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Shaheed Maqbool Bhat or Shaheed-e-Kashmir, as we know him popularly, was a man who fought for the cause of Kashmir just to get us our rights, our basic right to self determination. A great visionary and a selfless man he was. He was a messiah of us Kashmiris trying to secure our future, trying to save our lives from these Indian butchers,sometimes called the Indian Security Forces. As a graduate in Urdu, he could have easily got a good job at that time, but he chose not to live a good life, but indeed a great life. He sacrificed his present for our future.

I find his role much similar to Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He was a man who started the literal freedom struggle against the British Rule. Very similiar was this man,called Maqbool Bhat, who shook the very foundations of the INDIAN AUTOCRACY. Both of them had a lot of similarities, like Bhagat Singh, he two was a fearless person for whom the freedom of his nation meant everything. But the other similarity they had, was both of them were treated as terrorists by the respective autocratic governments. And  the similarities don’t end here, both of them were illegaly hanged. The idea is to demonstrate that a single person can be a hero as well as a villian for two different mind sets. Bhagat Singh was a hero for Indians but a terrorist for the British Empire. Maqbool Bhat is a victim of similar circumstaces.

Maqbool Bhat after completing his education went to England, where he formed Jammu Kashmir Liberation Frontor JKLF as we know it. He started a motion against the Indian Rule in Kashmir. Seeing the kind of support that he gathered, the Indian government was worried. The Indian Government felt the heat that the Shaheed had started and to eliminate him, they tried all their tactics. And once they arrested him, they ordered a death sentence against him. In the meantime, an Indian diplomat, Ravindra Mhatre, was captured in London by the JKLF members so as to seek Maqbool Bhat’s release. But they killed that Mhatre ending all the hopes of Maqbool Bhat’s release. His clemency plea before the President was thus rejected and he was hanged. They thought that by killing him, the freedom struggle of the Kashmris would die down. but they were wrong and instead it took a hard turn. I am not to discuss what happened then.

My idea to write down this post is to ask for his mortal remains. India being a secular country, gives its citizens a set of rights. And among them is a right to proper last rites. Shaheed E Kashmir, who was murdered by the Indian Government 25 years ago hasn’t still got this right. Twenty Five long years have passed, but his body hasn’t been returned yet. I don’t understand why the Indian Governnment is not allowing a proper burial for such an eminent personality. His Brother, Zahoor Bhat, who just returned to Kashmir a few days back was arrested just because he asked for his brother’s body. This is the height of the Indian injustices. They have booked Zahoor under Unlawful Activites Act. The Unlawful act that he committed is that he asked his brother’s body for proper burial.

Let us all do a bit in securing release of Maqbool Bhat’s remains. By this we would be doing a favour to Kashmir as well as Islam. Just spread this message and force India to stop its attrocities in Kashmir.

All roads led to Pampore Saturday. If there was anything visible in this saffron town, it was a sea of people. Kashmir had assembled to pay homage to Sheikh Abdul Aziz, the slain Hurriyat leader who fell to police bullets on a peaceful march to Muzaffarabad.
People including women and children from across the Valley assembled at Eidgah here, climbed rooftops, trees and even sky-touching mobile towers to watch pro-freedom leaders.
On way to Pampore from Srinagar, women offered milk, water and food to the people, who continuously shouted pro-freedom slogans and waved green flags.
“We want freedom,” the people kept shouting.
Since morning people were waiting for the arrival of the leaders. When Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s cavalcade reached the spot, women showered flower petals on him. Later youth carried Mirwaiz on shoulders in a procession to Eidgah. People also gave rousing welcome to Muhammad Yaseen Malik.
However, people could not control their emotions when Syed Ali Shah Geelani reached there. They huddled, shouted anti-India and pro-freedom slogans and escorted Geelani, who was atop a vehicle, inside the jam-packed Eidgah.
However, not a single cop or troopers was present on the road from Athwajan to Pampore. For hours people kept thronging the town—by foot, on motorcycles and vehicles. The locals had established langars at various places.
But more than food, people preferred to listen to the pro-freedom leaders.
As Geelani started his speech, some youth climbed atop all the mobile towers overlooking the Eidgah, and hoisted green flags. Shouting pro-freedom slogans, people saluted the youth who stood atop the cell towers and kept waving the green flags.
‘Sheikh Aziz Teri Azmat Ko Salam (We salute the grandeur of Sheikh Aziz,” a group of youth carrying the slain leader’s life-size posters shouted.
When the pro-freedom leaders ended their speech, people started to move to their respective destinations in huge processions. On seeing massive procession, two Army trucks abruptly stopped at Athwajan. A group of women taunted the troops for “killing the innocent people of Kashmir.”
Later some youth among the procession paved way for the Army vehicles to leave the spot. At Pantha Chowk the police diverted the procession through the Bypass. However those who managed to move through the highly-fortified zone housing the 15 Corps headquarters, shouted pro-freedom slogans and moved in a procession to Shivpora. Till late evening, youths on motorcycles and vehicles moved through city roads, shouting pro-freedom slogans.