In a significant development, prominent Kashmiri religious leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Thursday removed his designation as the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference from his social media profile on X (formerly Twitter). He attributed this move to sustained pressure from the Jammu and Kashmir administration, describing it as a "Hobson's choice" with no real alternative.
Pressure from Authorities and a Banned Outfit
Mirwaiz explained that authorities had been pressing him for some time to modify his X handle. The reason cited was that all constituents of the Hurriyat Conference, including the Awami Action Committee which he heads, have been proscribed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). This makes the Hurriyat a banned organization. He claimed he was warned that failure to comply would lead to his social media account being taken down entirely.
He expressed deep regret over losing a crucial channel for communication. "At a time when public space and avenues of communication stand severely restricted, this platform remains among the very few means available to me to reach out to my people and share my views on our issues with them and the outside world," Mirwaiz stated, lamenting the alleged pressure that shut down this key outreach outlet.
A Pattern of Restrictions and Political Reactions
This social media action coincided with Mirwaiz being placed under house arrest, preventing him from delivering the Friday sermon at Srinagar's historic Jamia Mosque. Since his release in September 2023 after four years of house arrest following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the chief cleric has frequently faced such Friday detentions, often without explanation from the police.
The move triggered mixed reactions. While some online users accused Mirwaiz of compromising the Hurriyat's ideology, several political figures weighed in. Former Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti called the removal "immaterial," asserting that Hurriyat is an idea reflecting alienation that needs to be addressed.
PDP MLA Waheed Parra supported Mirwaiz, stating that choosing "peace over rigidity is not weakness, it is leadership." Tanvir Sadiq, spokesperson for the governing National Conference, criticized the alleged coercion, saying it was wrong to pressure a religious scholar.
BJP's Stance and the Larger Context
In contrast, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed the step. Party spokesperson Altaf Thakur described it as the "right decision" and said it sends a message to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir that "the road of separatism has ended."
The context of this episode is the widespread ban on most of the 20-odd constituents of the Hurriyat Conference after the constitutional changes of August 2019, which also reorganized the state into two Union Territories. The incident highlights the ongoing tensions between separatist political expressions and state policy in the region.
