SRINAGAR: Sheikh Mohammed Mansoor, a former legislator and senior leader of the Jammu Kashmir National Conference, was remembered on his death anniversary as political workers and residents recalled his role in democratic politics during one of Kashmir’s most turbulent periods.
Mansoor, who represented the Shopian constituency in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly after being elected in 1977, is remembered as a grassroots political leader closely associated with the ideology of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah. His election came during a politically significant period in Jammu and Kashmir and was widely regarded as part of a credible democratic exercise that strengthened the National Conference’s presence in peripheral regions.
Born into an era marked by political mobilisation, Mansoor became involved in politics while studying in Anantnag, where he was influenced by ideas centred on social justice and democratic participation. He remained associated with the National Conference throughout his political life and spent several years in incarceration during different political movements.
Political workers described him as more than a party functionary, recalling his role in organising people at the grassroots level and expanding the party’s reach in rural areas of south Kashmir. His long association with the National Conference was marked by loyalty and continued engagement with local communities.
During the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the 1990s, several mainstream political workers became targets of violence. On May 11, 1990, Sheikh Mohammed Mansoor was assassinated by militants while returning from Friday prayers in his native village of Kachdoora in Shopian district.
His killing came during the early phase of the insurgency, a period marked by attacks on political leaders and shrinking democratic space across the Valley.
People remembering him on his death anniversary said his assassination represented not only the loss of an individual leader but also an attack on democratic politics in the region. They noted that Mansoor remained committed to institutional politics and electoral democracy despite mounting political instability.
