Kashmir and its “Manufactured Martyrs”

I am a chronic procrastinator and that’s probably one of the reasons that I am writing about Burhan Wani so late. The other reason could be the fact that I wanted the clutter to settle down. A lot has been said about him and I wanted to avoid the heated arguments. Both left-wingers and right-wingers have overworked their vocal cords and the political leeches have had a party of their lifetime. Now that things are calmer and cleaner, I am going to write about it. However, my perspective is a little different and broader.

Know the latest “Manufactured Martyr” – Burhan Wani.

Burhan Wani was born in September 1994 to Muzafar Ahmed Wani. His father is principal of a Higher Secondary School and his mother is a teacher. The family is well-off, by the local standard at least.

Burhan fled in October 2010 and joined separatist militant groups at the age of 15. Yes, he was just 15 years old. There are various reasons quoted for the step he took. Some say it was the constant frisking and manhandling of his brother by the Indian Army personals while others say that it was the Amarnath Land controversy of 2008 that forced him to take up the gun.

What made him popular?

His looks and flamboyancy! Here was a good-looking guy who didn’t bother to cover his face while showing off his gun. To add to it, he posted extensively on Facebook. He was an instant hit. He was flamboyant. He was made a member by Hizbul Mujahideen in 2011 due to his popularity on social media. Trust me; he was just another kid who thought he’d establish “Nizam-E-Mustafa” in Kashmir. Nothing more than that. Not a dime! Take a moment to digest that. Only then I’ll move forward.

Questions that will never be answered

I had so many questions in my mind when I started to learn about him. I so want to have answer of these questions

• Don’t you want to know how what was his parents reaction on learning that Burhan has turned militant?
• What did happen during 2010-2016?
• Didn’t his family try to bring him back?
• Were they in touch with Burhan all these years?
• Where did Burhan learned to hold a gun? Did he cross over to Pakistan?

 

Muzafar Ahmad Wani on Burhan Wani

You just can’t fathom the pain, the agony and the helplessness of a father whose teenage boy has eloped? Things get so difficult for the parents. But hey! We have a different father here. Check out the excerpts from his father’s interview published on youthkiawaaz(dot)com in the month of January, 2016.

Army did try to make him surrender. They contacted Burhan’s family many times. However, this is how Burhan Wani reacted. See how the only outcome for them is either “victory” or “martyrdom”.

And don’t miss a father justifying his son here. I am not making up anything here. I am not slicing statements to make them suit my PoV. Go read the entire interview here.

Now here’s what Senior Wani said after Burhan was “martyred”. Here is the complete interview.

If you are not feeling disgusted yet, let me tell you that Muzafar Ahmad Wani is principal of a Higher Secondary school. Can you imagine an educated person saying all this? You can’t even imagine the influence people like him can have on young men and women. Did you think of it? Well, a vast majority of the nation and our media didn’t even bother to think of it. Nobody cared and nobody bothered.

 

How Indian Media reported Burhan’s killing?

Every negative adjective in its superlative degree will fall short to describe our media. These crooked pimps did all they could to sanitize and normalize Burhan Wani.

See how Barkha Dutt inserted the piece about Burhan’s father in her tweet. Fine, the militant was a school headmaster’s son. So what? Does it make him any less evil?

It does take a special talent to be as shallow as Rajdeep Sardesai. This so-called-leading-anchor compared Burhan with Bhagat Singh! Can you beat that? Bhagat Singh who read Lenin and Marx, who talked about the society as a whole, who rose above religion was compared to this Islamic fundamentalist! Slow claps, Mr. Rajdeep, slow claps!

 

This fine lady, Kavita Krishnan went a step further and called Burhan’s execution an “extra judicial killing”. A phrase that was immediately picked by the Pakistani establishment and media houses.

Do I need to say more?

Other Manufactured Heroes of Kashmir

Google “Maqbool Butt”. Try what all did he achieve when he was alive and what all happened after his death. Ditto for “Afzal Guru”. Do it all over again for Burhan Wani. I am sure you’d find the common link.

None of these three were celebrated while they were alive. When Maqbool Butt crossed the LOC, he was arrested as the Pakistani authorities considered him an Indian spy. Afzal Guru met with a similar fate while he was alive. None of the separatist parties bothered to know about him, to consider his battle their own. Same was Burhan Wani’s fate. He was considered an Indian double agent for quite some time. For these 3 men, life changed only after they died. Go call them martyrs, if you want. Fact is they made it large only after their death. Rather they were MADE heroes.

Why are they made?

A fire needs fuel. There is no simpler explanation to it.

And the Kashmir conflict is way too complex. There are so many layers to this dispute. There is a Kashmir which acceded to India because that is what its Hindu king wanted. There is a Kashmir that Pakistan attacked to gain control of the Muslim majority valley. There is a Kashmir that people of Kashmir want to make an independent nation for all Kashmiris.

Then there is the rising Wahabi cult everywhere in the world that pumps in millions of petro-dollars wherever there are Muslims in a dispute. New mosques are mushrooming in the valley with brand new speakers that can make the cry for “Nizam-e-Mustafa” reach more and more number of ears. There has been a gradual shift in what “type-of-Muslim” the Kashmiris want to be.

What started as a cry for “Azadi” transformed into a demand for “NIzam-e-Mustafa” and in the past couple of years ground has been made for “Caliphate”. What else can explain the ISIS flags that have become an integral part of the protests? Why Burhan’s body was wrapped in a Pakistani flag? What else will explain the slogan “Hindu dogs go away”?

The character of the conflict has definitely changed. While the Kashmiris are far away from the goal, they need motivation. They need a face to identify with. They need a cause to stand for. And that is where these “Manufactured Martyrs” find their use. Remember, this guy didn’t belong to a poor and uneducated family. Yet he chose the bullet and nobody from family and society tried to reason with him. He was pushed into it. A martyr was MADE out of him. Period.