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Interviews
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PROFILE OF SYED ALI SHAH GEELANI (CHAIRMAN OF APHC) Syed Ali Geelani is one of the renowned leaders of the Islamic Movement and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. He is one of the few leaders of the held Kashmir who raised his voice effectively and forcefully against the Indian occupation. He has spent 14 years of his life in prison and has thus become one of the few public leaders to spend so long a period of his life in prison. He is one of the few persons who strengthened the Islamic Movement in Kashmir and is, again one of the few persons who have been leading the Islamic forces quite admirably. During the past 50 years he has manfully braved persecution and faced tremendous difficulties. Syed Ali Geelani commenced his struggle in 1950. Afterwards he associated himself with the Islami Movement which under the name of Jama'at-e-Islami had started its crusade against the Indian imperialism right from 1947 when India committed her ignominious military interference under the garb of a questionable Accession by the fugitive autocratic ruler of the State. It was on August 28, 1962, at the age of 30 years, that Syed Ali Geelani was for the first time arrested and imprisoned. He had to remain in prison for 13 months. During this imprisonment his father passed away but he was not allowed to participate in his obsequies. On 7th of March 1965 Mr. Syed Ali Geelani along with several of his companions was arrested and imprisoned on charges of having secret contacts with Pakistan. He was set free after one year and ten months. In between 1967 and 1977 he was several times alternately jailed and released. In the month of October, 1983, when a cricket match between India and West Indieswas scheduled to be played in the State Capital, Srinagar, it was Mr Syed Ali Geelani who vociferously opposed the holding of the match on the plea that Kashmir, being a disputed territory and not a legitimate part of India, could not be a proper venue for the match. He was jailed and tried in the court of law at the behest of the government of India. Seeing that crowds of people would remain in and outside the court room during the proceedings. The government arranged to hold in-camera trial. Again. from 1983 to 1986 he was several times put behind the bars 20 months & 10 months. In 1972 Mr. Syed Ali Geelani returned to the State Legislative Assembly on the ticket of Jama'at-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir. For sometime i.e. from 1987 to 1989, he was actively associated with the combined of eleven parties namely, The Muslim United Front whose appearance had a far reaching effect on the politics of the State. It was after his release in 1986 from a fairly long incarceration that he started a campaign for attracting the Muslim youth towards jihad (holy war) against the continued occupation of Kashmir by India. Almost all his lectures and discourses were full of the powerful rhetoric in favour of this jihad. On 7th of September 1986 during his incarceration he experienced cardiac trouble and was kept under the Intensive Care. During the illness the rumour of his death brought his followers and well-wishers on to the streets in rallies and processions Upon the contradiction by the government broadcast over the radio the worried followers and admirers across the valley heaved a sigh of relief. From March 1987 to 1989 Syed Ali Geelani effectively led the Muslim United Front within the Legislative Assembly and kept on highlighting the Kashmir problem to the utter chagrin and discomfiture of Indian government and its local supporters. When in 1989 the armed resistance against the continued Indian presence in the State began he alongwith his colleagues in the Front resigned his seat in the Legislature to join the public in support of the said resistance. All the Pro-freedom parties joined in a new combine under the name of Tahreek-e-Hurriyat with the reputed advocated Miyaan Abdul Qayoom as its chairman. The Indian government responded with a ban on all the constituents of this combine and got the leaders of these constituents arrested. Mr. Syed Ali Geelani was among those arrested and shifted to torture centre before sending them to different prisons in India. By the end of 1991 Syed Ali Geelani along with the other jailed leaders were brought to the Indian capital, New Delhi where they were offered conditional release which they rejected vehehemently. To sum up, Syed Ali Geelani is a sincere, capable and courageous leader who has been constantly influencing the Kashmiri youth with his sincerity of purpose perseverance and steely determination. who has inspired by his indominatable fighting spirit which has kept the flame of the struggle for the Kashmiris right of self-determination burning in the hearts of the millions of the freedom-loving people of the State. Syed Ali Shah Geelani - A Profile Name : Syed Ali Geelani S/o : Syed Peer Shah Geelani Place of birth : Zoori Munz, Tehsil Bandipora, District Baramullah Date of birth : 27-9-1929 (Twenty Seventh September, Nineteen Hundred and Twenty Nine) Educational Qualification: i) Adeeb-e-Aalim, Punjab University ii) Adeeb-e-Faazil, University of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar. iii) Munshi Faazil, University of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar. Started his career in 1949 as a government teacher and taught in the following institutions during the brief tenure:
MIGRATED in 1950 from Zoori Munz to Duroo, Zainagear, Tehsil Sopore. Became member of Jama'at-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir in 1953. RESIGNED from the government service in 1959. Held the following offices in the Jama'at-e-Islami: Ameer-e-Halqa Sopore; Ameer District Baramulla; Qayim-e-Jama'at; Editor 'Azaan'- the Party's official organ; acting Ameere-Jama'at; Chairman Political Bureau; editor 'Tuloo'. Details of imprisonment spread over for 28th August 1962 to 9th June, 2002: Date of Arrest Detention Period 1st Imprisonment 28-08-1962 13 months 2nd" 07-05-1965 22 months 3rd “05-07-1975 04 months 4th" 07-12-1975 04 months 5th" August 1980 04 months 6th" 06-03-1984 10 months 7th" 28-01-1985 20 months 8th" 10-04-1990 24 months 9th" 22-10-1993 12 months 10th" 1995 03 months 11th" 1999 07 months 12" 09-06-2002 10 months So many times house arrested by the Government. Especially on the occasion of Eid and Friday's Prayers. Details of participation in various elections to State Legislature: Year of Election Result 1972 Victory 1977 Victory 1987 Victory Resigned the Assembly seat on 30th August, 1989 Books Authored:
Present Public Positions. Chairman, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir Chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference. __________________________________________________ Address: Rehmatanbad Hyderpora Srinigar Kashmir 190014 Tele & fax: 91-0194-2439774 |
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