Unlike the houses of other 바카라pro-freedom바카라 leaders in Kashmir, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat바카라s residence in Srinagar바카라s 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 바카라freedom바카라) outlived Article 370 and won바카라t 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. 바카라Hurriyat is not like a building that catches fire and is gone. It is a sentiment deeply rooted in Kashmir바카라s collective soul,바카라 says Bhat. 바카라A 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 바카라Bab바카라 (바카라beloved father바카라, in Kashmiri) by many in the community, was sometime in 2003-04, 바카라when Pervez Musharraf was president of Pakistan바카라, he says. 바카라Then we chose different political paths and never met again.바카라 Ten years earlier, Geelani and Bhat were on the Hurriyat Conference바카라s seven-member executive when the conglomerate of 바카라pro-freedom바카라 organisations was founded in 1993. Geelani had then proposed Bhat바카라s 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, 바카라moderate바카라 Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led the Hurriyat executive바카라Bhat, Bilal Gani Lone, Moulana Abbas Ansari and Fazal Haque Qureshi바카라for dialogue with then deputy PM L.K. Advani. 바카라When you choose to talk, you establish your existence as an organisation for years to come,바카라 Bhat says.
Mainstream politicians do not share Bhat바카라s optimism about Hurriyat. With Mirwaiz under house arrest and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik in Delhi바카라s Tihar jail, the 바카라pro-freedom바카라 spectrum has almost disappeared from the political landscape. 바카라They (the government) resurrected Geelani from his grave,바카라 says a senior politician, who doesn바카라t want to be identified. After Geelani바카라s death, police raided the nonagenarian바카라s residence and took away his body, allegedly dragging it on the floor. The police had brought no stretcher, claim Geelani바카라s kin, who also allege they were beaten up. 바카라The way they treated Geelani바카라s body has been etched in the collective memory of Kashmiris,바카라 says another politician, who requests not to be named.
Bhat insists 바카라silence in Kashmir바카라 since the abrogation of Article 370 doesn바카라t make 바카라Hurriyat or the people of Kashmir irrelevant바카라. 바카라Discretion is the better part of valour,바카라 he says. 바카라We 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
