Syed Ali Shah Geelani

Syed Ali Shah Geelani with the author, Ruwa Shah, his granddaughter [Photo courtesy of Ruwa Shah]

A life dedicated to Kashmir and its people

BY RUWA SHAH

It was a frosty February afternoon in the Turkish city of Kayseri. I had just finished my exams, and was hoping to have a rare moment of respite after submitting all my assignments. But before I could heave a sigh of relief and relax, I got a text: “Just heard about your grandfather. I am so sorry.”

My [maternal] grandfather, my “Aba”, is Syed Ali Shah Geelani, one of the most prominent figures in the Kashmiri resistance movement and the leader of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. He is 91 years old, and his health is ailing.

I have been away from home, studying towards a master’s degree in Turkey, since 2018. Due to the restrictions the [Indian] central government regularly puts on local communications in Indianoccupied Kashmir, I often spend days without talking to my family and getting updates about the health of my grandfather. So that text terrified me.

When I finally managed to get my mother on the phone and ask her about my Aba, she confirmed that his condition was worsening and told me that he wants to be surrounded by family.

At that very moment, I decided to return home.

“So far the cellphones are working. But we do not know when they (the state) will shut it, if anything happens to Geelani,” I overheard a woman say as I made my way towards the next plane to Kashmir at the [New] Delhi airport. Clearly, the rumors about my grandfather’s health were spreading rapidly across the community. When I landed in Srinagar a few hours later, my heart was racing – I had not been home for over 17 months and I was eager to see my family, and especially my “Aba,” as soon as possible.

The weather was very cold in Srinagar, too. But unlike Turkey, everything looked colorless and dusty — like a scene from a dystopian movie. My brother, Anees, was waiting for me at the airport. We quickly

I saw Ame, my mother, first as I entered the house. Most of my cousins, aunts and uncles were also there, and everyone was talking in hushed voices.

I wanted to see Aba right away, but there was a team of doctors in his room. Usually, women do not enter Aba’s room when he has male guests there who are not from our immediate family. So I sat near Ame and waited for the doctors to leave.

After almost an hour, I walked inside Aba’s room. He was surrounded by his daughters, his sons, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The man who once roared like a lion and inspired thousands was now struggling to comprehend the most mundane things going on around him. He could not even recognize the faces of his own family members.

OPPRESSION DOES NOT LAST,” MY GRANDFATHER — NOW 91 AND IN AILING HEALTH — TELLS ME AS POLICE LINE THE ROADS OUTSIDE.

got in his car and started driving towards Aba’s house in Hyderpora. The roads leading to his house were lined up with armored vehicles and I saw men setting up CCTV cameras on electricity poles near his house. Authorities were clearly getting ready for my grandfather’s passing and the unrest they expected his funeral to cause.

A police vehicle was blocking the entrance of the house, but this did not surprise me. That police vehicle has been a permanent fixture at Aba’s gate since he was put under house arrest for the first time in 2008.

Aba has barely left his home in the past decade. The Indian authorities allowed him to make a few public appearances in 2014, but since then he has only stepped beyond that police vehicle at his gate a couple of times to visit the hospital.

Aba suffers from several medical conditions. He developed renal cancer in a jail in the Indian city of Ranchi in 2003. He had one of his kidneys removed as a result. He has a pacemaker in his heart. He suffers from an acute chest infection that makes it difficult for him to breathe. On the day of my visit, the infection was so bad that Aba was on oxygen support.

He fell into a deep depression, and for good reason — since that day, almost all members of his party are behind bars. He is sad and lonely.

I walked towards Aba. He was barely visible under a pile of blankets. I reached out and held his hand. It felt like a skeleton with his skin hanging loose.

He did not immediately recognize me. I told him I was his granddaughter. “Which one?” he asked. “Are you the one who used to bring me gifts? You went to Turkey, didn’t you?” he said softly.

It made me smile. I was still in his remaining memories.

We managed to speak a little bit that day.

It was heartbreaking to see Aba struggle to speak, to remember things, but even in this condition he surprised us.

He asked me if I had seen my father, Altaf Ahmad Shah, who along with many other leaders from my grandfather’s party, has been imprisoned in New Delhi since 2017.

“You should meet the prisoners. Tell them that I pray for them and their sacrifice will not be wasted,” he told me. My father worked with Aba for more than 35 years. He was a student activist when he joined the resistance movement. Aba was so impressed with my father that he eventually arranged for him to marry his daughter, my mother, and become part of his family.

“Do not stop me here. It is time I go,” he said in a hushed voice when we once again gathered around him. “You should not be selfish. I am in pain.” And then he closed his eyes and started reciting verses from the Holy Quran. As he was humming “La Ilaha illhala…” (There is only One God) he suddenly stopped, raised his hand, and feebly shouted “Allah-u-Akbar!”

Aba dedicated his life to Islam and Kashmir’s freedom struggle. For him, the two have always been inseparable. This is why, even when he barely had the energy to breathe, he was either reciting from the Quran or talking about Kashmir. “Do not give up on freedom. Zulm chu ne poshaan! Oppression does not last!” Aba kept repeating as I spoon-fed him. He kept reciting it to himself, as if he was trying to etch those words to his memory so that he would not forget what he had stood for all his life.

He was, after all, receiving very good care. A team of doctors sent by the authorities was visiting Aba on a daily basis. The Indian authorities are not normally known for their compassion and care for members of the Kashmiri resistance. However, after their move to revoke Kashmir’s partial autonomy [on Aug. 5, 2019] and the unrest that followed, they are careful to prevent any episode that could trigger a mass gathering. And they know my grandfather’s passing would cause many Kashmiris to take to the streets.

