Masarat Alam Bhat | |
|---|---|
| Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (Geelani faction) | |
| Assumed office 7 September 2021[1][2] | |
| Preceded by | Syed Ali Shah Geelani |
| In office 7 September 2003[3] – 15 September 2003[4] | |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Syed Ali Shah Geelani |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Masarat Alam Bhat July 1971 Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India[5] |
| Political party | Hurriyat (Geelani faction) Jammu Kashmir Muslim League |
| Other political affiliations | Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir |
| Alma mater | University of Kashmir |
| Occupation | |
| Website | www |
Masarat Alam Bhat (born 1971) is a Kashmiri Islamist activist and Political separatist leader of Jammu and Kashmir. He is currently serving as the chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Muslim League, and also serves as the interim chairman of Geelani faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.
Bhat was appointed as the interim chairman of the Geelani faction of Hurriyat after the death of Syed Ali Shah Geelani. He played a significant role in the 2010 Kashmir stone pelting rallies which broke out against the Machil fake encounter carried out by the Indian Army in Kashmir. Government has booked Masrat Alam in 27 criminal cases but in most of these he has either been exonerated or bailed out by the courts and was released after Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took over as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on 1 March 2015.[6]
Bhat was detained under the controversial Public Safety Act and was in March 2015 released which caused a major political controversy and dominated Indian Parliament Proceedings.[7] Amid speculations over his release Masrat Aalam said that no deal was made between him and the Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, saying "I spent more than four years in prison and during all these years I challenged the grounds of my 'illegal' detention".[8][9][10][11] He has been jailed for 17 years and has around 27 cases against him.[12][13]
Bhat was born in old-city Srinagar's Zaindar Mohalla in July 1971.[14] Like many youths of his generation, he was drawn to the armed rebellion against Indian state that began in 1989.[5] He was first arrested by the Border Security Force in October 1990 on charges of serving as a lieutenant to the then-prominent militant, Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat. He won a protracted legal battle in 1997 and began working at a cloth store owned by his grandfather, graduating the next year. From 1999, Bhat became increasingly active in the All Parties Hurriyat Conference(APHC) that cost him multiple stints in prison. He represented the Muslim League in APHC. Bhat found space under hardline Islamist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's wing after the Hurriyat Conference split in 2003.[5]
In 2010, he was on the run after the Indian government announced a reward for his arrest for issuing protest calendars. Subsequently he was arrested later that year and remained in custody until early 2015.
Following are the quotes by Masarat Alam on various occasions.
He said, "Our associates went to Badgam and Srinagar, we do not feel any kind of need. If disasters come, we do not need army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). We think these are occupational forces so how would they bring relief? Last time, they did specific relief operation and rescued their own people. People here know that.[30]"
This statement has been criticised by media for being anti-Kashmiri and it may bring Kashmiri people in danger.[30]
Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, said: "There's no compromise on any account, we are very clear on how such people have to be treated."[32]
Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said, "Alam's arrest sends a strong message to the fringe groups. We will not tolerate any kind of anti-India activities."[33]
However, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder and mastermind of 2008 Mumbai Attacks Hafiz Saeed congratulated Masarat for his "anti-India act" and held a rally in support of Masarat in Lahore on 17 April 2015.[34][35]