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Written by: Shafiq Mir

Category: ARTICLES

Published: 19 July 2016

⇒Burhan Muzaffar Wani was neither a first militant leader killed in Kashmir nor he is the last one. Thousands of militants including their top commanders  have been killed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the past 27 years  since the eruption of militancy in the state. He was not the first militant commander for whom the government forces had announced Rs 10 lakh . Earlier too, many militant commanders had invited huge rewards on their heads but there was no hue and cry when they were killed . There are many contradictory versions of security forces which raise questions about the prominence of this militant commander who has invited world attention. 

As per police sources, he was not involved in any major attack on security forces. And there is no information whether he had ever been to across the border for arms training as it had been a case of other local militants. He was not a long surviving militant too. As per police records he joined local militant ranks only in 2010 when he was just 15 years old and when he was killed in a brief encounter on 8th July 2016, he was just 21 years old. And as per police  records, he spent only 5 years in field  during which he spent most of the time playing cricket in the forests of Kashmir and posting his pics on social media just for fun. As per their earlier claims,  police and security forces have always been saying that he was just a ‘paper tiger’ and nothing else.

Now the question arises, why  at least 43 common people offered their lives and nearly 3000 were rendered injured some of them critically during their protests against the killing of this militant called Burhaan Wani ? There is another question which hunts many people that if he was not a much dreaded militant and was just a paper tiger, why government forces had put Rs 10 lakh reward for his head ? There are many more related questions which need answers .

In fact, whole of the Burhan Wani  issue was either deliberately blown out of proportion by the forces  or was it mishandled by  the state administration and its officers on the ground . The reason is best known to the government and its forces only that why this ‘ paper tiger’ has turned whole of Kashmir as his followers .

 Earlier, there has been a trend that whenever any militant was killed by the security forces, his dead body was handed over to the locals for last rites and there was never seen any restriction on the people while performing the last rites of the killed militants . But in this case, the story was quite different . After killing Burhan, the government forces started halting and stopping people who were on way to participate in his last rites. I am not sure whether the participants of his funeral were volunteer followers or herded crowd under compulsions. 

Let us assume that the people were voluntarily participating in his last rites   With the result, the people clashed  with the security forces what was wrong ? Had they not been stopped there would have been no clash and there would have not been any causality . And the people would have returned to their homes in the evening and situation would have been normal next day . What was the big deal if Lakhs of people would have participated in his funeral, was this funeral procession any political threat to any one ? The answer is No . The basic wrong started from here when the people were stopped from participating in the funeral procession of this militants which resulted in to clashes .

 Now, it is 10th day of protests. And it is not for Burhan but each day protest is against the killings and atrocities of the previous day. And the practice goes on which has consumed at least 43 precious lives so far and about 3000 have been left injured beside rendering hundreds blind due to the use of pellet gun fires on them .     

 ( Author is a freelancer  journalist and columnist. He can be reached at mirshafiq@gmail.com )