SRINAGAR: Hundreds of people from different walks of life on Friday joined congregational prayers and a condolence meeting held in memory of Er. Mohammad Anwar Ashai, noted engineer, social activist and a repository of Kashmir’s institutional and social memory, who passed away on August 11.
The congregational Fateha was held at the ancestral graveyard of the Ashai family at Ashai Kocha, Fateh Kadal, and was led by prominent Islamic scholar Moulana Showkat Hussain Keng.
Anwar Ashai belonged to a generation that carried an extraordinary memory of Kashmir’s twentieth-century history. Through his father, Khwaja Ghulam Ahmad Ashai, he inherited first-hand accounts of Kashmir’s early educational and political awakening, while from the 1960s onwards he himself witnessed and participated in important political and social developments. In later decades, his professional experience and engagement with civil society made him a valuable repository of Kashmir’s institutional and social memory.
Later, a large gathering of political, religious, social and business personalities, besides academics, professionals, relatives, colleagues and friends, attended a condolence meeting and special prayers for the deceased at his residence in Raj Bagh.
Moulana Showkat Hussain Keng spoke about the ancestry and distinguished legacy of the Ashai family and recalled the qualities and values Anwar Ashai had imbibed from his forefathers.
Speaking on behalf of Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, Moulana Syed-ur-Rehman Shams described Anwar Ashai’s demise as a loss to Kashmiri society as a whole.
Bashir Ahmad Wani gave a detailed account of Ashai’s spiritual journey and his close association with revered Qari Mohammad Shafi Sahib of the Naqshbandiya order.
The Sajadah Nisheen of Darul Shareefia, Tral, Mir Syed Mehmood-ul-Hassan Andrabi, read out a citation honouring the deceased and presented it to his son, Dr Zubair Ashai. Dr Zubair was also honoured with dastarbandi as a mark of respect.
Former Information Commissioner Sofi Ghulam Rasool recalled his personal and family association with Anwar Ashai and acknowledged his valuable contribution to Kashmir’s civil-society movement.
Ajaz Ahmad Kakroo described Ashai’s passing as a colossal loss, observing that he carried within him a living archive of Kashmir’s history, institutions and society, much of which remained undocumented.
Moulana Masroor Abbas Ansari described the demise as a personal loss, recalling Anwar Ashai’s friendship with his father. He particularly highlighted Ashai’s sustained efforts towards unity within the Ummah and his role in discouraging sectarian discord in Kashmir.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Dr Zubair Ahmad Ashai expressed profound gratitude to all those who stood by the family following Anwar Ashai’s demise, from his burial through the subsequent days of mourning.
He thanked those who participated in the Namaz-e-Janazah, congregational prayers and condolence meeting, as well as those who visited the family, telephoned, sent messages or conveyed their condolences through newspapers and other media.
Dr Zubair particularly acknowledged the overwhelming solidarity extended by prominent personalities from the political, religious, social, educational, medical and technological communities, besides members of the business fraternity, civil-society organisations and other sections of society.
The condolence meeting was conducted by Syed Shakeel Qalander.
