Written by: Dr. Dushka H. Saiyid
Posted on: July 09, 2024 | 
| 中文
Burhan Wani
Burhan Wani was born to Muzaffar Wani, a school teacher. He was the leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen, a group fighting for the liberation of Kashmir from the oppressive stranglehold of the Indian army that he had joined at the age of only 15 years. Earlier his elder brother, Khalid, was killed in a police “encounter” in 2015. Khalid mutilated body was returned to his family. His father, Muzaffar Wani maintains that it was a result of custodial killing, as there were no bullet marks on the body. He was killed in an encounter with the Indian Army, at the young age of twenty-one. But not before becoming the poster boy of all freedom fighters in Kashmir, because of his skillful use of the social media.
Burhan Wani with an aide
On 8 July 2016, Burhan Wani was killed in a planned operation by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Rashtriya Rifles, it followed a tip-off that Wani was planning to come down from the Tral forest for Eid celebrations, he and two associates were cornered in the Kokernag area, in Srinagar. Among the pictures of flag hoisting in Kashmir that were widely shared on social media is Muzaffar Wani unfurling the national flag at a government school in Tral. Muzaffar Wani is the father of Burhan Wani, the freedom fighter of Hizbul Mujahideen, whose killing led to massive civilian unrest in the Valley in 2016. The Indian authorities declared a bounty of 10 lakhs on Burhan Wani’s head in August 2015. Burhan had been a bright student in school, and like most kids his age was a cricket fan, and was an admirer of Shahid Afridi and Virender Sehwag. One of his scorned girlfriends revealed Burhan’s location to the police.
Dr Sunniya Ashkoor Wani passed out as the best All Round DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police) at the Police Academy in Udhampur. Dr Sunniya Wani was a gold medalist in MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery).
Dr. Sunniya Burhan Wani
Muzaffar Wani is a headmaster in a government school at Tral in Pulwama. As part of the "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" (celebration of Indian independence), the union territory administration had directed all departments, including the education department to ensure that flag hoisting is held in all offices on Independence Day. A coercive expression of Indian nationalism, but while there are 23,000 government schools across Jammu and Kashmir, but only three schools held the flag hoisting function on August 15 in the Srinagar area.
Unrest followed the killing of Burhan Wani on 8th July, 2016. The unrest continued into 2017, but primarily in the valley of Kashmir. Curfew followed in 10 districts of the valley. Curfew was imposed in all 10 districts of the valley on 15 July and mobile services were suspended. However, protesters defied curfew with attacks on security forces and public properties. Kashmir valley then remained under 53 consecutive days of curfew. The curfew was lifted on 31 August, but was reimposed in some areas the next day.
Mourners with Burhan Wani's dead body
Jammu and Kashmir police and Indian paramilitary forces used pellet guns, tear gas shells, rubber bullets, as well as assault rifles. More than 90 civilians were killed and over 15,000 civilians were injured, including many who were blinded by pellet guns. Two security personnel died and over 4,000 were injured.
On 14 June, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report on the human-rights conditions in Jammu and Kashmir. The report examined the conditions that prevailed in the region following the killing of the militant leader Burhan Wani in July 2016 by Indian security forces, which triggered the fiercest protests the valley has seen since 2010. “Indian security forces responded to protests with force, which led to casualties and a wide range of alleged related human rights violations throughout the summer of 2016 and into 2018,” the OHCHR report noted. The report noted that the Indian security forces used “excessive force” that led to “unlawful killings and a very high number of injuries.” It added that laws such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1990, or AFSPA, and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978—or PSA—have “created structures that obstruct the normal course of law, impede accountability and jeopardize the right to remedy for victims of human rights violations.” Despite accusations of abuse including sexual violence, in the nearly 20 years that the AFSPA has been in force, the report noted, “there has not been a single prosecution of armed forces personnel granted by the central government.”
Burhan and Sunniye Burhan’s daughter
Despite the public outrage over the deaths and mass blindings caused by the use of pellet-firing shotguns, the state government has only set up one special investigation into a death caused by pellet-gun injuries. On 9 January 2017, it ordered the Deputy General of Police-Central Kashmir Range to set up a Special Investigation Team to probe the killing of 21-year-old Riyaz Ahmad Shah, on 2 August 2016. A pellet cartridge shot at close range had penetrated and burst in his abdomen, leaving over 300 metal pellets in his body. The police had previously filed a FIR against “security forces” in relation to his death. However, there have been no investigations into determining whether the other deaths and serious injuries caused by pellet-firing shotguns are cases of excessive use of force by police and central paramilitary forces. Columnists including Prem Shankar Jha termed the unrest as Kashmir's Intifada!
Burhan Wani regularly used social media to reach out to the youth
Resistance to oppression is critical for any kind of hope to survive. Burhan Muzaffar Wani has entered the pantheon of the great revolutionary leaders who have sacrificed their lives for the liberation of their country from a brutal occupation.
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