When Dr. Rubaiya Sayeed was
kidnapped by JKLF terrorists in 1989 (I hope you remember/ know about the
incident; if you don’t, check on internet), the pressure was on the terrorists
to release her at the earliest. These terrorists were fighting for the liberation
of J&K which was predominantly Muslim (at least the Kashmir area) and had
kidnapped a Muslim woman against the teachings of Islam. It was just a matter
of time that they would have released Rubaiya as the public sentiment was
building against them on this issue. One noteworthy thing to remember here is
that Rubaiya was the daughter of then home minister of India, Mr. Mufti
Mohammed Sayeed (first and only person from J&K till date to hold such an
important portfolio) and was studying medicine in Kashmir Medical College.
The terrorists were asking for the
release of 5 of their comrades from Indian Jails (in Kashmir). Then chief
minister of Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah was not ready to release them as he was against
kneeling down to the demands of the terrorists. To persuade him, or to say, to
force him to release the terrorists through force and subjugation and threats,
the Govt. of India sent a ministerial delegation. This delegation was led by a minister
with a guttural voice, French beard and having a celebrated painter for
brother. This man went on to become the Prime Minister of India and died
recently. He forced Abdullah to release
the 5 terrorists from jails. That evening of their release, whole of Srinagar erupted
on streets to celebrate the victory of JKLF against the mighty Indian
government. They got the belief that they could fight and defeat the Indian
govt. That led to the ascendency of JKLF and the separatist movement. JKLF became
the chief anti India separatist group in the valley. Till the mid 90’s it was
the prime force to reckon with among the separatist groups in J&K but
slowly its importance faded with the rise of groups like Hizbul Mujahideen and
Harkat-ul-Ansar and the separatist movement turned into terrorism. Harkat was
the group behind the kidnapping of 5 westerners in Kashmir in the mid 90’s, one
of whom escaped while the rest were killed. Hizbul is still a force to reckon
with on the terrorism map of Kashmir but its importance has come down a bit
with the arrival of groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and the deadliest among all, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.
Maulana Hafiz Sayeed, the chief of
Lashkar roams freely in Pakistan under the garb of being the leader of Jamaat
ud Daawa which is headquartered in Muridke in Pakistan. Lashkar’s headquarter
is also the same.
The founder of Jaish, Maulana Masood
Azhar was languishing in an Indian jail before he was released during the
hostage crisis of Kandhar hijack in 1999. He went on to form Jaish in 2000 and
since then has masterminded several attacks on India. It is considered as the
deadliest terrorist organization active in Kashmir and is most notorious for
the attack on Indian Parliament in 2001 in collusion with Lashkar.
Another person released in the
hostage exchange of 1999 was Omar Sheikh who was incarcerated in Tihar jail,
New Delhi for the kidnapping of 4 foreigners from Delhi. He was a British
Pakistani and was a classmate of Nasser Hussain (former captain of English
cricket team) in school. Later on he went on to murder Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal journalist for which
he was awarded the death penalty by a Pakistani court. He is still alive though
passing his days in a Pakistani jail.
Sayyed Salahuddin, the Hizbul chief
is a Kashmiri originally known as Mohammed Yusuf Shah. Sayyed Salahuddin is his
nom-de-gurre. He had contested the 1987 assembly election on the ticket of
Muslim United Front (a coalition of extreme separatist political parties) and
lost. That election is notorious for the widespread allegations of rigging and
bogus polling and known as the most rigged election ever to be held in India.
Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah, two of
the main protagonists of the JKLF in the late 80’s and early 90’s faded away
and are now pale shadows of their former selves. They were the ones who led the
Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping and their popularity reached its pinnacle when their
demands were met and the 5 terrorists released. But after some time their
fortunes nosedived. Both live in Kashmir after serving time in Indian jails for
their terrorist/ separatist activities. Both of them claim to be non-violent
now and declare themselves to be followers of Gandhi.
Kashmir always had a tumultuous
history and the situation has not changed in the past couple of hundred years.
This place famous for its apples, houseboats, kahwa and beautiful women and
repeatedly called heaven on earth; has seen lots of gore and killings in the
past couple of decades. Blood has been spilled on streets and innocents,
terrorists, police men all have been killed in this war of supremacy or freedom
fight. Whatever you call it one fact will not change that Kashmir was once
beautiful and peaceful. It may still be beautiful but peace has long left the
valley.
Read about the valley. The story is
enchanting, interesting and riveting but sometimes it takes a turn and becomes
blood curdling.
P.S. Recommended reads on Kashmir are –
1.
Cuefewed Night (Memoir)
2.
The Collaborator (Fiction)
3.
The Veiled Suite (Poems)
4.
The Shrinagar Conspiracy (Fiction)
5.
Kashmir In Conflict: India, Pakistan and The Unending War (History)
P.P.S. Though flawed, Yahaan is the best movie on Kashmir as
far as I am concerned, may be at par with Mission
Kashmir. Shoojit Sircar (the man who made Vicky Donor) had made Yahaan with
all the passion and his efforts show. Please watch if you have not.
P.P.P.S. I would recommend you to
read A case of exploding Mangoes by the
Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif. Though nowhere related to Kashmir, it is a
fascinating read. An interesting and funny take on the death of General Zia Ul
Haq. Or was it assassination!
Freilos
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