Syed Ali Shah Geelani

Syed Ali Shah Geelani
Geelani in 2009
Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference
In office
1998 – 20 July 2000
Preceded byMirwaiz Umar Farooq
Succeeded byAbdul Ghani Bhat
Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Geelani faction)
In office
13 September 2003 – 29 June 2020[1][2]
Preceded byMasarat Alam Bhat (interim)
Succeeded byMasarat Alam Bhat (interim)[3]
Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat
In office
12 October 2004 – 19 March 2018[4][5]
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byAshraf Sehrai
Member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
In office
1972–1977
In office
1977–1982
In office
1987–1990
ConstituencySopore
Personal details
Born(1929-09-29)29 September 1929
Zoori Munz, Jammu and Kashmir, British India
Died1 September 2021(2021-09-01) (aged 91)
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
CitizenshipIndian
Political partyJKNC (until c. 1952)[6]
JIJK (1953–2010)[7]
Hurriyat (2004–2018)
Spouse(s)
Unknown
​
(died 1968)​
[8]
Jawahira Begum
​
(before 2021)​
[9]
Children6
EducationAdib 'Alim;[10] Adib-i-Fazil;[6] Munshi Fazil[6]
Alma materOriental College, Lahore[10]
University of Kashmir[6]
OccupationKashmiri separatist leader
AwardsNishan-e-Pakistan (2020)[11]

Syed Ali Shah Geelani (29 September 1929 – 1 September 2021) was a Kashmiri separatist leader and politician[12][13][14][15] in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Known for his pro-Pakistan stance,[16][17][18] he was a key figure in the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of separatist groups. A former Indian intelligence officer referred to him as the 'father of the Kashmiri jihad.'[19][20][21]

Geelani helped found the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in 1993 and served as its chairman from 1998 to 2000. In 2003, he formed his own faction of which he was later elected as the lifetime chairman. He founded the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat party in 2004, which became the leading organisation in the separate "Geelani faction" of the Hurriyat Conference. Geelani served as its chairman until he quit the position in March 2018, though remaining the chairman of his faction of APHC.[4][5] He later quit from his faction in 2020.[1][2]

He was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir since 1953, and was regarded as one of its most significant leaders. Geelani was also a three-time Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Sopore constituency, elected on a Jamaat-e-Islami ticket in 1972, 1977 and in 1987.[22][3]

  1. ^ a b "Syed Geelani quits Hurriyat, accuses Pakistan-based separatist leaders of nepotism, corruption". ThePrint. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.; "Disillusionment or Pakistan push? Story behind Syed Ali Shah Geelani's Hurriyat exit". ThePrint. 1 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Cite error: The named reference "ThePrint 2020" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Peerzada Ashiq (29 June 2020). "Ailing Syed Ali Geelani quits Hurriyat Conference". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Masarat Alam: Successor to Geelani with 'anti-India sentiment'". Hindustantimes.com. 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b Fayaz Wani (19 March 2018). "Syed Ali Shah Geelani quits as Tehreek-e-Hurriyat party chairman but will continue to head Hurriyat". The New Indian Express.
  5. ^ a b "Syed Ali Shah Geelani Resigns As Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Chairman, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai To Replace Him". Outlook. 19 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Hakeem, Paradise on Fire (2014), p. 26.
  7. ^ "The Man Who Says NoTo New Delhi", The Caravan, 1 September 2010
  8. ^ "Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani dies in Srinagar". Livemint. 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021 – via PTI.
  9. ^ Yasir, Sameer (2 September 2021). "Syed Ali Geelani, Separatist Leader in Kashmir, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  10. ^ a b Hakeem, Paradise on Fire (2014), p. 25.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nishan-e-Pakistan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Sopore Election 2014, Results, Candidate List and winner of Sopore Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) Constituency, Jammu And Kashmir". Elections in India. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  13. ^ "J&K Assembly to remember separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani- The Week". www.theweek.in. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Syed Ali Shah Geelani emerging as most powerful separatist in Kashmir " Archived 9 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine. indiatimes.com. Retrieved on 23 July 2016.
  15. ^ Kaveree Bamzai (30 October 2010). "Syed Ali Shah Geelani: The Man who Hates India". India Today. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  16. ^ Sumantra Bose, Syed Ali Shah Geelani: The man who fought for Kashmir’s freedom Archived 3 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 2 September 2021. "First, he made it clear that although a proud Kashmiri, he considered his national identity to be Pakistani. Second, he was implacably hostile to the idea of an independent Kashmir.... The JKLF leader's amused reaction made light of a deadly schism the two views of freedom - the majority view favouring independence and the minority pro-Pakistan view - had produced in the Kashmiri movement."
  17. ^ Kaveree Bamzai (30 October 2010). "Syed Ali Shah Geelani: The Man who Hates India". India Today. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2020. But he remains firm on the demand for self-determination, which in his view would lead to Kashmir's accession to Pakistan. He does not want an independent Kashmir, although independence is preferable to "Indian imperialism". He is an ideologue who believes Kashmir should be an Islamic state within a theocratic Pakistan.
  18. ^ Jamal, Shadow War (2009), pp. 141–143: "Among top leaders of the organization [Jamaat-i-Islami] in 1989, only Syed Ali Shah Geelani was willing to publicly support armed jihad. ... A pro-militancy constituency secretly arranged for Syed Ali Shah Geelani to address the group [of leaders]. When negotiations stalled, Geelani appeared suddenly, made an impassioned speech and, according to accounts of the meeting, succeeded in pushing the group toward openly supporting the jihad [which ended with the creation of Hizbul Mujahideen]."
  19. ^ The 'father of jihad' in Kashmir, led separatist politics for 3 decades...A chapter ends with the death of Ali Shah Geelani, PressWire18, 2 September 2021. Archived 4 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Quote: 'Former RAW chief and Officer on Special Duty to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, AS Dulat, in his book on Kashmir, had called Geelani the “father of jihad”.'
  20. ^ PTI, Why India banned Jamaat-e-lslami and the 'Amir-e-Jihad' Geelani connection Archived 4 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Business Standard, 9 March 2019.
  21. ^ Praveen Swami, The Sunset of Kashmir's Jihadist Patriarch, Syed Ali Shah Geelani Archived 3 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine, News18, 29 June 2020 (updated 1 September 2021).
  22. ^ "Sopore Election 2014, Results, Candidate List and winner of Sopore Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) Constituency, Jammu And Kashmir" Archived 26 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. elections.in. Retrieved on 23 July 2016.