As the Union government snapped internet and phone lines in the state of Jammu and Kashmir by the dawn of Monday, the Kashmiris living outside the state are gripped in panic, unable to reach their near and dear ones.
A Kashmiri girl, living in the north Indian city of Jaipur, sent out panicked messages throughout the night to every possible person who could have helped her get in touch with her seriously ailing and hospitalised grandmother. "She was admitted in Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIM). She was serious. I have no idea how is she now," the girl said.
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Yet another Kashmiri student, who is enrolled in the third year of bachelors in medicine in Bangladesh, could not return to Kashmir due to the prevailing situation in Kashmir. As he decided to take the flight to Pune to join his cousins, his family back in Kashmir stays unaware of his location.
An 80-year-old Kashmiri woman living in Bengaluru started crying inconsolably early in the morning, as she was unable to speak to her only daughter who is based out of Kashmir. Same was the case with a Kashmiri doctor based out of Himachal Pradesh who couldn't get through to her parents.
A Kashmiri employee in a tech company in Gurugram, who was leaving from Kashmir to Delhi on Monday's wee hours, is still clueless on whereabouts of his family members.
There are hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris, who are living outside Kashmir for employment, many of them with ailing parents and elders back home.
Warlike hysteria created in the build-up to Monday's abrogation of Article 35A and Article 370 has only added to the fear of the Kashmiris. "How do I know if my family is alive or not back there. The only source of information is the government hand-out," a Kashmiri student living outside the state said.
As the speculations of communication blockade started on Sunday evening, Kashmiris living outside the state shared emotional messages wishing peace and safety for their near and dear ones.
