Fire guts history: 105-yr-old Mirwaiz family school

A fire that burnt down the Islamic High School in Srinagar—regarded as Kashmir’s cradle of education and run by the influential Mi...

A fire that burnt down the Islamic High School in Srinagar—regarded as Kashmir’s cradle of education and run by the influential Mirwaiz family—has stirred up emotions in Valley and spread fear and anger in the Awami Action Committee (AAC) led by Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.

The mysterious fire on Sunday night that destroyed the 105-year-old institution is the handiwork of vested interests, believes Shahid-ul Islam, AAC spokesman and Mirwaiz’s trusted lieutenent.

‘‘We are sure it is not an incidental fire. It is a sabotage by vested interests. I don’t know who did it or why it was done. It is a tragedy that one of Valley’s treasure troves got charred,’’ Islam told The Indian Express. ‘‘People living in the neighbourhood believe kerosene was sprinkled on all sides of the building before it was set afire,’’ said Islam.

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Mirwaiz himself told a private channel that the people who killed his uncle were responsible for burning the school while police said they were investigating. ‘‘We cannot tell you with a certain degree of assurance whether it was an accident or sabotage,’’ a senior police officer said. A few weeks ago, the house of Mirwaiz, who is part of the team that held two round of talks with New Delhi, was attacked and his uncle was killed.

The AAC and the management of the school—which housed invaluable Islamic literature including Quranic manuscripts—refuse to buy the accidental fire theory. They have demanded a judicial probe into the incident.

‘‘I don’t rule out a sabotage. The guard told me that he inspected all the buildings in the complex at 12.30 at night. Everything was alright. How the fire started is a mystery. We want a judicial probe into this,’’ said M Y Wani, the school principal. ‘‘When we closed the school on Friday, our people checked everything. There were no gas cylinders and the power had been switched off on the last working day,’’ he said.

Run by a socio-religious organisation, the Anjuman-i-Nusratul Islam headed by Mirwaiz Umar, the school boasts of almuni such as Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Mir Qasim, G.M. Bakshi, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and the poet Mehjoor. The school was founded by Umar’s great-grandfather Moulvi Rasul Shah in 1899 at Rajouri Kadal in a sprawling compound, neighbouring the historic Jama Masjid.

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When the news of the fire spread, angry youth descended on the streets in downtown Srinagar and threw stones at shops and vehicles. Traffic came to a standstill for few hours.

The Awami Action Committee and the Hurriyat Conference have asked people to observe a hartal on Tuesday.