Four Years After His Hanging, Has Kashmir Forgotten Afzal Guru?

• When Afzal Guru was hanged to death on 9 February 2013, a curfew was put in place. Thirty years prior to this event, when Mohammad Maqbool Bhat of the JKLF was hanged, very few Kashmiris knew him.
  
• Kashmir based political analysts attribute public silence to a vacuum in leadership at that time.
  
• With time, Bhat’s hanging has become a catalyser for large-scale mobilisation in the Valley, and continues to be to this day.
  
• It is also commonly believed that in hanging Afzal Guru, the Congress pursued vote bank politics.

Maqbool Bhat’s Hanging: A Catalyst for Mobilisation

I woke up to a loud announcement on 9 February 2013. A strict curfew across the Valley had been put in place. Shocked, I was up in a jiffy, trying to figure out why there was an unscheduled curfew. I hurriedly opened my laptop. The banner news read: “Afzal Guru hanged in Tihar jail”.

On a similar morning, thirty years ago, Mohammad Maqbool Bhat was hanged in Tihar jail on 11 February, 1984. Ironically, few Kashmiris knew about Maqbool Bhat. No shutdown was observed in any part of Kashmir.

But when Mohammad Afzal Guru was hanged in Tihar jail, New Delhi had to put in place a 12-day long curfew throughout Kashmir, waiting for tempers to cool down.

Why the silence at the time of Maqbool Bhat? Kashmir based political analysts attribute it to a vacuum in leadership at that time. When Bhat was hanged, there was no mobilisation of people. With time, his hanging has become a catalyst for large-scale mobilisation in the Valley, and continues to be to this day.

Afzal Guru’s Hanging and the Alienation of Kashmir

In Kashmir, one must not draw conclusions on the basis of appearances. At times, figments become a prelude to huge storms, the likes of which were seen in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Afzal Guru’s hanging alienated Kashmir. The effect was soon felt when the NC-led government lost the election miserably. Public anger was captured well by senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

By taking Afzal to the gallows, the Congress might have won the “hearts” of Indian voters, but it has shut the doors of reconciliation at least for some time.

Shujaat Bukhari, Jourmalist

In 2016, the Hurriyat conglomerate including Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front issued a shutdown call, pressing for the return of Bhat and Guru’s mortal remains, who were buried inside Tihar Jail.

Four years after he was hanged, does Afzal Guru still hold sway over Kashmiris?

The outsider may miss the sarcasm in the comment of Kashmir’s veteran journalist Yousuf Jameel.

Why does Kashmir witnesses hartal on both the anniversaries? Like Maqbool Bhat, Afzal will always be remembered.

Yousuf Jameel, Journalist

It is believed in Kashmir that Afzal did not get a fair trial. People say he was hanged in a hush-hush manner on the fateful morning of 9 February. It is also commonly believed that in hanging Afzal Guru, the Congress pursued vote bank politics. The Congress coalition partner National Conference (NC), headed by Omar Abdullah, was informed about the execution on 31 January 2013, when Abdullah was in New Delhi.

It is a general feeling in Kashmir that Afzal did not get a fair trial, proper justice and fair process. When there is such a feeling among the people, then political repercussions are there.

Yousuf Jameel, Journalist

Is Hartal Politics Effective?

In 2016, following old school politics, the government imposed restrictions in all seven police stations in downtown Srinagar. The Hurriyat leaders and JKLF chief Mohammad Yasin Malik have been detained along with hundreds of Hurriyat activists and cadre, mostly from the Hurriyat (G) faction. This is to make sure that “peace” is not disrupted in Kashmir. Peace and Kashmir are seldom said in one go.

Hartal politics may be diminishing in Kashmir today. However, this does not indicate that Kashmir has forgotten Maqbool or Afzal. HOD Law Department Central University of Kashmir Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain puts it aptly.

If there is no hartal, or say there is a hartal but the effect of hartal is not effective, it does not mean Kashmiris have forgotten Afzal or Maqbool. There are lulls in every resistance, and lulls are guided by instincts of survival rather than instincts of abdication of a resistance.

Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain

Tabasum Guru, the wife of Afzal Guru, said, “In my view, even if we protest, I don’t think much will change. Protests won’t have any impact on New Delhi now. For them, it is raat gayee baat gayee.”

(The writer is a freelance journalist. This article has been republished from The Quint’s archives to mark the fourth anniversary of the hanging of Azfal Guru. It was first published on 2 July 2016)