medical student from north Kashmir's Kupwara says on the phone late in the night on June 16, trying to speak over the noise of a missile attack on Iran's Ahvaz city. 'We're the only ones left behind. The locals and students from UAE and Pakistan have been evacuated.'Iran caters to a modest chunk of Kashmiri students—around 1,500 by unofficial estimates—mainly because the Valley's significant Shia population finds a cultural resonance of sorts in the Shiite-dominated Islamic Republic and students seeking an overseas education find its offerings affordable, especially in medicine, often with attractive scholarships. Now, with the Iran-Israel conflict spiralling into a full-blown war, Mushtaq's doctor dreams are teetering on the brink as he desperately seeks evacuation to India. 'We've been weeping and calling the Indian embassy for help but they only tell us to wait or travel 1,500 kilometres on our own to safety. How can we cover such a distance with the missiles, shells and drones over our heads?' he asks.advertisementThere are four Kashmiri female students in the nearby girl's dormitory. Their internet is down; there is no electricity and the only line of communication is the phone—also in its last gasp as the recharging facilities are in ruins. Students in Ahvaz say the attacks are now directed at the city as it is the hub of oil-refineries and Iran's energy centre. 'We're counting our days, and each one feels like a year as we stare at our phones for help to come our way,' says another student in Ahvaz.The university, students say, is now making them sign an undertaking that they are staying in the dormitory even after all the academic activities have been shut. According to the declaration, a copy of which is with India Today, the students' decision to stay back is their own and the university is not accountable for it.advertisement
Capital city Tehran has been the worst-hit due to Israeli missiles so far. Two Kashmiri students ended up with injuries to their arms and legs and scratches on their faces after a shell landed in the street beside the Hujjat Dost dormitory of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences on the evening of June 15.Among the nearly 10,000 Indian citizens in Iran, in 2022 there were around 2,050 students, mostly in the medical domain, according to Ministry of External Affairs data. Since June 16, the Indian government has set the evacuation process in motion, prioritising the relocation of students from Tehran to the Qom and Ramsar cities 150-250 kilometres away. In Qom, over 600 students have been assembled in big halls with no connection to their families as the internet is unavailable.'We don't want to be huddled like this here while fearing for our lives,' says a 21-year-old medical student. 'No place is safe here. Our parents are worried and we just want to be home. The government should arrange special flights for us like it did during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.'Not everyone, though, can afford to return home. Many students, nearing the completion of their degrees, are desperately praying for a ceasefire to prevent their careers from plunging into uncertainty. 'I'm in my last year of MBBS and a ceasefire could save my career,' says Aayat, a third-year MBBS student at the Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, who was relocated to Qomb on the evening of June 16. 'Otherwise, no one knows what the future holds.'advertisementThe considerable number of Indian citizens, especially students, are keeping India's evacuation efforts racing against time as Iran and Israel pummel each other with missiles and drones in a major conflict that shows no signs of ebbing. Back home in Kashmir, the panicking parents are requesting the government to facilitate their children's return. 'Please evacuate our children. They've been getting panic attacks,' says a weeping Rehana, whose daughter studies medicine at the Shahid Beheshti University. 'They're having sleepless nights and we here lie helpless and in distress.'On June 16, a group of parents held a demonstration at Srinagar's Pratap Park, opposite the Press Enclave, seeking speedy evacuation of their children from Iran. In a statement on June 17, the Ministry of External Affairs said the Indian students have been moved out from Tehran, while advising other Indian citizens in the capital city to move out in view of the 'developing situation'. Some Indians, it said, have been facilitated in leaving Iran through the Armenian border from where, say sources, a direct flight to India will be arranged.advertisement'Enroute to Armenia via the border route are 110 students, including 90 Kashmiris,' says Nasir Kheuhami, national convenor of the Jammu Kashmir Students Association (JKSA). 'We're in touch with all the stranded students on WhatsApp groups.'' On June 16, the JKSA wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, appealing for 'urgent intervention and evacuation' of students in the wake of a 'humanitarian emergency'.While the Union ministry has set up a round-the-clock control room for the Indian citizens in Iran, the J&K government has also set up one in Srinagar. Chief minister Omar Abdullah has spoken to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar for the 'welfare and safety of Kashmiri students' in Iran. 'The Hon Minister assured me that @MEAIndia is in close contact with their counterparts in Iran & will take all necessary steps to safeguard all Indian students in Iran,' Abdullah said on X on the evening of June 15.The relocation efforts, since the morning of June 17, have been heightened by the Indian Embassy in Iran but there are still many, especially in high-risk areas in the outlier cities, awaiting help. Questions also loom over the government's evacuation plans for its citizens in the conflict-torn country.advertisement'We had stocked some eggs, potatoes and lentils that will last two more days,' says Mushtaq, stranded with his six colleagues in the dormitory. 'We have nothing to survive on thereafter.' Subscribe to India Today Magazine

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