Govt issues red alert over Facebook mischief in Valley

Demonstrators blame authorities for being ‘permissive’ to blasphemous pages

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 17: Sensing serious threat to over year-long tranquility, authorities have issued red alert against any attempts to create communal unrest in Kashmir Valley. This time around an outrageously blasphemous Facebook page, coupled with some recent religious conversions, is leading to a palpable mass mobilization in the heavily Muslim-dominated population. Low intensity demonstrations at several places today alerted the authorities who are now frantically trying to track down the administrators of the controversial page on the world’s largest social networking domain.

Shops remained shut in protest at Chadoura in Budgam district for some time, thin groups of demonstrators burned rubber-tyres on Srinagar-Chadoura Road, classes of Veterinary Science at SKUAST-Kashmir remained suspended and students shouted slogans at Press Enclave in Srinagar. Participants of the low-intensity demonstrations said that their protest was directed on the “Government’s permissiveness” to operation of blasphemous pages on Facebook. They complained that one of such pages had crossed all limits as “extremely offending” sketches and slogans had been posted to hurt religious sentiments of the population in Kashmir.

Even as there were no clashes between the demonstrators and Police, youngsters in the groups said that they were “surprised” over the way authorities were permitting operations of these highly objectionable and illegal pages. They pointed out that entire Internet traffic in this country was being regulated either by Government’s own telecommunication companies like BSNL or the registered private telecommunication companies. Besides, there was regular surveillance on all Internet operations by Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Home Affairs of Government of India, Central and state intelligence agencies and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

“If Police and other state authorities claim to track operators of anti-national and separatist websites and Facebook pages, why don’t they who who the hell is running these anti-Muslim pages on Facebook?” asked a number of demonstrators.

Authoritative sources said that Police were kept on high alert as today’s Facebook mischief had potential of causing rupture to the peace and tranquility that had of late completed one calendar year in the Valley. However, there was not a direct and serious provocation to prompt Police to use force.

SSP Srinagar, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, told Early Times that Police took cognizance of the Facebook mischief late last night and today it got the “highly objectionable page” blocked with the help of union Ministry of Home Affairs and union Ministry of Communication in New Delhi. He confirmed that cyber surveillance had been immediately increased to ensure that nobody got an opportunity to foment trouble and mistrust among the local population, particularly the youth.

SSP Srinagar revealed that cyber crime sleuths of J&K Police were on the red alert and some arrests were likely in the next 24 hours. Asked if Police had got any clue with regard to administrators of the offending Facebook page, Mr Bukhari said that In the last two years Police had gathered enough knowledge and understanding about certain “anti-national groups” like Aalav and Kal Kharab and efforts were underway to investigate if any of these “exposed mischief mongers” was attempting to shatter the Valley’s peace and tranquility.

A spokesman of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, expressed surprise over operation of the Facebook page that has surfaced yesterday. He said it was astonishing that Geelani’s telephone numbers had been mentioned as contact numbers of the page operator. He urged all surfers and others to immediately report to Geelani’s office if they came across any clue or evidence about identity or whereabouts of the Facebook mischief mongers. He asserted that the guilty would be punished at all costs.

Today’s expressions against the outrageous Facebook pages included slogans against some recent incidents of conversions. Valley has been abuzz with reports and rumours about conversion of some Muslims into Christianity in recent months, allegedly with the greed of money and mobilization by a Christian missionary group. One of the prominent Pastors had been summoned for an explanation by head of a local Shariat Court Mufti Bashiruddin. The Pastor deposed before Mufti and a number of Muslim clerics and theologians while claiming that he and his missionary were not involved in any forced or illegally offered conversion. Sources said that Mufti played a CD containing audio-visual evidence of the baptism of some converts, reportedly at a Church in Kashmir.

Cleric-politician Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is himself alumnus of a Christian missionary school set up in Srinagar nearly a hundred yeas ago, has also expressed concern on recent conversions whose exact number is still not known. Chairman of his rival group of separatist Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, has also issued several identical statements and called upon the Muslim religious leaders to unite against “such religious aggression”. Yet another separatist leader and cleric, whose followers are among those who have been baptized, has called for “social boycott” against the converts. He has urged them to renounce and return to their faith.

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