Hurriyat ex-chairman, Shia cleric Abbas Ansari dies

Ansari’s funeral in Srinagar was the first of a separatist leader that the administration allowed to be held during the day since abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. The authorities did not allow the funeral at Srinagar’s Eidgah grounds; Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is under house detention, could not attend the funeral prayers.

Separatist and mainstream political leaders alike condoled Ansari’s death and called it the “end of an era”. “Maulana Abbas Ansari sahib lived a life dedicated to the cause of peace and Islam. An ardent advocate of unity, who led a pious and a humble life. He leaves behind a rich legacy…” former J&K chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted.

The National Conference and the Peoples Conference also condoled his death.

In a statement, the Hurriyat said it is not possible to fill the void created by Ansari’s demise. “Throughout his life, he (Ansari) resolutely and unyieldingly advocated resolution of Kashmir conflict in accordance with the aspirations of its people and made personal sacrifices for his political stand,” the Hurriyat stated.

Born in 1936, Ansari, a scholar, preacher and reformer, headed the separatist conglomerate when the Hurriyat engaged with the Centre for talks — under his leadership, the Hurriyat delegation for the first time met the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and then Union Home Minister L K Advani in January 2004. He was also part of the Hurriyat team that later met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the Centre’s dialogue with the organisation.

The funeral procession of former Hurriyat Conference chairman Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari on Tuesday. This was the first time since August 2019 that a separatist leader’s funeral was allowed to be held during the day by the administration. (PTI)

Ansari was part of the group of Hurriyat leaders who visited Pakistan, through Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, on invitation of then Pakistan President Pervez Muasharraf after a nod from New Delhi.

After his schooling in Srinagar, Ansari went to Lucknow for higher education and then to Najaf, Iran, where he spent eight years. He was a scholar of authority on Islamic jurisprudence, Arabic literature, hadith and Quranic exegesis.

After his return, Ansari founded the Ittihadul Muslimeen (Muslim Unity), a socio-religious party of the Shias of Kashmir, in 1962.

He was a key religious leader who helped bring social, political and religious leaders on one political front — the Muslim United Front — in 1986. The outfit took on the Congress-National Conference alliance in 1987 J&K Assembly elections.

When separatist organisations of the Valley united under the umbrella of Hurriyat Conference, Ansari’s Ittihadul Muslimeen was among its founding constituents. He later became the Hurriyat’s chairman. During his tenure the Hurriyat split and Syed Ali Shah Geelani formed his own faction of the separatist conglomerate.

In April 2011, Ittihadul Muslimeen was temporarily suspended from Hurriyat Conference when Ansari met the Centre’s interlocutors — Dileep Padgaonkar, M M Ansari and Radha Kumar — against Hurriyat’s decision against meeting them.