India locks down Kashmir after top separatist leader’s death
By AIJAZ HUSSAIN
48 minutes ago
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian authorities cracked down on public movement and imposed a near-total communications blackout in disputed Kashmir on Thursday after the death of Syed Ali Geelani, a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region’s defiance against New Delhi.
Geelani, who died late Wednesday at age 92, was buried in a local graveyard in a quiet funeral organized by authorities under harsh restrictions, his son, Naseem Geelani, told The Associated Press. He said the family had planned to bury him at the main martyrs’ graveyard in Srinagar, the region’s main city, as specified in his will but were not allowed to do so 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,” Naseem Geelani said.
The Press Trust of India news agency reported that officials buried Geelani’s body and prohibited any mass funeral in anticipation of anti-India protests.
As most Kashmiris remained locked inside their homes, 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 in towns and villages in the Kashmir Valley.
Authorities shut down most cellphone networks and mobile internet service in a common tactic employed by India to head off mass protests.
Geelani spearheaded Kashmir’s movement for the right to self-determination and was a staunch proponent of merging Kashmir with Pakistan. He strongly opposed any dialogue with New Delhi, a position rejected by successive Indian governments who often dubbed him a hard-line politician.
Geelani was also the face of Kashmir’s civilian defiance against Indian rule. He led a faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an association of various Kashmiri political and religious groups that was formed in 1993 to spearhead a movement for the region’s 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, Geelani was an enduring icon of defiance against India.
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