Ordeal of Indian students in Iran

Majority of 3,000-plus medical students are from Kashmir, with parents seeking govt help

- S LALITHA @New Delhi

THE advisory by the Indian embassy in Iran on Wednesday, asking all Indian nationals to leave the West Asian country by any available transport mode due to the escalating situation, has sent alarm bells ringing among parents and students, most of them pursuing medicine.

Financial reasons or the refusal by a leading university to hand over their passport to return have put them in a quandary.

With a majority of the 3,000-plus medical students hailing from Kashmir, the All India Medical Students Association (AISMA), J&K, has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrange evacuation of students. With most communication channels to Iran blocked, the students’ parents are worried about their safety. Students could not be contacted as calls were not going through.

AISMA vice-president Dr Mohammad Momim Khan, whom students kept calling repeatedly seeking help, spoke to this newspaper.