Thousands of Indian students who pursue medicine in universities of Kyrgyzstan have requested the Indian Union government to arrange special flights and help them leave the country, in the aftermath of a Kyrgyz mob storming a hostel in the capital city of Bishkek and targeting foreign students on May 17. The attack allegedly followed a fight that took place between several Kyrgyz men and some foreigners on May 13. Many universities in Bishkek have switched to online classes and are advising students to remain indoors.
According to the Indian Embassy, there are currently about 17,000 Indian students in the Kyrgyz Republic and a majority of them live in Bishkek. In a press release on May 22, the Embassy had said that the situation in the city has returned to normal with no restrictions on movement. It also said no recent incidents of violence against foreigners were reported and urged the students to not pay attention to rumours. The Embassy said that classes are being held virtually as a safety measure.
Students, however, are questioning why they are being advised to remain inside if the situation has been under control. They also asked why they aren’t being provided with access to special flights, like how the Pakistan government recently helped hundreds of their students fly back.
Ramesh (name changed), a fifth-year student at Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University (KRSU), told TNM that the students are now severely concerned about their careers. “Each of us pay lakhs of rupees to study medicine in Kyrgyzstan. We are concerned for our careers and safety. We have experienced a lockdown-like situation in the past week,” he said.
As per initial reports, a brawl between Kyrgyz nationals and some foreign students, mainly from Pakistan and Egypt, was what led to the violent mob attack on foreign students. The visuals of the brawl were widely circulated online, prompting several Kyrgyz locals to take to the streets in protest, accusing officials of showing leniency towards the foreign students involved in the fight. Reports suggest that the university housing dorms where students from Egypt and Pakistan reside were specifically targeted by Kyrgyz nationals. The violence also prompted concerns for the safety of international students, particularly from South Asia.
Following the incident, the Pakistan government has been arranging flights to fly its students back to their home country. The Indian Embassy advised students to stay indoors and announced measures to ensure their safety.
Indian students who want to return to India and are concerned about the lack of flights, due to it not being vacation season. They said only one flight per week is available and the fares are expensive. Vacation season begins at the end of June for universities in Bishkek, usually after the students have given their exams.
“We have raised our demands with the Embassy officials who visited the universities. The officials said they will look into it,” Ramesh said. He added that though media reports claim the situation was immediately brought under control, a few local men jumped their hostel gates and attempted to break into their rooms on May 20. “We called the police and they were able to apprehend three of them the following day,” he said.
Ramesh added that the accused claimed they intended to rob and not attack the students. “We don’t want to retaliate because we will face criminal charges. It will be a threat to our career,” he said.
Mahender (name changed), who is a medical student from the ISM university in Bishkek and stays in an apartment outside his institute, said people living in the hostels are comparatively safer than those who live among local residents. “When the violence took place, landlords asked Pakistani students to vacate rooms fearing that their property would be damaged. Indians too reported that some local residents dumped trash in front of their flats during the heightened violence period,” he said.
The universities have currently allowed students to appear for exams online. The final year students, however, will have to appear for the government exams. Students said the universities are in talks with the Ministry regarding the exams for final year students and are yet to make a decision. Meanwhile, the ISM University in Bishkek has initiated flights to India for its students.