Chanting ‘Azaadi’, crowds gather for Hurriyat’s show of strength

A call was given for a Monday march to Lal Chowk, the commercial hub of Srinagar, which will be preceded by a two-day shutdown starting Saturday.

Except for the speech of separatist leaders, the events at the Eidgah were a complete repeat of previous Fridays.

An angry azaadi-shouting, green-flag waving youth descended on the Eidgah, clogging it in no time. What followed was a mess. A roiling mass of protesters split into numerous disparate groups, each trumpeting its own tune.

Nobody stopped to listen to any Hurriyat leader, who, too, gave up eventually.

Heads of the leading secessionist factions Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani could barely find a foothold amid the swelling ranks of the people. In the end, it was left to a youth holding a loudspeaker atop a vehicle to announce a programme for Monday. People started dispersing soon after.

Hurriyat’s coordination committee later issued a statement, saying that its leaders along with the people will hold a peaceful dharna in Lal Chowk on Monday.

“We have to build on this momentum and take the struggle forward,” the statement of Hurriyat said. The statement also urged people to continue protests at night and their daily processions.

Meanwhile, Friday’s protest also brought Hurriyat’s predicament into focus. The resurgent masses in Valley’s streets do not seem to be in separatist coalition’s grip.

“It is always difficult to manage the crowds of this scale. Things get out of hand sometimes,” Hurriyat’s provincial president Nayeem Khan said, in a grudging acknowledgement of the reality.

“But then you can’t ignore the fact that people dutifully follow our programme.”

Mirwaiz, on the other hand, termed Friday’s rally as a referendum. “Don’t you think the message today was unmistakable? What we are witnessing is the largest-ever gathering of people. And with just one chant on their lips, azaadi,” Mirwaiz said.

However, as the Valley gears up for another mass show on Monday, the questions about the future of the ongoing turmoil are becoming as much urgent.

Though Hurriyat has outlined three demands for the agitation to end, the hardliners in the ranks think the present groundswell could be built into a long-term mass struggle for azaadi.

“These protests are not an accident. A deep sentiment underlines them,” said a Hurriyat leader. “We have to think in terms of organising them in the long term.”