The Hurriyat Conference was grappling with a rebellion today when second-rung leaders within the separatist conglomerate ‘‘ousted’’ chairman and moderate face Maulvi Abbas Ansari, suspended its seven-member decision making executive and rallied behind the hawkish Syed Ali Shah Geelani after calling the conglomerate ‘‘a failure.’’ Thirteen separatist leaders — the majority are members of Hurriyat’s general council — met and passed a resolution expressing ‘‘no confidence’’ in chairman Abbas Ansari and described his election to the top post as ‘‘unconstitutional.’’ Abbas Ansari, on his part, remained unfazed by the developments: ‘‘They are nobody. We will take disciplinary action against them. What competence do they have to take such decisions?’’ When Geelani’s views were sought, he stuck to the line that the election of Ansari as Hurriyat chairman was a ‘‘violation’’ of the conglomerate’s constitution. ‘‘They did it without taking into confidence two important constituents, Jamat-e-Islami and JKLF. If the general council was just an advisory body, why did they (Hurriyat leadership) postpone its meeting even though people had come all the way from Rajouri and Doda,’’ Geelani said. When he was asked whether he planned to take charge of the new group, he said, ‘‘I will think about it’’. Those who attended the meeting to vote out Abbas Ansari included Agha Hassan, a Shia cleric who leads Anjuman-e-Sharia Shian; Massarat Alam of Muslim League; Ghulam Nabi Sumji, expelled from Muslim Conference led by former Hurriyat chief Abdul Gani Bhat; Nayeem Khan of National Front; Firdous Shah and advocate Mohammad Shafi Reshi of Islamic Students League; Yasmeen Raja of Khawateen Markaz; Saidullah Tantray, a former Jamat-e-Islami leader from Doda; Ghulam Mohammad Hubbi and Gulzar Ahmad Gulzar, expelled leaders of Sajjad Lone-led Peoples Conference; and, Fareeda Bahenji of Kashmir Mass Movement. In fact, the rebel group even named a five-member interim committee under Massarat Alam to steer the Hurriyat and the panel was asked to contact Geelani, who had to leave the executive committee after his demand to expel Sajjad Lone’s Peoples Conference was rejected by the Hurriyat leadership, to ‘‘lead the separatist conglomerate’’ and ‘‘again make it a vibrant force struggling for the Kashmir cause.’’ It’s learnt that the rebel group decided to throw out the Peoples Conference from the conglomerate for its ‘‘proxy’’ participation in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls. This issue, in fact, is at the root of the divide within the conglomerate and today’s developments are seen as the final attempt by the hawks to seize control. The Hurriyat top brass can take consolation from a lone fact: none from the top seven constituents joined the rebellion which is now seen as the exclusive handiwork of the pro-Geelani camp. In fact, the Yasin Malik-led JKLF and Peoples League, who are extremely unhappy with Abbas Ansari, stayed away from the open show of defiance. Other executive leaders and former chairmen Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Abdul Gani Bhat called the rebellion ‘‘insignificant’’ but ‘‘unfortunate.’’ ‘‘It is a very unfortunate development. The Hurriyat executive is meeting tomorrow and we will recommend disciplinary action against them,’’ Mirwaiz Farooq told The Indian Express. His colleague Abdul Gani Bhat said the developments were ‘‘against the Hurriyat constitution.’’ Such decisions, he said, were ‘‘beyond the competence of the general council which is an advisory body.’’ The executive committee, he said, remained the only decision-making forum in the Hurriyat. Bhat said several among the leaders who had revolted were not even members of the general council. He named Ghulam Nabi Sumji, expelled from Muslim Conference, and Ghulam Mohammad Hubbi and Gulzar Ahmad Gulzar who had been thrown out of the Peoples Conference. While the rebel group does not include any leader from the Hurriyat executive, the fact remains that this move is being seen as a major blow to the conglomerate. Today’s developments have drawn a clear line between the hawks and doves within the Hurriyat. If fence sitters like JKLF supremo Yasin Malik and PL representative Bashir Ahmad Tota also join the rebellion, the Hurriyat will be in deep trouble. The doves led by Abbas Ansari fear their leadership could become irrelevant in separatist politics. The rebel group has rallied behind Geelani who enjoys the backing of militant groups. ‘‘Militancy is the real concern for Government of India. If Hurriyat is unable to influence the militant groups, it will have no relevance,’’ a Hurriyat leader said.
