Kashmir journalist alleges harassment over empty Louis Vuitton bags at Delhi airport

After returning from London, a Kashmiri journalist, whose remarks on India went viral on social media last week, claims she was harassed by customs officers at the Delhi airport. Yana Mir claimed that the airport customs officer had unnecessarily harassed her since her luggage included empty Louis Vuitton bags. She posted the incident's footage on X, the former Twitter.

She is seen in the video arguing with customs officers over empty bags, during which she claims they are attempting to charge a fee for shopping bags and are requesting payment for the bags. She can be heard complaining that at the airport, she was "treated like a smuggler".

"What I said in London about India: I am FREE AND SAFE IN INDIA. How I was welcomed back to India. Madam scan your bag, open your bag, why you have Louis Vuitton shopping bags? Did you pay for them? Where are the bills???? What Londeners think of me: INDIAN MEDIA WARRIOR. What Delhi customs thinks of me: Brand Smuggler," she posted on social media.

The post sparked a discussion on X, with some users emphasised that the cops were only performing their duties, while Mir argued that a more courteous approach would have been preferable.

"Yana, whereas I think these people are so busy with their jobs and duties, because of that sometimes they fail to recognise true nationalists like you, exactly like every kashmiri is not a terrorist and every sardar is not a khalistani,it happens sometimes, so please don't mind," said one user.

"For those who r trying to defend saying "its their right to check" Let me remind : They have right to check, but duty to behave also. They can ask politely, if i have anything to declare. Bag was scanned already," Yana responded.

Yana Mir said in a video that went viral last week that she is safe in India and is not Malala. Yana Mir said that she feels safe and free in her own India, in contrast to Malala Yusufzai, who had to flee her country due to threats. She took issue with Malala's depiction of India as oppressed and criticised foreign and social media personalities for creating stories of persecution without visiting Indian Kashmir.

Mir pleaded on the world press to avoid creating false narratives of tyranny and to stop separating the people of Jammu and Kashmir. She promoted regional peace and called for an end to religious polarisation in India.