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Who was the real Burhan Wani, ‘paper tiger’ or ‘Indian agent’?
Aarti Tikoo Singh| TNN | Jul 12, 2016, 01.15 AM IST
HIGHLIGHTS
In this photograph taken on July 9, 2016, Kashmiri mourners take photographs of the body of Burhan Muzaffar Wani. (AFP photo)
SRINAGAR: Hizbul Mujahideen (Hizb) commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani was popular among the social media -addicted teenagers of Kashmir. But, if you asked the common man on the street even a couple of months ago who was Wani, the standard response would have been: "An Indian agent." If you asked security forces , you would have been told he was a "paper tiger" created by media. Last week, when news of Wani's killing spread, the narratives reversed instantly. The Indian state called it a successful anti-terror operation and common Kashmiris propped up Wani along with the likes of JKLF's Ashfaq Majeed Wani, an "iconic martyr" of the 1990 Kashmir militancy.
Such attitudinal somersaults perhaps prevail in all conflict zones. Indigenous violence in the pursuit of 'azadi' clubbed with the deep state games played by both India and Pakistan to get at each other, provide fertile ground for mythologies in Kashmir.
Maqbool Butt, the pioneer of the militant movement in the 1970s, for example, was jailed in Pakistan on suspicion of being an Indian spy, but in the end he was executed by India. Butt's political activism began with the protests against the incarceration of National Conference chief Sheikh Abdullah. Though NC remained pro-India, Butt crossed the LoC and returned to Kashmir in 1966, only to be arrested. He escaped from Srinagar prison, crossed the LoC again and, to his dismay, was detained by Pakistani authorities on charges of being an Indian agent.
"Later, he was released in Pakistan but many in Kashmir then believed he was a double agent," a seasoned politician in Srinagar told the TOI. "But legends were manufactured after his hanging. He became the poster boy for the militant JKLF in the 1980s and remains part of the insurgency folklore," he added.
Jaish-e-Muhammed terrorist Afzal Guru's life was mired in controversy too but he became a legendary face of 'azadi' following his execution. "While he was on trial, no separatist lawyer in Kashmir came forward to defend him. Most people in Kashmir believed he was an Indian mole in the Jaish cell that plotted the December 2001 Parliament attack," a political activist who knew Guru said, adding, "In his case, the 'collective conscience' use of phrase by the Indian judiciary catapulted him into a messiah in Kashmir."
Back in 2007, the dove-eyed, fair-complexioned Wani was just another cricket-loving studious 'chocolate boy' from an educated, state-employed, well-off Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)-influenced family of south Kashmir. But then the 2008 Amarnath land controversy erupted and the teenager found a cause like many others of his generation.
He used to distribute propaganda leaflets on Amarnath, a police officer said, adding that he later became a small-time courier boy for Hizb, JeI's militant wing.
Until the massive outpouring of grief, mourning and protests, most locals in Kashmir believed Wani was an Indian agent, propped up to project that the new militancy in Kashmir was inspired by the Islamic State, to recruit educated boys from affluent families.
"If he were a real mujahid, he would've been caught or killed. Why are the forces letting him post pictures and videos on Facebook when they censor most 'azadi' groups? He's their guy!" a stone-pelter told TOI two months ago.
Aarti Tikoo Singh| TNN | Jul 12, 2016, 01.15 AM IST
HIGHLIGHTS
- Wani was popular among the social media-addicted teenagers of Kashmir
- If you would have asked common man, Wani was "an Indian agent"
- If you would have asked security forces, he was "paper tiger" created by media
SRINAGAR: Hizbul Mujahideen (Hizb) commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani was popular among the social media -addicted teenagers of Kashmir. But, if you asked the common man on the street even a couple of months ago who was Wani, the standard response would have been: "An Indian agent." If you asked security forces , you would have been told he was a "paper tiger" created by media. Last week, when news of Wani's killing spread, the narratives reversed instantly. The Indian state called it a successful anti-terror operation and common Kashmiris propped up Wani along with the likes of JKLF's Ashfaq Majeed Wani, an "iconic martyr" of the 1990 Kashmir militancy.
Such attitudinal somersaults perhaps prevail in all conflict zones. Indigenous violence in the pursuit of 'azadi' clubbed with the deep state games played by both India and Pakistan to get at each other, provide fertile ground for mythologies in Kashmir.
Maqbool Butt, the pioneer of the militant movement in the 1970s, for example, was jailed in Pakistan on suspicion of being an Indian spy, but in the end he was executed by India. Butt's political activism began with the protests against the incarceration of National Conference chief Sheikh Abdullah. Though NC remained pro-India, Butt crossed the LoC and returned to Kashmir in 1966, only to be arrested. He escaped from Srinagar prison, crossed the LoC again and, to his dismay, was detained by Pakistani authorities on charges of being an Indian agent.
"Later, he was released in Pakistan but many in Kashmir then believed he was a double agent," a seasoned politician in Srinagar told the TOI. "But legends were manufactured after his hanging. He became the poster boy for the militant JKLF in the 1980s and remains part of the insurgency folklore," he added.
Jaish-e-Muhammed terrorist Afzal Guru's life was mired in controversy too but he became a legendary face of 'azadi' following his execution. "While he was on trial, no separatist lawyer in Kashmir came forward to defend him. Most people in Kashmir believed he was an Indian mole in the Jaish cell that plotted the December 2001 Parliament attack," a political activist who knew Guru said, adding, "In his case, the 'collective conscience' use of phrase by the Indian judiciary catapulted him into a messiah in Kashmir."
Back in 2007, the dove-eyed, fair-complexioned Wani was just another cricket-loving studious 'chocolate boy' from an educated, state-employed, well-off Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)-influenced family of south Kashmir. But then the 2008 Amarnath land controversy erupted and the teenager found a cause like many others of his generation.
He used to distribute propaganda leaflets on Amarnath, a police officer said, adding that he later became a small-time courier boy for Hizb, JeI's militant wing.
Until the massive outpouring of grief, mourning and protests, most locals in Kashmir believed Wani was an Indian agent, propped up to project that the new militancy in Kashmir was inspired by the Islamic State, to recruit educated boys from affluent families.
"If he were a real mujahid, he would've been caught or killed. Why are the forces letting him post pictures and videos on Facebook when they censor most 'azadi' groups? He's their guy!" a stone-pelter told TOI two months ago.
