Geelani determined to fail Govt’s academic offensive

‘We called for shutdown for 75 days, Govt enforced curfew for 76 days’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 26: Separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani today called for “total civil curfew” in entire Kashmir valley on Monday and warned students and their parents against acting on the state government’s academic offensive. Geelani asserted that participation of the Kashmiri students in current political upheaval was “paramount to everything” and nothing could be allowed to serve as an impediment in what he believed as “path to the freedom”.

In a day of Government of India’s virtual snub to Omar Abdullah government over its governance deficit---made public in New Delhi’s 8-point J&K charter---Minister of School Education, Pirzada Mohammad Sayeed, today asserted at a news conference that the academic calendar would be protected at every cost from September 27th. He said that the annual examinations in thousands of schools, scores of degree colleges and half-a-dozen Universities in the state would commence from September 30th without any regard to Hurriyat’s shutdown calendar.

Point No:7 of the charter drafted by Cabinet Committee on Security has urged the state government “to take steps to immediately reopen all schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions; hold special classes/lectures, if necessary; and to ensure that the examinations for the current academic year (2010-11) are conducted (on time)”.

Even as the authorities woke up quickly to implement the ‘orders’ issued in New Delhi and began mobilizing entire Police and civil administration to keep the educational institutions operational from Monday, Geelani took it as a direct affront. In a statement issued this evening, Geelani asserted that the “movement launched for our nation’s freedom” was supreme and paramount to everything. He said that education was extremely important but it could not be allowed to serve as an impediment in the path of getting “freedom” from an occupier---India.

Geelani ridiculed Omar Abdullah government’s expression of concern for the education of Kashmiri children and pointed out that most of the 109 civilians killed by Police and armed forces in the last four months were students of schools and colleges. According to him, both, the state as well as the Central government, were thirsty of the blood of young Kashmiris and their expression of concern for the students’ academic year was nothing but crocodile tears.

Geelani alleged that the real purpose of holding classes and examinations was “to break our current movement” that, according to him, had unnerved Government of India. He asked the students and their parents to remain confined to their homes and observe “total civil curfew” so as to convey to New Delhi that the Kashmiris of 21st century could not be duped with “false sympathies”. He also called upon teaching and non-teaching staff of all educational institutions not to move in the direction of their places of work on Monday.

On Saturday, Geelani issued a shutdown calendar for the next 10 days while asking the people of Kashmir to observe complete shutdown on all days except on Sep 29th, Oct 1st and Oct 4th. With his typical shutdown calendars, Geelani has completely paralysed life in the Valley and crippled almost all delivery systems of the government since June 11th this year. Of late, authorities have adopted a fresh policy of failing Geelani’s schedule of relaxation in shutdown by strictly enforcing curfew on particular days.

In today’s statement, Geelani held the government responsible for confining the Kashmiris. He said that he had called for shutdown on 75 days but the government had enforced curfew on 76 days in the last 109 days.

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