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7/28/2019 Kashmir Dead Tales
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COMMENTARY
apri l 2 7, 2013 vol x lviII no 17 EPW Economic & Political Weekly18
Farrukh Faheem (karimnonvore@gmail.com)
teaches at the South Asia Centre for Studies in
Conflict, Peace and Human Security,
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Kashmir: Dead MenDo Tell Tales
Farrukh Faheem
The story of three graves in
Kashmir encapsulates the saga
of collective mobilisation in the
Valley and the direction in which
it has veered. The first, closed
after a magnificent state funeral,
has to be now guarded against
the people of the region.Still open, the other two await
bodies that have been buried
in Tihar Jail.
Several travelogues in the 19thcen-
tury, mostly by Europeans, de-
scribed the vale of Kashmir as a
land of mystery and its people as lotus-
eaters. While reflecting on the natural
beauties of the Valley, they also, some-
times unknowingly, spoke of the oppres-
sion of its inhabitants by their rulers. In
postcolonial days, the Indian intelligent-
sia and Indian media constructed a dif-ferent Kashmiri one so naive as to be
influenced by outsiders and foolish
enough to believe he understood what
was good for him. Any departure from
this construction was seen as an excep-
tion and further proof of Kashmiri na-
ivety and foolishness. Kashmiris were
told that they did not know what was
best for them, and when they tried to
shape their destiny, they were said to be
influenced from outside. Thousands of
pages have been written about foreign
hands working in Kashmir, and numerous
azadi (freedom) agitations over the last
seven decades have been said to reflect
Kashmiri waywardness. Thus even
peaceful protests by the inhabitants of
the Valley were termed agitational ter-
rorism because they threatened to top-
ple the happy Kashmir image so adroitly
projected by the rulers. However, Kash-
miris with their passion for freedom and
enduring resolve to achieve it have notonly rejected such constructions, but
also actively resisted them.
Historically, whenever and wherever
people have collectively challenged state
power, they have been dubbed alienat-
ed and irrational mobs, given to fick-
leness (Smelser 1962). But recent stud-
ies on the civil rights movements of the
1960s and scores of other campaigns
clearly demonstrate that people who
participate in protests are neither alien-
ated nor disconnected. Instead, they are
strongly linked to and grounded within
the social fabric of their communities,
and this, in turn, is an important ele-
ment in their mobilisation (Johnston
and Noakes 2005). In other words, peo-
ple mobilise and participate in protests
on the basis of their understanding and
interpretation of everyday political andsocial problems. Such collective behav-
iour expressed through protests and
movements is not a mechanical reflex
response to certain events, but essential-
ly a purposive and goal-oriented en-
gagement (Crossly 2002). It follows that
to understand such phenomena one
needs to examine the meanings the par-
ticipants and actors attach to the events
that trigger them. In Kashmir, where
such mobilisations have erupted fre-
quently, right in the face of the struc-
tures of power, it is important to under-
stand the meaning the people attach to
certain provocations.
****
Sheikh Abdullah
For 22 years, from 1953 to 1975, mobili-
sations in Kashmir were around the twin
slogans ofRai-shumari (plebiscite) and
Azadi Ya Maut (Freedom or Death). This
happened under the leadership ofSheikh Abdullah, and many perhaps ex-
pected that the slogans and sentiments
The web version of this article
corrects a few errors that appeared in
the print edition.
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COMMENTARY
Economic & Political Weekly EPW april 27, 2013 vol xlviII no 17 19
in favour of freedom would be buried on
the banks of Dal Lake along with his
mortal remains. Thousands of Kash-
miris across the Valley participated in
Sheikh Abdullahs last journey on 8 Sep-
tember 1982. Describing his funeral, one
Indian magazine wrote it was a tearful,
memorable farewell on a day of unbri-dled emotion. It indeed was as if a river
of humanity bid adieu to its leader.
Sheikh Abdullah was buried in a con-
crete and brick-lined chamber, though
one presumes his close aides and follow-
ers were keen on turning the grave of
their mentor into a place to be revered
by all Kashmiris. It almost became a
reality. Soon after Sheikh Abdullahs
death, it was decided that four large
quadrangles one each for a library, a
museum, a darasgah (reading room) to
teach the Koran, and an open pavilion
for the public would be constructed at
the burial site as a mark of respect to
him.1 But it was not to be.
****
Maqbool Bhats Legacy
Subsequent events in Kashmir changed
these plans just as they did the whole po-
litical discourse in the region. Two years
later, a young Kashmiri named MaqboolBhat, whom Sheikh Abdullahs son, Fa-
rooq Abdullah, described as a roman-
tic, was hanged in Tihar Jail in New
Delhi for his supposed involvement in
the murder of a CID inspector in 1966.
