The sordid tale of separatism vis-à-vis Kashmir encompasses several dark chapters and scores of protagonists, who in their farcical struggle for self-determination, left an obnoxious yet indelible impression in the history books.
One of the principal protagonists of Kashmir’s secessionist movement that left the valley ravaged for decades, Syed Ali Shah Geelani - a man whose name will always remain synonymous with the idea of an Islamic Kashmir without Hindus - breathed his last on September 1, 2020, at his Srinagar residence. He was 91.
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His demise pulled the curtain down on an era of belligerent secessionism that powerfully emerged in the 80s as a subset of the sinister anti-India ideology espoused by the pro-Pakistan Hindu-haters in Kashmir. It was marked by a characteristic blueprint of holding the Indian state to ransom while enjoying its benefits and a systematic infusion of seditious sentiments into the minds of the Kashmiri Muslim youth.
Geelani - the quintessential Islamic separatist, the ‘hartal’ leader and Pakistan’s main man in Kashmir
Regarded widely as a pioneer of the Jihadist movement in Kashmir, Geelani’s journey as a hardline separatist commenced as far back as the early 1950s with the Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir - an Islamist political outfit that positioned itself on the doctrine that Kashmir was not an integral part of the Indian Union, but rather a disputed territory. A three-time MLA from the Sopore constituency, Geelani quit electoral politics after his last term in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from 1987 to 1989. He constituted the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat in 2004 after ending his long-term association with the Jamaat, which he represented at the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).
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Bringing the valley to a standstill by giving hartal calls at the drop of a hat, or more particularly, each time a terrorist was executed by the Indian forces was the hallmark of the Geelani style of functioning. It turned Kashmir into the hartal capital of India. Geelani’s Tehreek-e-Hurriyat methodically brainwashed ordinary Kashmiris, especially the youth, into becoming a hostile citizenry pitted against their own nation. This antagonism towards India gave birth to a mob mentality that took the shape of a culture of stone-pelting and anarchy which had become endemic in Kashmir’s routine life for many years until the revocation of Article 370.
Geelani enjoyed greater proximity to Pakistan compared to most other separatists of his time. Toeing the Pakistani line, Geelani dedicated his life to fomenting trouble in the valley by inciting the Kashmiri people in the name of freedom and orchestrating mass anti-India uprisings. So blatant, and substantially effective at the same time, were Geelani’s subversive actions that even the senior NC leaders Omar Abdullah, Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, among others - had blamed Geelani in the past for creating mayhem in Kashmir and for acting at the behest of Pakistan.
Although Geelani sold the idea of the right to self-determination to the Kashmiri people and publicly held that Kashmir was an internationally accepted disputed region between India and Pakistan, it remained an open secret that his true allegiance lied with Pakistan. He had close ties with the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and was often featured as a guest at the consulate events.
On August 14, 2020 - Pakistan’s Independence Day - the Government of Pakistan conferred the country’s highest civilian award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, on Geelani. Pakistan’s appreciation of Geelani’s unrelenting commitment to anti-India activities in the form of an official reward came only days after he announced his resignation from the chairmanship of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
Geelani’s influence on Kashmir politics and the region’s politicians
Geelani, and popular separatists of the same feather, exercised an unduly profound influence over Kashmir politics for a prolonged period in the pre-Modi era, so much so that the Hurriyat’s core narrative of challenging Kashmir’s integration with India found a subtle reflection in the narrative of J&K’s mainstream political parties with a national outreach - mainly the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the NC.
Following the abrogation of the absurd Article 370, political leaders
from the NC, the PDP and other parties were put on house arrest under the Public Safety Act (PSA) courtesy of the Government of India. It was during this period, and after their release from detention, that the Abdullahs and Mehbooba Mufti, along with other representatives of their parties, started echoing the sentiments of the Hurriyat more openly than ever before. Their expression of reverence for Geelani and synchronisation of thoughts with the Hurriyat went up several notches after the Indian Parliament dumped the special status of the erstwhile state of J&K in August 2019.
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Mehbooba Mufti lambasted the Modi Government subsequent to Geelani’s death, calling them “ruthless” for allegedly not allowing Geelani’s kin to “mourn and bid a final farewell as per their wishes”. Mufti’s scathing attack on the GOI came after an FIR was registered against the deceased’s family members by the Budgam police last weekend under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for draping Geelani’s body in a Pakistani flag during his last rites.
It simply corroborates that the fabric of ideological similarity between the mainstream politicians of Kashmir and the separatists is, or has always been, so strong that a political leader like Mehbooba Mufti, who fights elections under the banner of the Indian constitution and has previously served as a Chief Minister of the former state of J&K, castigates her country’s government for upholding the law of the land by prosecuting those with anti-national tendencies. However, Mufti maintains a deafening silence when it comes to questioning the mindset of the people who covered Geelani’s body with the flag of an enemy nation when he was laid to rest.
It is fair to argue that the cottage industry of separatism in Kashmir took a body blow after the Indian Parliament scrapped the ludicrous laws in August 2019 which had left a disconnect between J&K and India for decades. Geelani’s passing has led to the advent of a new phase in J&K wherein the separatist lobby has been reduced to an even feebler state.
However, it would be naive to assume that secessionist feelings in Kashmir have all but vanished. Modi government must continue to remain cognizant of this reality as they have been so far, for Naya Jammu & Kashmir is a work in progress.
