Palhalan Symbolises Revolution
Kaiser A. Mir/Rameez Makhdoomi
World revolutions have witnessed special “Pockets of resistance”. Srebrenica in Bosnia Revolution, Qabatiyeh in Palestine revolution, and Kashmir’s two decade old violent pro-independence revolution has seen Palhalan, a village 30 km north of Srinagar in Baramulla district.
Suffering, Valour, Revolutionary spirit, Principles might be outdated concept in today’s fast developing world, but Palhalan ( a tiny northern kashmir hamlet) defies all this. Pro-freedom sentiment runs deep in Palhalhan.The history of killings, militancy, stone pelting, the visible influence of the pro-independence Jamaat-e-Islami, ruthless State repression have become the symbols of this tiny revolutionary belt. Hardly anyone in this part of the world has a passport on account of lack of clearance from security agencies; a large number of youth despite qualifying for the Government jobs have been denied the same for the want of “No objection certificates “ which is seen as a punishment against people of this hamlet for having pro-freedom sentiment.
The village elders state that this hamlet comprising of number of villages has already lost more than thousand men for what they term the “sacred cause of independence”. Most of the residents state that they would prefer starvation rather than compromising on their pro-freedom sentiment.
Naseer Ahmad Malla, a senior functionary of Hurrriyat(G) and a resident of Palhalan, while talking to ‘The Kashmir Scenario’ team states: “Palhalan has been a role model in the revolutionary resistance of Kashmir against India’s forcible occupation. Freedom is our birth right and we shall have it. Every form of torture and deceit has been tried out by agencies to suppress the pro-freedom population of Palhalan, but all of it has miserably failed. Even in the recently concluded Panchayat elections our area preferred boycott to voting. Even the top Army and civil officers admit that Palhalan is fighting battle of principles rather than battle of emotions.”
On ground zero off late, the interrogation methods being devised and adopted to break the will power of people of Palhalan are quiet awkward and barbaric .In one such method according to residents of Palhalan area, the security forces call youth to security camp once or twice in a week and are asked to remain in open ground for hours together without any purpose. During this time they are not allowed to communicate and even mobiles have to be kept on switch off mode during this trying time.
While on the other side of the spectrum, whenever the people of Palhalan raise genuine voice for providing them the basic amenities the answer on most of the occasions from the majority of officials is –“You people ask for Pakistan and when Pakistan will be established they will provide you people with all the required facilities”.
Last year during massive protest rage across the Kashmir valley, Pahallan area of Baramulla district was soaked in blood with the killing of around eight civilians. The area was put under intense curfew for 34 consecutive days by police, army and paramilitary forces.
Even those injured during last year’s protests are not spared as they are slapped with Public Safety Act (PSA) as soon as they show signs of recovery. Our team saw many such injured and most of them were in their teenage lying helplessly on beds without any assistance from government. One such injured who was injured in 2010 unrest while talking to The Kashmir Scenario said, “I received bullet in my left leg and now I am lying at bed for more than a year, I used to work in a local timber mill and was also studying. But this incident has left me shattered - neither can I help my family nor I could fulfil my dream of studies. The state rather than helping the affected people is devising means to compound our pain.”
Mohammad Ismail Sheikh, a senior Jamaat-i-Islami figure of area narrates the adversity in a revolutionary tone-“Palhalan is with the grace of almighty educated enough to know what is right and what is wrong. Soon after partition, we realized the importance of freedom for our nation and this tiny belt has and is paying heavy price for offering resistance against occupation. Our area has seen complete militarization and even for minor family feuds the military intervenes. The movements of liberations see their ups and downs but at the end of it history remembers with golden words the revolutionary pockets like Palhalan.”
One clearly feels, what makes this area different from the other areas .Pertinently, those who call themselves revolutionary leaders here have themselves been paragon of sacrifice. Mohammad Ismail Sheikh ‘s family (a pioneering pro-freedom family of Palhalan) has suffered number of fatalities and number of members of this family are in jail and this fact makes leaders very respectable in this part of the world.
Even the young breed of this area seems ever ready and determined to nourish the pro-freedom ideology of this area and most of them say they are not afraid despite what they term rampant “State torture and clampdown”. The new generations continues to inherit varied animosities against state from their elders and say freedom is only acceptable solution to them.
One can without doubt state that if Kashmir’s young pick up the gun again, it is more than possible that Palhalan will yield a big chunk of fresh recruits to the “cause”. Certainly, Palhalan has become synonym of valour and revolution.
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