Bharat Kumar Kolhi was looking forward to his two-year stay in Delhi when he signed up for the Sociology programme at the South Asian University (SAU). The resident of Pakistan's Umarkot imagined that in India, he would finally get to be Bharat - the name given to him at birth - instead of Bhrat, the tweaked moniker he had had to acquire to suit the political climate of his birthplace.

It was not very long before Bharat realised his mistake.

Just as the mere whiff of India in his name would set the Pakistanis bristling, here too everyone kept thrusting his Pakistani nationality in his face. Nothing else seemed to matter - neither his name nor his Hindu identity.

"The first thing some Indian students at SAU asked me was - 'Pakistani ho, haath mein bomb leke aaye ho?' (You are a Pakistani; have you brought along a bomb?) I realised I would have to live with this kind of stereotyping the next two years," says Bharat, now in the final year of his postgraduate programme.

SAU was set up in 2010 with the aim to bring together students from the Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) nations - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and, of course, India. While the physical bringing together has happened, it will take some doing before one gets to the "unity in diversity" part, at least going by what students have to say.

In recent times, the SAU campus, like many others across the country, has come under the grip of ultra-nationalism. Pakistani students claim they find themselves at the receiving end of slurs such as "terrorists" and "ISI agents" here, whenever there is tension brewing along the Line of Control.

Hira Hashmi, who is from Karachi, is studying International Relations at SAU. She talks about how last year, when 18 Indian soldiers were killed by militants allegedly "harboured" by Pakistan, a group of Indian students abused the Pakistanis on campus openly. "They put up posters saying 'dushmano ki buzdili' and 'Pakistanis are cowards'. When we protested, they removed them," says Hira. "The campus was divided into two groups. It became an Us vs Them debate. We thought we may have to go back to our country halfway through the course."

Students claim a warning was issued to the mischief-makers after a complaint was lodged with the university disciplinary committee. University officials, however, deny this. "These things happen between students and get resolved by them. We don't get involved," says SAU president Kavita A. Sharma.

While the Pakistani students claim they could do with less attention of a certain kind, students of other Saarc countries say they feel left out and their ethnic sensibilities ignored. Sounds familiar? Think Saarc meetings.

Even celebrations are centred around India and Pakistan, students of other nationalities complain. For instance, initially, Indian and Pakistani students celebrated their Independence Day on the midnight of August 14-15. Mahamadul Hasan Rana, a Bangladeshi PhD student at SAU says, "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed on August 15. No one bothered to understand our sentiments." He adds, "The event has been mellowed down the past two years after we complained."

 

 

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SAU Facts

Established in 2010
Programmes offered: PG, MPhil and PhD
Number of students by country*
♦ India: 350**  ♦ Pakistan: 19  
♦ Bangladesh: 67  ♦ Sri Lanka: 8
♦ Nepal: 52  ♦ Afghanistan: 55
♦ Bhutan: 9  ♦ Maldives: 1

US $300 million (Rs 1,996 crore) 
is the estimated capital cost
The operational budget for 2016 is 
US $10.71 million (Rs 71 crore)
Capital budget for 2016 is 
US $36.37 million (Rs 242 crore)

*Number currently enrolled at SAU
**50 per cent seats reserved for Indians

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Some others allege that India's "big brother" attitude in the Saarc region is reflected in the conduct of the Indian students. "Indians try to emphasise that Bangladesh exists only because Indians helped us in our Liberation War," says Sariful Islam, a Bangladeshi student, who is doing his postgraduate in International Relations.

The imbalance, apparently, is also reflected in the curriculum. Afghanistan is under-represented in courses such as International Relations and Sociology, points out Omar Sadr, a PhD student from Afghanistan. "The multi-cultural and multi-national theme of the university is defeated because there is an overdose of India and Pakistan in the curriculum." And yet, the SAU is overflowing with applications from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal.

In fact, it is the number of Pakistani students that has been dwindling - their 10 per cent quota remains underutilised in most courses. And while the ongoing political tension has most definitely contributed to the reduced numbers, there are quite a few niggling issues that they face.

Hira talks about how Pakistanis have to literally go to lengths just to be able to pay the fee for the aptitude test. Payment via debit card, credit card and netbanking from Pakistan is not possible. "One of my cousins who lives in India made the payment on my behalf," she says.

It is the same story when Pakistani students have to block seats by making an advance payment after they have cleared the test. A senior university official who does not want to be identified confirms that Pakistani students have indeed been complaining about payment-related problems.

The other stumbling block is visa. According to SAU rules, students along with faculty members and university staffers from other countries were supposed to get the SAU visa. It is valid for the course duration and allows visa holders to move freely across India. But the reality is different for some, especially if they are from Pakistan. "We need to renew our visa every year. Besides, only six entries are allowed and the movement is restricted to four places - Delhi, Agra, Gurgaon and Amritsar," Hira complains.

But a lot hinges on the political dynamics between the two countries. Last year, an additional visa granted to Hira for travelling to Patna was withdrawn, and apparently no valid reason was cited.

Then again, every time Pakistani students re-enter India, they have to report to the foreigners regional registration officer within 24 hours of arrival. Students of other Saarc countries have to do so within 14 days of arrival.

University officials are inundated with complaints. "We have written to the ministry of external affairs (MEA) several times about these issues," says president Sharma. "That's all we can do." The Telegraph tried to contact the MEA spokesperson to understand the visa issues but did not get any response.

All said and done, two years is a decent period. Despite irritants, one picks up survival tips, makes friends, learns to laugh at the situation. Hira points out that a lot of the campus humour also revolves around Indo-Pakistan relations. "One of my Indian friends taught me this dialogue from a Sunny Deol blockbuster where he apparently tells Pakistanis - 'Doodh mangoge toh kheer denge, Kashmir mangoge toh cheer denge (If you want milk, we'll give you kheer. But if you seek Kashmir, we will rip you apart)," she says with a laugh.

Hira has learnt to cope with the biases too. Tips from her Indian cousins have helped. "They told me that whenever someone asks where I am from, I should say Ranchi since it sounds like Karachi." She also takes care not to speak in Urdu in public places.

Both Hira and Bharat are scheduled to leave India next month after the convocation. They leave with bittersweet memories. "Perhaps, I will come back when the ties between the two countries are better," says Bharat.

But with ultra-nationalism taking centrestage here, this might take a while.