He invented the controversial protest calendars “to achieve the goal of azaadi” and managed to maneuver the popular uprising for four months. An eyesore for the authorities during the rebellious months starting mid-June, Alam’s arrest was the most celebrated event for them.
The deputy commissioner of Srinagar has ordered to book him under Pubic Safety Act as police lodged as many as 17 F.I.Rs (First Information Reports) against him. Even as this jailbird swears by his commitment towards the secessionism, his detractors attempt to cast aspersions on his personality. The Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda said in an interview that Masarat Alam conceded to have received Rs 40 lakh from his mentor Syed Ali Geelani for sustaining anti-India protests and stone-pelting in the Valley. The statement was rubbished by Geelani as an attempt to malign the separatist leadership.
During 2010, Masarat has been behind the bars for eight months. Out of four months, he was outside the jails; he spent just 10 days with his family. It was a coincidence that the public uprising started in Kashmir shortly after his release and with detained Geelani out-of-sight, he became the natural choice to lead the rebellion.
From June 24, when Masarat announced the “Quit Jammu and Kashmir Campaign” to his arrest on October 18, he was the central figure in Kashmir situation. He was the most loved person among the street protestors, a serious competitor to marginalized leaders of separatist camp and most hated person for police, paramilitaries and the mainstream political class. During this time, he was the most sought after separatist leader whose every word was followed by the media. His video messages were uploaded on Youtube and Facebook. He was interviewed by Wall Street Journal and local media published his statements and programmes with prominence.
Police had fixed a prize of Rs 10 lakh on Masarat’s head and a rank-up promotion was given to everyone on the raiding party, which eventually arrested him. Police’s provincial chief Shiv Murari Sahai described Masarat’s arrest as “big achievement”.
Those who know Masarat well, say that he is highly committed to secessionist campaign. This may be the reason that he plunged into action barely 10 days after he the High Court granted him bail to end his two-year incarceration that he earned for his role in the 2008 agitation against the controversial Amarnath land transfer followed by agitation against the economic blockade of Kashmir valley. One of the allegations against him was that he played a pivotal role to cobble up unity among the fragmented separatist groups.
During his two-year detention, the court quashed PSA’s against him umpteen times but he was re-arrested each time. In May-end, he was finally out on bail. It was shortly after the Army killed three youngsters in a fake encounter in Macchil sector of Kupwara and passed them off as armed infiltrators, for rewards and promotions. A protest call against the LoC killings culminated into death of 17-year Tufail Ahmad Mattoo by a tear smoke shell and the subsequent events snowballed into major unrest, which consumed 112 civilians, mostly killed by police and paramilitary firing. More than 2000 were wounded. Over 3000 detained.
The family of 39-year-old Masarat, who is an alumni of prestigious Tyndale Biscoe School and Sri Pratap College, lives in penury, say his close relatives.
His involvement in separatism forced closure of his well-established readymade garment business. He lost his father at a young age and was brought up by maternal grandfather. The brunt of economic loss was mainly borne by his wife, sister and elderly mother, a close relative said.
Masarat sprouted from the urban grassroots and belongs to that cadre of the separatist spectrum, which was fed up with the rigged 1987-assembly elections. In early 1990’s he joined Hizbullah outfit and wielded gun for some time. Then he joined Muslim Students Federation, a student wing of the Hizbullah, which later graduated into Muslim League. Muslim League has the cadre base in core of Srinagar city, especially among educated youngsters who are influenced by Quranic teachings.
When Syed Ali Geelani split the Hurriyat Conference in 2003 over his demand of “removing pro-election outfits from separatist amalgam”, it was Masarat and his men who offered Geelani a foothold in Srinagar city. That time Masarat had joined Geelani’s Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and Geelani had publicly proclaimed him as one of his two political heirs. He however left Geelani’s party immediately to rejoin Muslim League but remained wedded to amalgam headed by the veteran leader. Masarat is straightforward to the point of taking cudgels and earn enmity even in the camp he belongs to.
The number of FIRs filed against Masarat indicates that the authorities have no plans to let him get out of jail. But, even within the confines of jail, he remains one of the most influential separatist voices of Kashmir.
