Syed Ali Geelani led the Kashmir resistance movement from his residence in Srinagar’s Hyderpora neighbourhood. He breathed his last on September 1 at the age of 91. He had been under house arrest at the picturesque Valley that is home to eight million people.

Indian Occupation Forces, known for their gross human rights violations in the Valley, first forced his family to bury him in the dead of night, then lodged a first information report (FIR) against them for chanting pro-freedom slogans and wrapping the body in a cloth carrying the crescent and star representing the Pakistan flag.

Syed Ali Geelani’s uncompromising style of politics had made him famous among Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and unpopular among the Indian establishment that ‘leaders’ like Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Farooq Abdullah to legitimise its rule in the Held Valley. Geelani paid the price through frequent detentions and remained imprisoned for 18 years, including an 11-year house arrest. He embraced the hardship as a token of recognition in perusing the cause of Kashmir’s freedom from the clutches of the repressive Indian Army.

Pakistan’s civil and military leadership as well as other leaders paid rich tributes to the deceased.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Geelani was a freedom fighter who struggled all his life for his people and their right to self-determination. “He suffered incarceration and torture by the occupying Indian state but remained resolute,” said Khan.

Sardar Masood Khan, the former Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) president, talking exclusively to TNS, said that Syed Ali Geelani represented an epoch in the Kashmir freedom movement.

“Strong and resolute, he never changed his stance on the right of self-determination for Kashmiris. Imprisoned, tortured and persecuted, he would continue to inspire generations of Kashmiris and Pakistanis with his sterling leadership,” said Sardar Masood Khan.

Khan added that Syed Ali Geelani was shunned and alienated by his allies and peers but continued to work for consensus and unity.

“He leaves behind a legacy of courage and commitment. His legacy lives on. He was a staunch pro-Pakistan leader. In fact, we can call him a Pakistani ideologue the likes of which we do not find even in the political class here,” added the former president.

“He leaves behind a legacy of courage and commitment. He was a staunch pro-Pakistan leader. In fact, we can call him a Pakistani ideologue the likes of which we do not find even in the political class here.”

Syed Geelani was a great orator. Following the new of his demise, Pakistan’s social media platforms flooded with posts of his famous pro-Pakistan speech in which he proclaimed, “Hum Pakistani hain, Pakistan hamara hay” (We are Pakistanis, Pakistan belongs to us) making him Pakistan’s ‘ambassador’ in the Held Valley.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir. Both civilian and military governments in Pakistan have sought dialogue with India. On August 5, 2019, the Indian government revoked the special status of the region in its constitution. Since then, the two countries have stopped trade and diplomatic relations are strained.

Geelani advocated all his life that Kashmir should be part of Pakistan.

Indian authorities failed to persuade him to call for calm after violence swept the occupied Valley following the shooting of freedom fighter Burhan Wani in 2016.

The Indian government and military establishment treated Geelani as one of the main hurdles to ‘fixing’ the ‘Kashmir problem’. Syed Ali Geelani stood by his stance that India should remove its troops from the Valley to allow an overdue promised plebiscite over whether Kashmiris wanted to be part of India or Pakistan.

Geelani was an iconic political figure best known for his clarity of stance in and outside the Valley. He wanted Indian troops to leave and always asked New Delhi to abide by the United Nations resolutions on the disputed Valley.

He had started his political career with Jamaat-i-Islami. He became the chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference—an umbrella organisation of 26 parties after the 1989 elections in the Held Kashmir. The APHC later split into several factions. As APHC leader, he had advised India to stop claiming that Kashmir was an ‘integral part’ of the country to allow a dialogue to go forward.

He had studied Quran in Lahore and later received a bachelor’s degree in Persian literature. His anti-India struggle began in earnest in 1962 when he was first put behind bars for 13 months.

Geelani was elected to the Kashmir State Assembly in 1972. The Indian government seized his passport in 1981 and never returned it. This did not stop Geelani from speaking his mind.

He wrote an autobiography Wular Kinaray (From the Wular’s Shore, a reference to his native village by the Wular Lake in the north).

When former military ruler Pervez Musharraf came up with a four-point formula to resolve the Kashmir issue, he met Geelani in Delhi at Liaquat Ali Khan’s residence in New Delhi—now Pakistan High Commission building. The meeting lasted 20 minutes and was declared a failure.

All his life Geelani took the road less travelled. His struggle is a vivid reminder that independence is not achieved overnight. His was always a courageous voice. Oppressed and reprimanded, Geelani fought for Kashmir’s cause with utmost dignity.

The writer is a journalist based in Lahore