That evening, I went to my parents’ house to spend the night. When I returned to my grandfather’s house the next morning, I saw that the security outside the gate has been beefed up. Now, only close family members are allowed to enter, and people in the house are banned from using their phones. Fearing that I may not be able to return if I ventured out, I decided not to leave the house until things calmed down. That evening, two of the three people working in Aba’s house were also removed by the police. All this was because a video of Aba, depicting his deteriorating state of health, was posted on social media. The video had gone viral, triggering panic among the people and alarming the authorities.

The rumors that my grandfather is on his deathbed reached such levels that day that government officials inquired about my family’s plans for Aba’s burial and last rites.

“They will not let us do anything piece of chicken, a small bowl of in case anything happens. They soup without spices, and a small want to handle all of it,” my elder portion of rice. And for dinner, a uncle, Naim Geelani, said. single piece of flatbread with some

Aba wishes to be buried in the vegetables. This was his routine Martyr’s Graveyard in Eidgah, for years. Srinagar. How his burial is han- As I tried to spoon-feed him dled is important for us, because fluids, I thought of all this and he is the head of our family. It is broke down in tears. important for the state, because All my life, I had thought of his death can lead to an outburst him as someone unbreakable — of anger. But most importantly, it is the epitome of strength and conimportant for the Kashmiri people, viction in the face of difficulty and because they love him, respect him strife. But now, he was crumbling. and look up to him. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who

Between all the discussions has spent a lifetime fighting for about the funeral, the fear of the Pakistani President Arif Alvi presents Nishan-i Pakistan, the country's Kashmir and stood tall in the unknown, and the acute sadness of knowing Aba is unlikely to get highest civil award to Syed Geelani -- received on his behalf by his party representatives in Islamabad. (Photo (c) Press Inf Dept Pakistan) face of endless persecution and abuse, is now fighting physical better, the health of my uncle, who pain. And, for the first time in has a heart condition, started to deterio- Aba who finally convinced my father to allow his life, he knows he is in a battle he has no rate. Just like his brother and my cousins, me to follow my passion. Aba is much more way of winning. he was not only trying to come to terms progressive than anyone who only knows I spent three unforgettable days with my with the looming demise of the head of our him as an orthodox leader would assume. grandfather in Kashmir before returning to household, but also mentally preparing to “Your father was very young and ener- Turkey. On my way back, as Aba wished, I get arrested. The number of officers outside getic when I saw him for the first time … spent a day in New Delhi and visited my was constantly increasing, and we all knew He was sharp because he was from the old father in the Tihar jail. Now, I am back in any one of us could be taken into custody city (in Srinagar),” he said. Turkey and I do not know when I will get at any second. We felt practically jailed in Before the house in Hyderpora, Aba lived to see my grandfather again. our grandfather’s house. in Dooru, Sopore, a village in north Kashmir. I am trying to live my life and follow my

Somehow, I managed to send a message “It was your father who asked me to move dreams, because I know that is what Aba to a few journalists and tell them we had been to Srinagar … He always gave good advice,” would have wanted for me. But I still tremble locked in — it made me feel a bit better to Aba added after a long pause. “Give him my when I receive a text at an unexpected time, know that people outside, people who know Salaam when you see him … Do see him fearing it could be from someone informing my grandfather, are aware of our plight. before you go back.” me that Aba is no longer with us.

To cope with the tension, we all stayed My father is Aba’s only son-in-law, among I, of course, know Aba is never really up, watched some old videos, laughed and five others, who is an active part of the free- going to leave us. Even when he is no longer talked about how our lives have been shaped dom struggle. In one of his letters to me from physically with us, his devotion to Kashmir by politics. the prison, my father told me how Aba’s char- and the suffering he has endured for our

Aba’s situation improved the next day, acter and dedication to the freedom struggle freedom will be remembered and honored and the siege was relaxed. But he was clearly drove him to work with him. by generations of Kashmiris to come. still in pain. As he laid restlessly, his eyes As Aba continued to talk fondly of his I cannot help but think how similar remained open and moved repeatedly from memories with my father, I thought of the Aba’s life has been to the Kashmiri freedom side to side. times Aba, my father and I had spent in struggle itself — an honorable journey full

Not sure what to do or how to help, we that very room across the years. When I was of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, a took turns sitting by his bed. younger, I spent many hours watching Aba battered dream hoping to come true. So,

Throughout my life, I only had the oppor- read, write, pray, exercise and passionately it is no surprise that even today, when he tunity to be alone with Aba a few times. But talk to my father and his other colleagues cannot remember much, he remembers during these few days in February, I spent about Kashmir in that room. Kashmir and the longing its people have more time with him alone than any other Every move Aba made, every word he for freedom – a dream that he knows will member of our family. uttered was indicative of his strong and dis- be realized one day. ih I jumped at every opportunity to be in his room because I knew that our time together ciplined character. In spite of all his illnesses, he followed a strict schedule until the very Ruwa Shah is a student of cinema and TV in Turkey. She previously worked as a journalist in India with organiwas limited, and I wanted to talk to him as end. He woke up before morning prayers zations including the Hindustan Times, IANS and the much as I could while he is still with us. He and exercised for an hour. He also had a very Indian Express. has always been an important force in my limited diet, and never indulged in “fancy” [Editor’s Note: Reprinted with the author’s permislife. A few years ago, in 2013, my parents food. He would have one yolk-less egg in the sion. Al Jazeera, Dec. 4, 2020; https://www.aljazeera. refused to let me study journalism. It was morning with a glass of milk. For lunch, one com/author/ruwa_shah_190903084722796]