On August 15 2021, a hundred feet tall Indian tricolour was inaugurated at the Hari Parbat fort overlooking the entire downtown in Srinagar. On the eve of India’s Independence Day, the historic Lalchowk was also lit in the three colours of the Indian flag and the Ghantaghar (clock-tower) was refurbished by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. Over the last many months almost all government buildings, schools, police stations, and hospitals in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have seen the tricolour being installed and hoisted mostly by common Kashmiri Muslims.
This was perhaps the last sight with which Syed Ali Shah Geelani passed away after prolonged illness at his residence in Hyderpora locality in Central Kashmir on September 1st. He was 92.
Geelani, who studied Islamic education in Lahore began his life as a teacher in North Kashmir’s Sopore. He then became a politician and was a three-time Member of Legislative Assembly in J&K swearing by the Indian constitution and saluting the tricolour. He was with the radical Islamist outfit Jamaat-e-Islami that ran schools and advocated Islamist law instead of a secular democracy in J&K, since the 1950s. The Jamaat had always been vocally opposed to the Sufi traditions in Kashmir valley. In 1981, for the very first time, Geelani’s passport was confiscated by the Indian Government for anti-India activities.
After an armed rebellion sponsored by Pakistan started shaping in Kashmir through the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) in 1989, Geelani saw many of his own young cadres crossing across the border to get arms training, only to spread bloodshed and mayhem across the valley. Terrorism had begun in Kashmir. Geelani silently watched the barbaric ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits unfold before his eyes and yet remained a mute spectator to the repeated carnage against the minority community of Hindus.
It was in 1993 that Hurriyat took birth with the blessings of Pakistan deep state in Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) simultaneously. It was an amalgamation of over two dozen political parties and social groups with an Islamist tilt organised to seek self-determination and accession to J&K.
Years later Geelani would be regularly invited to Pakistan Day celebrations at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. The Hurriyat became instrumental in organising protests and shutdown across the valley. It also became the ideological shadow behind terrorist groups including Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir.
Many Hurriyat leaders however often were seen engaging with Indian intelligence agencies, often happily enjoying their hospitality, perks and cash. Yasin Malik was one such separatist who enjoyed a relationship both with Indian and Pakistani intelligence agencies. Malik, who was earlier a terrorist and killed unarmed Indian Air Force men and several Kashmiri Pandits, went unpunished for his crimes against humanity which could have seen him being sentenced to death.
Come 2004, the rift within the Hurriyat was wide open. Geelani differed in political approach and dialogue with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who was much younger and yet considered a moderate face of the separatist group. The Hurriyat split in 2004 into the moderate and the radical faction. Geelani formed his own Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and slowly moved away from Jamaat-e-Islami as well. Years later Geelani and his men were unceremoniously thrown out of the Jamaat-e-Islami advisory council for the formation of a separate Hurriyat outfit.
Geelani would often be photographed with Kashmiri youth many of whom would later be seen brandishing guns in social media posts and subsequently be killed in encounters with security forces in Kashmir. The vicious cycle of death continued in Kashmir under Geelani’s watch and patronage.
In 2008, Geelani played a significant role in launching an agitation against the allocation of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board for facilitation and lodging of Hindu pilgrims. The pilgrimage for years has been a major source of income for local population of Srinagar, Anantnag and Ganderbal in particular. The agitation led to a communal divide between Jammu as well as Kashmir and resulted in several killings and many being wounded as well. Many believed that the agitation was a brainchild of Pakistan ISI through Geelani.
Similar mass agitation was seen in 2010 by Hurriyat, and in particular by Geelani, in Kashmir against the Indian Government and security forces. In over three months when Kashmir was at a standstill, over 112 people were killed and many others wounded. The agitation and the killings led to a massive public embarrassment for the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
After the Indian Parliament attack conspirator, Afzal Guru, was hanged by India in 2013, Geelani yet again tried to instigate passions but met little success.
Later in 2016 Geelani along with Mirwaiz and Yasin Malik formed the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) which was Hurriyat in a new avatar for the announcement of shutdowns, hartals and agitations across Kashmir valley. The first major and significant shutdown and agitation the JRL launched was after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani that year. Wani had become a poster boy of separatists in the valley and led to massive recruitment of youth into terror ranks. This however became the last successful agitation of Geelani.
Rift within Hurriyat
While the rift within the radical Hurriyat wasn’t new, the 2017 raids by the National Investigation Agency across Kashmir led to opening old wounds within the Hurriyat. In a telephonic conversation between Hurriyat leader Nayeem Khan and Hizbul Mujahideen founder Ahsan Dar in May 2017, accessed by this journalist, both prominent separatists spoke about Geelani refusing to support them during NIA raids in the infamous cross-border terror hawala funding case. At one point during the conversation, Nayeem Khan says, “If we open his (Geelani’s) Pandora’s box, not a single person in Kashmir will attend his funeral except his own family members.”