Tall, wiry and full of humour,Bhat be-
lieved that only an underground move-
ment using guerrilla tactics could achieve
what Sheikh Abdullah could not through
his non-violent mass struggle. During
his first arrest in 1966, the police recov-
ered a draft written by him. It was a
declaration of war on India.2 The jail
authorities reported that Bhat looked
calm and composed and did not utter
any word as he was being taken to the
gallows.3 He was hanged on 11 February
1984, a few days before his 46th birthday.
Sporadic incidents of protest against
Bhats hanging were reported across
Kashmir. News magazines capturing the
mood described them as tremors of ten-
sion. At Trehgam in Kupwara district,where Bhat was born, no shop opened for
four consecutive days. In south Kashmirs
Anantnag district, a group of young-
sters, tears welling from their eyes, went
round the schools, banks and government
offices, requesting the authorities to
close down. The capital city of Srinagar
was no different. At Zainakadal, in the
heart of old Srinagar, the streets were
deserted even though nobody had giventhe call for bandh.4 Although, unlike
Sheikh Abdullahs funeral, there was no
river of humanity marching to bid
farewell to Bhat, the lull on the streets of
Srinagar forecast the storm ahead.
Earlier, on 8 February, following the
rejection of Bhats mercy petition by the
president of India, a special judge had
issued a warrant for his hanging. Against
his last wish, Bhats body was buried
within the premises of Tihar Jail. Abdul
Ghani Lone, then a member of the legis-
lative assembly in Srinagar, described
Bhats hanging as a judicial murder and
the murder of justice. One of Bhats
counsels, Muzaffar Hussain Beg, called
it a political and hasty decision.5 These
two deaths within a period of two years
(Sheikh Abdullahs in 1982 and Bhats in
1984) marked a transformation in Kash-
mirs political environment.
Amid reports of attempts to desecrate
Sheikh Abdullahs grave, it was nowguarded by armed men at all hours of
the day and night. By now the river of
humanity that marched to bid him fare-
well had changed its course. And while
Sheikh Abdullahs grave was guarded
against his own community, the people
of Kashmir waited for the mortal re-
mains of Bhat to be returned to a grave
that had been dug at theshaheed mazaar
(martyrs graveyard) in old Srinagar.
The story of the two graves was symbolic
of the political shift that Kashmir was
quietly undergoing, even while under
the intimidating gaze of New Delhi.
Changing Winds
Signs of a shift were evident even before
Sheikh Abdullahs death when after be-
ing tamed by the state, the Lion an-
nounced he was burying the claim for a
plebiscite and termed the quest for it as
awaragrdi (waywardness). While New
Delhi and the new National Conference(post-Plebiscite Front) were celebrating
Sheikh Abdullahs victory in the 1977
assembly election, the ground beneath
their feet was already shaky. In their indi-
vidual lives, away from state structures of
domination and control, Kashmiris were
registering a very different narrative
one that was opposite to what the state
wanted them to believe. Slogans like
Rai-shumari Beren Dabas Alov Babas Mu-barak (You Who Buried the Slogan of
Plebiscite, Bravo Oh Father!) on the
streets of Kashmir were already taking a
dig at Sheikh Abdullahs brand of politics.
It is generally believed that as long as
Sheikh Abdullah dominated the political
scene in Kashmir emerging young lead-
ers like Bhat could not attract significant
support in the Valley. But the fact that
Bhats body was not allowed to be shift-
ed to Srinagar and he was denied a qa-
bar (grave) in Kashmir suggests that
New Delhi was quite conscious of the
consequences of hanging him. Its appre-
hensions were not unfounded within
four years of Bhats hanging, the organi-
sation he co-founded, the Jammu Kash-
mir Liberation Front (JKLF), was spear-
heading the rebellion against it. That
Kashmiris were emotionally upset by the
denial of a qabar to Bhat in his home-
land was reflected in lyrical slogans that
resonated on the streets of Srinagar likeFarooqen Qabar Kasheeri Neber, Muftiy-
en Qabar Kasheeri Neber(May Farooqs
and Muftis graves be outside Kashmir).
Massive azadi mobilisations across
Kashmir announced a new phase in the
political struggle. The establishment of
shaheed mazaarsacross the length and
breadth of the Valley as repositories of
the sacrifices and struggles of the
people gave rise to sites where memories
of the past were preserved and transmit-
ted to the next generation. These memo-
rials were narratives of the collective
identity of people against the state,
which had by now emerged as the big-
gest other. To this day, in a shaheed
mazaar in the heart of Srinagar, one
empty grave waits for Bhats mortal
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7/28/2019 Kashmir Dead Tales
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COMMENTARY
apri l 2 7, 2 013 vol x lvi II no 17 EPW Economic & Political Weekly20
remains. The epitaph reads, Shaheed
Mohd Maqbool Bhat, Date of Martyr-
dom: 11th February, 1984. The Nation
awaits his mortal remains which lie as a
trust with the Government of India. As
the struggle against New Delhi intensi-
ed, over a period of time, the number
of martyr graves swelled. As time goesby, the martyrdoms add new pages to
the collective biography of Kashmir,
which tells the story of a struggle against
a conspiracy intended to bring about
oblivion. The martyr graveyards rep-
resent collective statements about what
the past has been, and how the present
should acknowledge it; about who needs
to be remembered and who forgotten.
