Hurriyat Continues With Or Without Geelani

Unlike the houses of other 바카라�pro-freedom바카라� leaders in Kashmir, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat바카라�s residence in Srinagar바카라�s uptown Jawaharnagar area has no guards at the entrance. In a crowded room inside, the ailing Hurriyat Conference co-founder is talking about geopolitical changes in the region and their impact on Kashmir. He says Hurriyat (named after the Arabic word for 바카라�freedom바카라�) outlived Article 370 and won바카라�t be out of circulation in the absence of 92-year-old leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani (in pic), who died on September 1 after spending most of the past 11 years under house arrest. 바카라�Hurriyat is not like a building that catches fire and is gone. It is a sentiment deeply rooted in Kashmir바카라�s collective soul,바카라� says Bhat. 바카라�A political group that chose to represent the soul cannot be wished away. I may die tomorrow and another leader the day after, but Hurriyat is a symbol, it will live on. Symbols never perish.바카라�

The last time Bhat met Geelani, also called 바카라�Bab바카라� (바카라�beloved father바카라�, in ­Kashmiri) by many in the community, was sometime in 2003-04, 바카라�when ­Pervez Musharraf was president of Pakistan바카라�, he says. 바카라�Then we chose different political paths and never met again.바카라� Ten years earlier, Geelani and Bhat were on the Hurriyat ­Confer­ence바카라�s seven-member ­executive when the conglomerate of 바카라�pro-freedom바카라� organisations was founded in 1993. Geelani had then proposed Bhat바카라�s name for chairman, but 10 years later, he parted ways with the Hurriyat Conference, floated his own party, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, and formed another Hurriyat faction with the support of other groups. In ­January 2004, 바카라�moderate바카라� Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led the Hurriyat ­executive바카라�Bhat, Bilal Gani Lone, Moulana Abbas Ansari and Fazal Haque Qureshi바카라�for dialogue with then deputy PM L.K. Advani. 바카라�When you choose to talk, you establish your existence as an organis­ation for years to come,바카라� Bhat says.

Mainstream politicians do not share Bhat바카라�s optimism about Hurriyat. With Mirwaiz under house arrest and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik in Delhi바카라�s Tihar jail, the 바카라�pro-freedom바카라� spectrum has almost disappeared from the political landscape. 바카라�They (the government) resurrected Geelani from his grave,바카라� says a senior politician, who doesn바카라�t want to be identified. After Geelani바카라�s death, police raided the nonage­narian바카라�s residence and took away his body, allegedly dragging it on the floor. The police had brought no stretcher, claim Geelani바카라�s kin, who also allege they were beaten up. 바카라�The way they treated Geelani바카라�s body has been etched in the collective memory of Kashmiris,바카라� says another politician, who requests not to be named.

Bhat insists 바카라�silence in Kashmir바카라� since the abrogation of Article 370 doesn바카라�t make 바카라�Hurriyat or the people of Kashmir irrelevant바카라�. 바카라�Discretion is the better part of valour,바카라� he says. 바카라�We always support dialogue among India, Pakistan and the relevant political grouping in J&K called All Parties Hurriyat Conference. The problem in Kabul has been resolved, and India and Pakistan can take the lead and resolve their problems, including the core problem of Kashmir.바카라�

(This appeared in the print edition as "With or Without Bab")

By Naseer Ganai in Srinagar