India imposes tight controls in Kashmir following death of top separatist leader

Indian authorities cracked down on public movement and imposed a near-total communications blackout in disputed Kashmir after the death of Syed Ali Geelani, a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region’s defiance against New Delhi.

Mr Geelani, who died late on Wednesday at the age of 92, was buried in a quiet funeral at a local graveyard organised by authorities under harsh restrictions, his son Naseem Geelani said.

He said the family had planned the burial at the main martyrs’ graveyard in Srinagar, the region’s main city, as per his will but were disallowed by police.

“They snatched his body and forcibly buried him.

“Nobody from the family was present for his burial.

“We tried to resist but they overpowered us and even scuffled with women,” said Naseem Geelani.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported that officials buried Mr Geelani’s body and disallowed any mass funeral in anticipation of anti-India protests.

As most Kashmiris remained locked inside their homes, armed police and soldiers patrolled the tense region.

Government forces placed steel barricades and razor wire across many roads, bridges and intersections and set up additional checkpoints across towns and villages in the Kashmir Valley.

Authorities cut most of mobile phone networks and mobile internet service in a common tactic employed by India in anticipation of mass protests.

Mr Geelani spearheaded Kashmir’s movement for the right to self-determination and was an ideologue and staunch proponent of merging Kashmir with Pakistan.

He strongly opposed any dialogue with New Delhi, a position rejected outright by successive Indian governments who often dubbed him as a hardline politician.

Mr Geelani was also the face of Kashmir’s civilian defiance against Indian rule.

He led a faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a conglomerate of various Kashmiri political and religious groups that was formed in 1993 to spearhead a movement for the region’s right to self-determination.

The group used civil disobedience in the form of shutdowns and protests as a tactic to counter Indian rule.

For many in Kashmir and beyond, Mr Geelani was an enduring symbol of defiance against India.

Farmer Mohammed Akbar said Mr Geelani’s death filled him with remorse but also anger after he learned Mr Geelani’s body was buried quietly by authorities who excluded Kashmiris and his extended family from participating in the last rites.

“They are looking at ways to humiliate us,” Mr Akbar said as he held his grandson in his arms.

“They are even scared of dead Geelani.”

Pakistan was observing a day of official mourning and flags flew at half mast on orders by prime minister Imran Khan, and its foreign ministry condemned the non-public burial by Indian authorities.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the barbaric act of snatching of the mortal remains of the iconic Kashmiri leader” by Indian police, the ministry said in a statement in Islamabad.

It said the Indian government was “so afraid of Syed Geelani and what he stood for that they have now resorted to this inhuman act even after his passing away.

“This shows the degree of callousness on part of the Occupation Forces”.

Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan, which claim the region in full but rule only parts.

Rebels have been fighting against Indian rule since 1989.

Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or become an independent country.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of sponsoring Kashmiri militants, a charge Pakistan denies.

Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

Tensions were renewed in the region in 2019 after New Delhi stripped Kashmir’s semi-autonomy, scrapped its statehood and removed inherited protections on land and jobs.

Authorities have since brought a slew of new laws, which many critics and Kashmiris likened to the beginning of settler colonialism.