Nayeem Khan in the audio clip, further says, “Geelani has made me qurbani ka bakra (sacrificial lamb) even though I continued to stonewall NIA.” He asks, “What Tehreek is this? In Kashmir, Indian Army gives Sena Medal to Major Gogoi out of brotherly spirit to keep the morale high, and here we are not only demoralised but thrown off the deathly cliff. He (Geelani) backstabbed me at the most sensitive moment.”
Khan finally went on to disclose his apprehensions, “His (Geelani’s) main motive is that as far as he is alive, he should be the main man, and, after his death his family should be in control. Altaf Fantosh is not just his son in law but also the member of executive council of Hurriyat.”
The divide within the radical Hurriyat grew not much because of the power struggle but because of the uneven distribution of Hawala Money received from Pakistan ISI.
In March 2019, the Income Tax department sealed Geelani’s Khirki Extension residence since he failed to pay a sum of Rs. 3.62 crore for the assessment year 1996–97 to 2001–02. Geelani was further prohibited and restrained from transferring the asset. Earlier Enforcement Directorate had imposed a penalty of Rs. 14.4 lakhs on Geelani in a case relating to illegal possession of $10,000 and allegedly acquiring Rs. 10 lakh through illegal means in 2002.
The Jihadi cult of Geelani has forced several Kashmiri youth into stone pelting and now even becoming suicide bombers. In the recent few years, Indian investigation agencies including NIA and J&K Police have found Geelani and his separatist colleagues recommending Kashmiri Youth for higher education visas to the Pakistan High Commission for easy facilitation of visas. The same youth have got arms and physical training by Pakistan ISI in the garb of higher education visa and later have been killed in several encounters with Indian security forces in Kashmir. Not once did Geelani empathise with the Kashmiri men and women whose sons and daughters have been butchered by terrorism emanating from Pakistan. Instead, Geelani had chosen to push the youth into a suicidal path of terror. While his own family enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle in India and abroad.
Thousands of innocents have been killed because of this bloodlust and communal hate that Geelani stood for over the years. Mothers have lost their sons, toddlers have lost their fathers and sisters have lost their brothers in this gory, endless violence.
The epitaph of every innocent victim of terrorism in Kashmir will have Syed Ali Shah Geelani written over it as the murderer.
The Last Man standing for Pakistan
Geelani’s funeral was attended by a handful of family members in the dead of the night. No significant protests or violence was witnessed in Jammu & Kashmir. Pakistan announced national mourning and flew its flag at half-mast. The Pakistan ISI through the Hurriyat chapter in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) tried to provoke violence by playing the emotional card by bringing in religion. Sadly for Rawalpindi, there were no takers for their propaganda in Kashmir this time around.
Geelani’s death has come at a time when the separatist movement in Kashmir has been on a ventilator for over four years. Most of the prominent leaders are in prison on terror charges. Many others are disillusioned. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the only prominent voice who is free, is not interested to carry forward the movement any longer in the same tone and tenor.
Geelani was Pakistan’s last hope in Kashmir. He was the last man standing for Pakistan in Kashmir who could drive Islamabad’s agenda. The Naya Kashmir however has no takers for this agenda. Indian Government’s no-tolerance approach ever since abrogation of Article 370 has brought a paradigm shift in the valley.
India’s hold on Kashmir is stronger than ever before in last more than three decades. On the other hand Pakistan has been at its weakest ever since the Balakot air strike and the abrogation of Article 370. New Delhi is unlikely to loosen the grip over Kashmir’s pulse.
Who will lead the Hurriyat?
Geelani’s departure has led to speculation now on who will lead the defunct radical Hurriyat wing. Masarat Alam, another rabid voice, was the obvious choice but he remains imprisoned. Geelani’s son-in-law Altaf is another probable candidate. There has been speculation that the Government of India may officially ban Hurriyat. Or will it let it die a natural death?
What will happen in the absence of the Hurriyat? And who will take the vacant space of separatists now in the valley? Is this the end of separatist political agitation? These are questions that only time will answer.
In 2017 Ghazi Baba, a prominent former Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, who spent many years in jail, said to this journalist in a very upset tone. “I think we are the real Hurriyat. Not them. We picked up the gun. Not Geelani. We don’t believe in his Hurriyat. Talk to me. Not him.”
“I have put fire across this valley. I know how to douse it,” he said with a firm conviction.
“Mark my words”, he continued. “There will be no crowd at Geelani’s funeral. No Kashmiri will shed a tear when this monster dies. And he will be forgotten soon by the same Kashmiris who worshiped him”.
Aditya Raj Kaul is Contributing Editor, News18 group with more than a decade long experience in covering Conflict, Foreign Policy, and Internal Security. He can be reached at [email protected]
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Assembly Elections Live Updates here.
Comments
0 comment