****
Mohammad Afzal
In the wee hours of 9 February 2013,
Kashmir woke up to the sound of police
sirens and announcements warning
people not to venture out of their homes,
evoking memories of 2010 when a
month-long curfew forced them to stay
indoors. The massive clampdown in the
Valley was accompanied by news of
another Kashmiri going to the gallows in
New Delhis Tihar Jail. This time it was
46-year-old Mohammad Afzal, who was
accused of waging a war against the
state. He had been arrested along with
his cousin Shaukat Hussain, Shaukats wife
Afsan, and a Delhi University lecturer
S A R Geelani in 2001 in the aftermath ofan attack on Parliament in which 12 peo-
ple died and many more injured.
The Supreme Court acknowledged
that Afzal was not a member of any ter-
rorist organisation and that the prosecu-
tion did not establish his direct involve-
ment in the attack on Parliament. But it
upheld the death sentence on him be-
cause the incident, which resulted in
heavy casualties, had shaken the entire
nation, and the collective conscience of
the society will only be satised if capi-
tal punishment is awarded to the offen-
der (Peer 2003).
As soon as the internet embargo (ac-
companied by a nine-day curfew, print
media gag, and cable TV blackout) was
relaxed in Kashmir, social networking
sites were abuzz, debating the injustices
perpetrated in the Valley. One Kashmiri
netizen observed, Indian state usesKashmiris as trophies. Indian army men
are rewarded for their involvement in
fake encounters in Kashmir and they hang
Kashmiris to secure political mileage.6
The pro-freedom political leadership in
Kashmir in a statement to the press de-
clared Afzal a Kashmiri national heroand reiterated that the people of Kashmir
will continue to struggle for mortal re-
mains of Maqbool Bhat and Afzal Guru.7
A fresh grave has been dug right next
to Bhats empty grave in the shaheed ma-
zaar in Srinagar. It has an epitaph that
resembles the one next to it almost word
for word. Only the names, the days, and
the years differ. The act of recollecting
the past, as some observers argue, is an
active process and not merely one meant
to retrieve information about times gone
by. Communities remember so that their
past can help to solve predicaments that
exist in their present. At Srinagars shaheed
mazaar, the past has embraced the
present, paving the way for the future.
To Kashmiris, Sheikh Abdullah, Bhat
and Afzal represent three generations
who in their own different ways resisted
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The introduction discusses the milestones in the evolution of local governments post-Independence, while providing an
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7/28/2019 Kashmir Dead Tales
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COMMENTARY
Economic & Political Weekly EPW april 27, 2013 vol xlviII no 17 21
New Delhi. Sheikh Abdullah was tamed
and is now seen as a betrayer of Kash-
miris. Bhat and Afzal were executed and
are perceived as heroes of the Kash-
miri nation. Sheikh Abdullah was given
a state funeral and as per his will buried
on the serene banks of the lake at
Hazratbal. Bhat and Guru were deniedburials in Kashmir and two empty
graves await them. The story of these
graves in Kashmir somewhat sums up
the story of Kashmir. As the state buries
Kashmiris in its jails, Kashmiris add empty
graves to their shaheed mazaars. And
while it can bury the likes of Abdullah at
choice locations in Kashmir, it cannot
afford to leave the graves unguarded
against their own community.
Notes
1 Jammu and Kashmir: Tremors of Tension,India Today, 29 February 1984.
2 Maqbool Butt: Death Wish, India Today, 29February 1984.
3 Maqbool Butt Executed: Body Buried in Jail,Kashmir Times, 12 February 1984.
4 Jammu and Kashmir: Tremors of Tension,India Today, 29 February 1984.
5 Maqbool Butt Executed: Body Buried in Jail,Kashmir Times, 12 February 1984.
6 The Afzal Petition: A Quest for Justice, 2007,Champa: The Amiya and B G Rao Foundation,Promila and Co, New Delhi, in association withBibliophile South Asia.
7 JKLF Calls for Strike,Rising Kashmir, 18 Feb-ruary 2013.
References
Crossly, Nick (2002):Making Sense of Social Move-ments (Buckingham: Open University Press).
Johnston, H and John A Noakes, ed. (2005):Framesof Protest: Social Movements and the Framing Per-
spective (Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield).
Peer, G (2013): When the Indian Nations Con-science was Satisfied, http://kafila.org/2013/02/15/when-the-indian-nations-conscience-was-satisfied-gazala-peer/, accessed on 18 February.
Roy, A (2013): Does Your Bomb-Proof BasementHave an Attached Toilet: An Execution CarriedOut to the Thundering War Clouds, http://
www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?283909,accessed on 18 February.
Smelser, J Neil (1962): Theory of Collective Behav-iour (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul).
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