138mm back cover 19mm spine 138 mm front cover confirmed PBK A politics | south asian studies | biography b d u l H a k e e m An ignored but serious global flashpoint, Kashmir is at the root of tensions between India and Pakistan, the two nuclear states of P South Asia, who have fought three wars over it. The heart of the A Abdul Hakeem problem is the right of self-determination of Kashmir’s fifteen million people, a right denied to them since 1947. Since 1989, 90,000 people have been killed, over 100,000 have been injured, and R over 10,000 are missing, and mass graves continue to be unearthed. Paradise on Fire is the story A m2 1 of the struggle for national m6 ( liberation of the people 3 D m of Jammu and Kashmir, m spearheaded by Syed Ali Shah b I le Geelani. This political biography e d of Kashmir’s leading freedom S ) Syed Ali Geelani and the Struggle fighter reveals the true horror E of the Kashmir dispute, the for Freedom in Kashmir dynamics of this historical struggle for self-determination, and Geelani’s huge contribution in leading this search for liberation. O ABDUL HAKEEM writes under a pseudonym and is a research N scholar with special interest In international politics. He has known Syed Ali Geelani for more than 20 years. He studied in various institutions in North America, Europe and South East Asia. With a F foreword by the human rights activist, Lauren Booth. I R ISBN 978-0-95367-684-2 E DESIGN © Fatima Jamadar | IMAGES © Abid Bhat Front cover: Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol Sri- nagar, 2010. © Associated Press; Syed Ali Shah Geelani stands atop a vehicle during rally in Srinagar, 2008. © Abid Bhat. Back cover: Jammu and Kashmir, 2012. © Abid Bhat. Hakeem PBK.indd 1 04/02/2014 12:46 19mm spine preface |i Paradise on fire ii| paradise on fire in a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George orwell preface |iii Paradise on fire Syed Ali Geelani and the Struggle for Freedom in Kashmir abdul Hakeem iv| paradise on fire Paradise on Fire: Syed Ali Geelani and the Struggle for Freedom in Kashmir Published in england by revival Publications Markfield Conference Centre ratby Lane, Markfield Leicestershire Le67 9sY United Kingdom distributed by Kube Publishing Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)1530 249230 fax: +44 (0)1530 249656 email: [email protected] © abdul Hakeem, 2014/1435aH all rights reserved The right of abdul Hakeem to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988. Cataloguing-in-Publication data is available from the British Library isBn 978-0-95367-684-2 paperback isBn 978-0-95367-685-9 casebound 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cover design: fatima Jamadar Book design: naiem Qaddoura Typesetting: abu abida Printed by iMaK ofset, Turkey preface |v  ConTenTs List of images vi foreword (by Lauren Booth) vii Preface ix 1. The dispute 1 2. a Lifeline of resistance 20 3. neighboring Lands and Peoples 39 4. imprisonment and Writing 76 5. Kashmir’s Pandits and its integrity 85 6. Human Wrongs 96 7. Terrorists or freedom fighters 118 8. insurgency and Counter-insurgency 129 9. elections and the Peace Process 151 10. The Kargil fiasco 169 11. Ceasefire 177 12. The Hurriyat split and efforts towards Unity 182 13. ailing but not Caving in 190 14. a Bilateral or international issue? 193 15. The Bottom Line 210 16. not the end 218 appendix 240 endnotes 243 references 255 image Credits 258 index 259 vi| paradise on fire  LisT of iMaGes 1.1 Map of Jammu and Kashmir 1 2.1 Geelani leading march to Un in srinagar, 2008 33 3.1 Musharraf meeting Geelani in new delhi, 2004 54 3.2 Musharraf meeting Bush in islamabad, 2006 56 3.3 Muslims killed in anti-Muslim genocide, 2002 65 3.4 Mochi at sahapur, ahmedabad, 2002 67 3.5 Qur’an burning in new delhi, early 1990s 71 4.1 Geelani leaving his residence for detention, 2010 78 4.2 Geelani meeting Kashmiri victims 84 6.1 CrPf personnel smashing cars, 2011 99 6.2 sikh leaders meeting Geelani 110 6.3 frisking in Kashmir 111 8.1 funeral of militant in Kashmir 137 8.2 Masses carrying body of militant for funeral 140 9.1 Kashmiri leaders meeting