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| Politics of dead bodies..... | | 
By Shafiq Mir
The politics of dead bodies and business of dead bodies is an old saying . God knows where it happened in the world for the first time from where this saying began and spread all over the world . But there is no clear evidence that from where it began . Most of the people in the world might be having doubt about this saying, because no body can believe that it happens in reality . “ The people carrying business and politics on dead bodies” is really something shocking for those who have never heard about it . Definitely, they will be shocked when they will come to know that it happens in India and in the land which it claims as its crown called Kashmir .
In the past three decades almost, a group of politicians in Jammu Kashmir state has been demanding the body of one Mohammad Maqbool Bhat who was hanged by government of India in 1984 for his crime of waging war against the country and killing some persons . After hanging, he was buried inside the prison premises called Tihar jail near Delhi union capital of India where he was poisoned. Though the legal procedure for the disposal of any dead body is that it is handed over to the nearest relatives of the dead, whether he/she is a common person or head of the state. And family has all right to burry the body as per the religious customs and belief . But it was not done in case of Mohammad Maqbool Bhat by the government of India. Thus India itself paved the way for a group of politicians in the state of Jammu and Kashmir to do politics on the issue . Since 11 February 1984, the said group has been demanding the body and India has been denying . Every year, the demand is raised by this group on the day Bhat was hanged. Not only this, the group has also kept an empty grave in his name with a sign board on it saying that one day his remains will be brought back to his native state . In the past three decades, god knows how much business has been done on the issue by the parties related to it . And God knows what India achieved by keeping the custody of body with it . But here in Kashmir, Maqbool Bhat definitely achieved the status of freedom fighter and martyr.
Similarly, on February 9, 2013, an other Kashmiri Mohammad Afzal Guru accused of carrying attack on Indian parliament was hanged in the same prison called Tihar Jail . And in similar fashion, Indian government again buried the body inside the prison premises and refused to handover the body to the nearest relatives of the person who was hanged . Now the new politics has begin on the dead body . In Jammu and Kashmir, not only the separatist politicians, even the mainstream political parties have been demanding that the body be returned to the family . This time, some of the political parties have even announced to discuss and raise this issue in the coming assembly session of the state of Jammu and Kashmir . The politics on dead body can be gauged with the fact that even Indian prime minister has said that the issue of handing over the body of Guru will be discussed in Indian parliament ( The biggest elected forum) of Indian politics . You can just imagine that how much big politics is done on dead bodies in India and its part of Kashmir .
Here in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, as the state assembly elections for 2014 are round the corner and that is why all the major political parties in the state have made this issue as their poll plank . And I hope if the the anger among the Kashmiries continued up to 2014 as it prevails as of now, there will be no surprise if some of the mainstream parties include this issue in their election manifesto . Interestingly, all the political parties in the state, particularly mainstream parties like ruling National Conference and principal opposition party PDP did nothing in the past ten years for the person on whose dead body these parties are shedding crocodile tears. But after his hanging, these parties have made his dead body as their prime issue . Not only the mainstream political parties, the separatist leaders who now claim to be the real champions of Kashmiries did nothing during the past ten years when the trial of Guru was going in the different courts of the country . But now they have declared him as real hero of their “ freedom” struggle . Interestingly, in the past ten years none of the separatist organization even owned him as their man .
It is very unfortunate that in the 21st century when the world is planning to develop new colonies on the other planets, but the Kashmiries are forced to demand only dead bodies. What is big deal if India handovers the body to the relatives and the issue gets resolved for ever . And it is in the interest of India itself if it wants to see the peace in Kashmir .
(The author is a working journalist and Chairman All J & K Panchayat Conference. He can be reached at [email protected] or 9419170570 )
(Opinions expressed in write-ups/articles/Letters are the sole responsibility of the authors and they may not represent the scoopnews.in)
Editor, Scoop News
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