Stone pelting generates support among militants, intelligentsia in Kashmir
High Court Bar Association, University teachers, Jamiatul Mujahideen on the forefront

AHMED ALI FAYYAZ

SRINAGAR, Feb 19: Hardliner separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani is no more alone in publicly supporting Kashmiri youth indulging in stone pelting on Police and armed forces. In contrast to covert support from a many separatist leaders and ideologues---as also criticism from some of the politicians in the separatist camp---octogenarian Jamaat-e-Islami ideologue, who floated his own Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and formed a rival faction of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led Hurriyat Conference after the conglomerate’s split in 2003, was the only political leader to justify stone pelting as “a form of resistance” in the last two years.

With dozens of people getting killed and hundreds injured in stone pelting and resultant clashes between the Kashmiri youth and Police/ paramilitary forces, one of the separatist outfits had also organized a conference on the practice of stone pelting in Srinagar last year. Speakers appeared to be divided as some of them justified the stone pelting with religious interpretations and others expressed apprehensions that this kind of “expression of resistance” could lead the Kashmiris to a quagmire of illiteracy and anarchy. It was pointed out that the government schools had near-zero performance in Matriculation and Class 12th examinations in the worst affected localities in downtown Srinagar.

Critics also emphasized that closure of businesses and more than 50,000 shops in the capital city would result in further weakening of the state economy and penury for the inhabitants.

Even as the debate had died down, activist calling themselves civil society groups but espousing particular political ideologies have come out publicly in support of the youth indulging in stone pelting. Damage caused to over a thousand civilian vehicles, besides more than 50 ambulances and hospital vehicles, in different incidents of stone pelting in the last two years, has not weakened arguments from these supporters of stone pelting. “This is the last resort and one-odd tool of resistance with us”, they invariably argue in a long drawn debate on Facebook.

Teachers and students of the University of Kashmir, a large number of government officials, members of High Court Bar Association and even some mediapersons in Srinagar have been publicly justifying the practice of stone pelting on the streets since last few months, though none of them has adopted this “method of resistance” for himself or for any members of their own families.

“It is a definitely disturbing development that even a close relative of a District and Sessions Judge besides close relatives of senior government officials have been found involved in the menace of stone pelting”, said a middle-rung Police official who confirmed that none of the members of “white colour supporters of stone pelting” had been arrested or caught on camera while practicing this violent method of “resistance”.

Speakers at a conference organized by HCBA at Old High Court Complex here on February 13th had no hesitation in unambiguously supporting the practice of stone pelting by the Kashmiri youth. Lawyers and separatist leaders cautioned media and other institutions against calling the stone pelting youth as “sangbaaz” (stone pelters) as, according to them, they were doing the religious duty of liberating an occupied Muslim land through a means which had no firearms. They asserted that the phrase of “sangbaaz” was derogatory and thus denigrating a “just political movement”.

In a press release yesterday, Jamiatul Mujahideen spokesman Jameel Ahmed argued in support of stone pelting. He claimed that stone pelting had been practised in “all Islamic movements” all over the world by “urarmed and oppressed Muslims” ever since Prophet and his followers had taken vantage positions against the enemy troops on a hillock and showered stones.

Those suggesting justification to the this controversial practice on Facebook also refer to Prophet Abraham’s stone pelting on the devils when they attempted to hold him back from sacrificing his son Ismail for Allah.

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