‘No longer trust…’: Kashmiri youth lose jobs, internships as ‘white collar terror module’ hunt intensifies

Dr Muzammil Rashid recently earned an MD in Gynaecology from Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar and was all set to join a hospital in Punjab by the end of November. A few days ago / soon after the Delhi Red Fort blast, the hospital withdrew the offer. Other hospitals that had selected him earlier, too, turned him away. They could not trust him because he was from Kashmir and told him as much.

The blast at Delhi’s Red Fort that killed 13 and injured 20 earlier this month has been linked to a group of doctors, several of them associated with the private Al Falah University in Faridabad. Given the profile of several of those accused of the November 10 terror attack – the professional degrees and jobs in academia – the media quickly branded it a “white-collar terror module” and the fallout is now severely affecting Kashmiri medical graduates and other professionals seeking jobs outside the Valley, especially fresh graduates with no prior experience.

Graduating this year, Rashid was exploring opportunities in Haryana, Delhi and Punjab, where private hospitals pay significantly more than those in Kashmir. He had applied to five in October and landed offers from all, with promises of around Rs 2 lakh in monthly salary. “I wanted to spend a year or two outside, earn well, gain exposure, and then eventually return to Kashmir,” he said.

Several Kashmiri graduates – from medical, engineering and general, non-professional programmes – are finding themselves frozen out of the job market as the terror attack and its media coverage have stigmatised the group.

‘White collar’ jobs outside Kashmir

Kashmir’s private health sector is still limited and government hospitals pay barely half of what institutions and hospitals outside the Valley offer, Rashid explained. Because of this, many young Kashmiri doctors prefer to practise in other states, where they also get the chance to experience different medical environments – crucial for professional growth.

The blast was allegedly carried out by a Kashmiri doctor, Umar Un Nabi from Pulwama, who had been working as faculty at Al-Falah University. Police also recovered large quantities of explosives from Faridabad, reportedly stored by a group of doctors from Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, along with an AK-47 rifle from the locker of former GMC Anantnag resident, Dr Adeel Rather.

None of this has anything to do with Mehar Zargar but it's her job opportunities that have shrunk. Zargar, 2025 graduate of journalism from Cluster University Srinagar, moved to Delhi to find work as a content designer.

She cleared the initial rounds of selection at a company and was called for an interview. It was shaping up to be “the best one of her life” until the interviewer asked about her permanent residence. Mehar told him she was originally from Srinagar, even though her CV listed her current address in Delhi NCR, where her brother has lived for years.

Zargar had applied before the Delhi blast but the interview was scheduled after. She said the company became noticeably cautious after the incident and now, employers have stopped responding to her applications. Earlier, she would at least get call-backs and interviews.

She added that many of Kashmiri friends in Delhi are experiencing the same silence from employers, with some even planning to return home. “It’s really unfair,” Zargar said. “The media has played a huge role in painting all of us with the same brush, and now it’s costing us our careers.”

Off-campus jobs take a hit

Off-campus recruitment of Kashmiri students has taken a serious hit. Graduates from even top institutions such as Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT Vellore), St. Stephen’s College Delhi and GMC Srinagar say that working professionals are now hesitant to refer them for positions. This is significant because referrals often play a crucial role in hiring, as Avery Konda, a talent manager at Randstad Canada, noted in a LinkedIn post. A Jobvite study also shows that referrals make up only 7% of applicants but account for 40% of hires.

Furqan Mir, a civil engineering graduate from VIT Vellore, shared how drastically things changed for him. After completing his degree, he spent a few months preparing for government junior engineer exams and didn’t sit for campus placements. He planned to attempt the exams first and look for corporate roles only if he didn’t qualify.

“I started applying in October, just a few weeks before the exams,” he said. Earlier, he regularly received LinkedIn referrals and support from professional networks. “But after the recent incidents, people have stopped giving me referrals, and companies have started ghosting my profile, something that never happened before the Delhi blast,” said Mir, who has completed internships as well. He is shocked by the shift in attitude. “It feels like we’re being given a collective punishment,” he added.

Political science student at Delhi University’s St. Stephen’s College, Sujahat Bashir said he was recently denied an internship at a Delhi-based startup solely because he is from Kashmir. He explained that the company had initially selected him after reviewing his profile but their stand changed after the blast.

MBBS admissions at stake

Shortly after the incident, former J&K DGP SP Vaid posted on X that nearly 70% of seats at Katra Medical College — an institution he claimed was funded entirely by Hindus — had been allotted to Kashmiri students. He implied that this was how doctors like Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie, the man accused of driving the car that exploded near Red Fort, and Nabi, accused in the Delhi blast case, “end up doing what they do”.

Medical admissions country-wide are based on rules framed centrally. In Jammu and Kashmir, the JKBOPEE – J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations – is the conducting body and Katra Medical College charges around Rs 7 lakh per annum for MBBS.

Waheed Para, an MLA from Pulwama, called Vaid’s remarks “highly irresponsible and completely illogical,” especially at a time when students’ futures were at stake. “This is nothing but collective punishment of all students,” he said, pointing out that Kashmiri student bodies and doctors’ associations had already condemned the incident.

Right-wing Hindutva groups, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, have protested also against a large number of seats at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) going to Kashmiri Muslims in the NEET counselling process.

A first-year student at SMVDIME, who requested anonymity, said they are under immense mental stress. The student explained that they worked extremely hard to earn their seat, and despite meeting all merit requirements, people demanded their expulsion.

Start blurb “What are we supposed to do if that happens? Where will we go?” they asked. The student has already paid nearly Rs 7 lakh in annual fees and feels anything but safe on campus. “I regret taking admission here,” they admitted.

BJP MLAs headed by leader of the opposition Sunil Sharma have already met J&K LG Manoj Sinha and submitted a memorandum seeking changes to MBBS admission rules. This created a political storm in J-K.

Para said, “This is totally unacceptable and ridiculous on the BJP’s part, and it is equally concerning that a state head would even accept such a memorandum.”