Areesh
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2010
- Messages
- 45,157
- Reaction score
- 3
- Country
- Location
BIJBEHARA (Anantnag): On the last day of mourning for late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, crowds filed into Dara Shikoh Bagh in his hometown of Bijbehara to attend Chauharram prayers. A weeping Mehbooba Mufti and family stood by the grave decorated with marigold garlands as prayers rang out from a loudspeaker. The crowd was cordoned off from the grave but jostled restlessly to catch a glimpse of the former CM's burial site.
"Mufti protected us from the zulm of the forces. They used to beat us, torture us. We were not safe. Even today the forces use civilians as their shield when they are fighting militants. Mufti was a leader with a heart," said Safi Ahmed who runs a local tutorial class.
Ask them what they want for Kashmir and the answer is instant. Azaadi! The Azaadi sentiment runs high in the crowd. Says medical student Mohammed Lateef Mir, "We don't want to go with Pakistan, we don't want to go with India. We want azaadi, self rule for Kashmir. We are fed up with the way we are treated in India. If we grow our beards they call us terrorists, we keep having to give verification of our identity. The Kashmiri Muslim only meets injustice and discrimination in Delhi and Mumbai."
Does everyone here want Azaadi? An affirmative roar goes up from the crowd. Many point out how Kashmiri youth studying in Punjab universities are being harassed by police after the Pathankot attack. Others say Kashmiris were similarly targeted after the Udhampur terror attack. "When people from other parts of India come here we treat them like brothers, we believe Hindus are our brothers but there is a lot of injustice with us. Every Kashmiri boy who goes out of Kashmir looking for a job or education faces injustice," says Nasim Riyaz, a local businessman.
If Azaadi is such an important sentiment here, how do they feel about the BJP-PDP alliance? "Frankly, Kashmiris hate the BJP," says Raees Ahmed a local shop owner, " we hate the BJP because they don't respect our mazhab. We feel our mazhab should be respected just as we respect the Hindu mazhab. But it was the majboori of Mufti sahab that he had to go into an alliance with the ruling party which was the BJP. We needed the money for flood relief even though it has not yet come to us."
The feeling in Bijbehara is the BJP is to blame for the troubles he government is facing, for the lack of development and for the fact that flood relief has not taken off. "They gave Mufti sahib a lot of tension," says Raees.
Radicalisation is being used to describe current trends in Kashmir and the spread of orthodox Salafism through local madrasas. Many youth sport long beards and girls are shrouded in the hijab. The sentiment of injustice having being done is extremely strong. "Those who the Indian media calls militants we call our heroes," says Mubashar, "they are asking for their hakk, they are protesting na-insafi. We do not think they have done anything wrong."
The hanging of separatist leader Maqbool Bhat in 1984 became a rallying cry of militancy in the valley. Today the hanging of Afzal Guru, although two years ago, seems to have become an almost similarly potent cry with many voicing their outrage at his hanging. When Abdul Hameed, another student loudly demands "Why was Afzal Guru hanged when there was no evidence against him?," there is an approving roar of support from others. So are the Pathankot attackers justified in seeking revenge for Afzal Guru? "We don't want violence, we believe in Mufti's saying, baat banegi boli se not goli se, but the hanging of Guru has been a big sadma for us and we are unable to accept it," says Mir.
Bijbehara on the banks of the Jhelum is a historic town, its often called the town of Chinars. On two sides of the Padshahi bridge is a gurdwara and a Shiva temple. There are colleges and schools here but locals complain bitterly about unemployment. Naseem Riyaz says not only is there no work but going out in the evening is a hazard because of the way the forces conduct arbitrary checks. "Everyone is scared here at night, the only safe place is the mosque."
Is religion very important in their lives? "Our mazhab is important.We are attached to our culture, like growing a beard. In Mumbai and Delhi where they don't share our culture, they call us terrorists," says Naseem.
Azaadi as a sentiment is widespread and getting stronger. "Today we have chocolate leaders," says schoolteacher Zafar Iqbal. "You needed a leaders who understand the ground reality. Politicians are the ones who can reach out to the youth, not the administration or bureaucracy. Without that reach out, the youth of Kashmir will slip away."
In the hometown of the late chief minister, there are glimpses of a new mood of ideologically driven anger growing among Kashmiri youth. Earlier generations may have focused on the politics and the future of Kashmir, but this time the protest is ideological and rooted in Islamism. With the passing away of an inclusive figure like Mufti, it's as if the floodgates of anger and alienation have once again opened. Observers say a mark of this change in mood is that Mufti's funeral saw only a few thousand strong crowd, but the crowd at the funeral of LeT commander Abu Qasim three months ago numbered almost 60,000.
Cries of 'Azaadi' and 'justice for Afzal Guru' in Mufti Sayeed's hometown - Times of India
Last edited:
