Armed resistance turns 25 today Of Lion Of Desert, Sheikh’s Posters And The First Action ABID BASHIR SmallerDefaultLarger Srinagar, July 30: After 1975 accord between Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah and then Prime Minister of India Indhira Gandhi, an impression in Kashmir was created that Kashmir was no more a political issue. When Sheikh died in 1982, a simmering discontent started brewing in Kashmir as students from Iraq, Iran and Palestine, studying in various Kashmiri colleges, especially in Regional Engineering College (REC) Srinagar started distributing literature among people about Afghan-struggle and other separate indigenous movements in Middle East. “We even conducted a photo-exhibition on Afghanistan’s struggle in Srinagar,” recalls JKLF chairman and one of the pioneers of armed resistance in Kashmir, Muhammad Yasin Malik, as the armed movement in Kashmir turns 25 Wednesday. “We even took out rallies in support of Palestine movement.” He says Kashmiri youth were attracted towards the literature distributed by Afghan and Palestine which led to “a sense of maturity” vis-à-vis Kashmir struggle. Malik was part of four member militant group, popularly known as HAJY—comprising Hameed Sheikh, Ashfaq Majeed, Javaid Mir and Yasin Malik. The group carried out two explosions, one at Central Telegraph office and another at Golf Course on July 31, 1988—the first militant strike to mark the beginning of armed struggle in Kashmir. Today, Kashmir has entered into 25th year of armed-resistance. However, the issue continues to remain unresolved. Malik, who is now following the ‘cause’ through peaceful means, says, “Romance is the same but means are different.” “JKLF founder Muhammad Maqbool Bhat’s hanging on February 11, 1982 shook the minds of Kashmiri youth. Many Kashmiri youth wanted to take revenge but were in a dilemma what to do,” he says. Many events unfolded in between and in 1985 when a movie titled ‘Lion of Desert’ casting Anthony Queen as Omar Mukhtar, the aged militant commander fighting war against Italy’s Colonial rule against Libya, was screened at Regal Cinema here, the HAJY group and dozens of others raised slogans against Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah calling him a “traitor.” At the end of the movie, a huge procession came out of the Cinema with youth tearing down the portraits of Sheikh that were erected at various places in Lal Chowk. “We were impressed by the struggle of an elderly man against dictatorship and the way he faces gallows with a smiling face,” says Malik. He says on July 31, 1988, Kashmiri youth by starting a new era of resistance washed off the impression that Kashmiris were cowards. “JKLF is proud of having a distinction of starting the resistance and it was martyrs like Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Sheikh Abdul Hameed and many others who started this new journey of resistance that changed the course of our 5000 year old history,” Malik says. “People’s movement that started in 1988 still continues, though with somewhat different means and modus operandi and will continue till the achievement of the goal.” Javaid Ahmed Mir, who was a key member of HAJY group, says after watching Lion of Desert, they tore down all hoardings of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah that were erected at various locations in Lal Chowk. “We left no hoarding without tearing it into pieces,” says Mir, who was Islamic Students League (ISL) leader. “The movie had a great impact on our psyche. We thought to do something big for Kashmir.” “Gun has internationalized Kashmir issue. What else do we need,” he says. “The first action on July 31, 1931, didn’t shake only Kashmir, but India and entire world.” The attack was carried after Malik, Ashfaq, Javaid and Hameed, had returned after having arms training in Muzaffarabad camp. He says 1987 elections contested by Muslim United Front (MUF) was also a crucial phase for armed resistance. “The rigging done by mainstream parties forced Muhammad Yousuf to cross over LoC. There, he became Syed Salahuddin and the head of Hizbul Mujahideen,” he said. A former militant commander, Advocate Shahid-ul Islam, who was caught on March 23, 1983 for hoisting a Pakistani flag at Hawal, said, “I was arrested by police and my school principal sought explanation from me. We were being arrested on the pretext of molesting girls so that we are defamed among our parents and other family members,” says Islam, who crossed over to Muzaffarabad in 1989 and received arms training in Afghanistan. Before that, Islam was known as Aftab Ahmed Shah. He was given the charge of in-charge base camp to run the militant outfit Hizbullah. “The role of gun was to bring world attention towards Kashmir issue. It brought out Kashmir issue from the cold storage to the limelight. That is what we wanted,” says Islam, who is Media Advisor to Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 12:24:55 +0000
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