Syed Ali Shah Geelani, an avowedly pro-Pakistan Kashmiri secessionist leader who died on Wednesday night at his Hyderpora home in Srinagar, was the undisputed leader of Kashmiri separatism and the only one who would publicly raise the cry of Azadi-barai-Islam (Freedom for the sake of Islam).
The Valley’s most senior separatist leaders wielded enormous power over a large number of Valley youth.
He left behind a wife and six children, as well as a separatist movement that had largely gone silent since J&K’s special status was revoked on August 5.
Geelani, who is known for his pro-Pakistan stance, wanted Kashmir to be merged with Pakistan and has been seen as Pakistan’s strong voice in the Valley.
For his unwavering stand demanding independence from India, he was affectionately referred to as “Babb” (grandfather) among separatist youth.
His detractors dubbed him a hawk who refused to adapt to changing circumstances, and even most of the mainstream leaders who are currently imprisoned blamed him for the unrest in Kashmir.
He was a staunch Islamist during his lifetime, and for many years, he was the face of Jamaat-e-Islami, a politico-religious organisation now banned by the government in Kashmir, and he served as chairman of the All Party Hurriyat Conference in the late 1990s. His dislike for some politicians led him to form another Hurriyat Conference faction, the Hurriyat Conference (Geelani), in 2003. The other faction, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was seen as a moderate faction.
He spent nearly two decades in and out of jails. He hasn’t been feeling well for the past ten years, and since 2010, the government has mostly kept him under house arrest at his Rawalpora home, which also houses the Hurriyat Conference’s office. Geelani has been under house arrest since August 5, 2019, and doctors under police protection used to visit him there, though he was occasionally shifted to the hospital when his condition worsened.
Before his death, the government had already devised a foolproof security plan, fearing that his death would rekindle the protests that erupted in Kashmir following the assassination of Hizb commander Burhan Wani in 2016. The government was also concerned about violence after the Hurriyat Conference (G) faction issued a statement from Muzaffarabad calling for people to gather at the Eidgah martyrs cemetery as soon as the leader died, and that the funeral be held the next day.
Geelani openly advocated for the Jamaat-e-Islami party to support militants fighting for Kashmir and treat foreign militants as “guest militants” during his lifetime. For the youth who turned to guns, Geelani was one of the few leaders who served as an inspiration, and many local militants who were caught in encounters and died sent messages to their families requesting that their final funeral be led by him.
