The Azadi warhorse

Even as voices laying claim to his hardline legacy are coming to the fore in the Valley.

Even as voices laying claim to his hardline legacy are coming to the fore in the Valley,to match the popular appeal of Syed Ali Shah Geelani would be a tall order for any of his likely successors. Geelanis political mantra is simple: he blends an unbending political stand on Kashmir with a deft marshalling of street resistance. And what is more,he is now the only politician in the state whose message carries conviction and resonates with the people.

This is what makes Geelani a bigger challenge for New Delhi among all Kashmiri separatists. It is not his hawkish politics or his refusal to hold dialogue with New Delhi but his capacity to harness the simmering anger in the Valley and spin it into a large-scale popular revolt that constitutes his strength.

Ever since the split of Hurriyat in 2003,Geelani has virtually determined the separatist agenda in the Valley. His one-track political line on the resolution of Kashmir has struck an instant chord with a large section of people,mostly youth. What has further set him apart is the lackluster moderation of his moderate counterparts.

One of the most familiar names in the state,Geelani has been around for the past half-a-century. Before his name came to be identified with the separatist cause,Geelani was synonymous with Kashmirs Jamaat-i-Islami,his parent party. It was Geelani who turned Jamaat into a potent political force in the Valley before the onset of militancy and nearly brought the party to power to form its first elected government as part of the fateful coalition Muslim United Front in 1987.

It was,once again,Geelani who formally plunged Jamaat into the separatist struggle in early nineties and was prompt to accede to a prominent militant role for the party. While the Jamaat has all but slipped into the background,Geelani has not only outgrown his party but also forged a new strong political identity for himself. And now he even monopolises the separatist discourse. Now,streets in Kashmir also chant a call for a new Geelani-wali azadi as against the matter-of-fact freedom propagated by the moderates.

Shopian is a handy example of what Geelani can do. It was Geelani alone,of course,with some help from a bungling administration,who turned the deaths of two women in the town in 2009 into a massive azadi groundswell that stretched through summer. It was him that made Armys alleged land grab a powerful street issue.

For his admirers,Geelanis utility is in being himself,in preserving the sanctity of the azadi demand,rather than engaging in the settlement efforts. But many are asking whether the popular fascination with Geelani justifies his politics. In Geelanis case, the self-determination demand seems to have become an end in itself,without any reference to the changing ground situation.