advani, 2004 164 13.1 Geelani addressing a public rally 191 14.1 Geelani welcoming a Japanese diplomat 208 16.1 indian parliamentarians meeting Geelani, 2010 223 preface |vii  foreWord When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw. — nelson Mandela Peace is a universal human yearning. every society and every people need peace in order to flourish and to develop their resources, both individually and nationally. nor is peace the mere absence of war. for peace of heart, mind and society can only exist when accompan- ied by the weighty presence of justice. More than fifteen million people of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have been denied justice for the past six decades. Kashmiris exist in a permanent state of violent occupation by indian forces. an occupation that, at this time, has 800,000 troops, controlling a region of breathtaking natural beauty. The violence of these troops has turned a place of mountains, valleys and rivers, once known as ‘Paradise on earth’, into the largest open air prison in the world. a civilian pressure cooker that would be instantly rec- ognizable to the people of the Gaza strip. in Kashmir, non-violent protests for water, electricity and the freedom to travel, are met with the bullets of the occupying troops. and accompanied by the threat of imprisonment. Meanwhile, the international community looks on, shakes its head, expressing ‘concern’, issuing ‘reports’ and effectively doing nothing. viii| paradise on fire The indian research scholar abdul Hakim has produced a comprehensive study of the nature of the Kashmir struggle for freedom in providing a biography of its most vibrant voice, syed ali shah Geelani, showing his vision and determination. for the past two decades, syed Geelani has been the primary symbol of the Kashmiri people’s efforts towards self-determination. Like other great figures of our age, men who have committed themselves to fighting apartheid and occupation, nelson Mandela and shaykh raed salah of Palestine (to name but two), Geelani is no stranger to incarceration. His galvanising calls for a widespread non-violent resistance, including strikes, have seen him imprisoned for sixteen years in a variety of regional gulags. This book, then, is the story of one man’s self-sacrifice told through the struggle of an entire people. Paradise on Fire is a call to the conscience of humanity. i pray that people from every part of the world will respond to this call and join the Kashmiri people in their non-violent resistance to oppression and occupation. free Kashmir, free Palestine! Lauren Booth London october 2013 preface |ix  PrefaCe Walter Sisulu, the long-time comrade of nelson Mandela, and for twenty years his prison mate, urged Mandela on his 57th birthday (18 July 1975) to write his memoirs: ‘such a story, told truly and fairly, would serve to remind people of what we had fought and were still fighting for’ and be ‘a source of inspiration for young freedom fighters.’1 That prompt explains my motivation for nar- rating syed ali Geelani’s contribution to the Kashmiri freedom struggle. The Economist (29 december 2010) referred to Geelani as the ‘highest-profile’ Kashmiri leader and ‘elderly icon’, and doubted ‘that anyone among a handful of potential successors could com- mand as much local respect’. The Arab News (17 august 2010) declared him ‘the undisputed leader of the insurgency’ and confirmed that ‘india has consistently tried to court him but he has refused to take the bait.’ Geelani has spent over sixteen of his eighty-three years of life in prison, and written (in Urdu) about thirty books. The second edition of his au- tobiography Wular Kinaray (On the bank of Lake Wular) was released in July 2012. ‘its first edition was completely sold out within a week. Those who were keen to read it included […] civil and military elites of every shade of opinion’ (review in Greater Kashmir, 30 July 2011). However, the story of his self-sacrificing contributions to freedom and justice in Kashmir has not been communicated plainly to the wider audience that can be reached by writing in english.