Indian Defence Review

In past over a decade lakhs of people have been given employment in the state and billions of rupees have been pumped to rebuild the infrastructure. Kashmir has grown as a prosperous place “¦ But all these positive economic developments have not changed the political mindset of average Kashmiris”¦”

The separatist or pro-Pakistan leadership has now been passed on to radical young leaders. The Islamic radicalism was clearly discernable in the recent well orchestrated stone throwing ‘agitational terrorism’. Syed Geelani, who is 83 years old and indisposed, is now only a father figure. The new Islamist movement is now being led by Masrat Alam Bhatt (fugitive), Asiya Andrabi and her husband Ashiq Hussain Faktoo. These leaders are young, products of privileged education and much more steeped in global Islam than their predecessors. Bhatt and Andrabi are 38 and 48 years in age respectively.

The computer savvy Bhatt, who speaks perfect English, is a product of elite Cecil Earle Tyndale Biscoe Memorail High School. He joined the jihadi movement in the late 1980s. As a representative of the Muslim League in Hurriat, he never deviated from the League’s objective of “to fight socialism and secularism… and uprooting Western ideology”. In his speech, which can be accessed on ‘youtube’, he clearly speaks about ‘Islam ka bol bala’ (the complete writ of Islam) in Kashmir. He issues strike calendars from time to time for conduct of Kashmir insurrection. He has been in and out of jail, at least half a dozen times, and is presently a fugitive from Law.

The 1963 born Andrabi heads the women’s organization Dukhtharan-e-Millat (daughters of the nation), which not only supports but participates in the activities of the jihadis. The primary objective of the organization is to impose Sharia Law in Kashmir as well as Freedom from ‘Indian occupation’. Andrabi is the daughter of a prominent doctor Syed Shahbuddin Andrabi. In 1982 she set up a network of religious schools, whose fundamental thrust is religious education. She is rabidly against most other forms of education and entertainment for Muslim women and is in the forefront of enforcing Islamic dress code amongst them. Andrabi is on record to say: “I do not believe in Kashmiriat, I do not believe in nationalism, I believe there are two nations – Muslims and non-Muslims”.

Both Bhatt and Andrabi played an active role in the movement against the grant of land use to the Amarnath Shrine Board in 2008, and in the latest ‘agitational terrorism’ in Kashmir. It was Andrabi, who rallied the women with their children to the forefront and as shield to the stone throwers.

Andrabi’s husband Ashiq Hussain Faktoo was at one time a top commander of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and was allegedly involved in the assassination of Mirwaiz Moulvi Farooq, just because he was a moderate. Faktoo is presently serving a life-term for killing a human right activist HN Wanchoo.

The threat to the Sikhs in the valley is therefore a manifestation of the new radical Islamic movement in Kashmir guided by new radical leaders. It has got nothing to do with development or problems related to governance. In this regard, an article by Syed Rafiuudin Bukhari, ‘Pro-Pakistan Geelani’s Hurriat writ runs in Kashmir’ (in the backdrop of Dr Manmohan Singh’s speech on Independence Day), is telling: “While the unrest had become the reality of politics in today’s Kashmir, he mixed it with the usual rhetoric of creating more unemployment opportunities. This many took as an insult to “genuine aspirations” being given vent on the streets. Giving the name of lack of employment avenues to the upsurge on ground surely complicates New Delhi’s problems in Kashmir.

In past over a decade lakhs of people have been given employment in the state and billions of rupees have been pumped to rebuild the infrastructure. Kashmir has grown as a prosperous place with human development index showing an upward trend. Businesses have shown excellent results with more employments coming through private sector, though slowly. But all these positive economic developments have not changed the political mindset of average Kashmiris…”