Insha Mushtaq/ Umar Farooq
Back in 1995, when Raja Begum was a young lady from Khiram Anantnag and was a mother to six daughters, her husband Mohammad Sultan was kidnapped from his house and later killed by unknown gunmen.
A lawyer by profession, Mohammad Sultan, was a member of Jamat-e-Islamia. He had contested elections in 1987 from the Bijbehara constituency as a candidate of the Muslim United Front.
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He also worked in the High Court, Srinagar. On August 14, 1995, after he returned from Srinagar to Anantnag, he was kidnapped from his home during the night hours. His dead body was retrieved the next day near a village.
Raja Begum, now in her eighties, is in a state of complete shock and trauma after her daughter Raziya Sultan was terminated by the authorities for her alleged involvement in anti-national activities.
Raziya is the sole caretaker of her mother and the sisters. She is married to one of her cousins and her mother lives with her. The other sisters are married as well.
On Sunday, Raziya was sacked by the JK’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha for their alleged anti-national activities.
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“Whereas the Lieutenant Governor is satisfied that after considering the facts of the case and based on information available that the activities of Raziya Sultan, a headteacher in the government middle school Khiram Anantnag are such as to warrant her dismissal from services, whereas the Lieutenant Governor is satisfied under sub-clause (c) of the proviso clause (2) of Article 311 of the Constitution of India that in the interest of the security of the state, it is not expedient to hold an inquiry in the case of Ms. Raziya Sultan. Accordingly, the Lieutenant Governor hereby dismisses Ms. Raziya Sultan headteacher in the government middle school Khiram Anantnag from service, with immediate effect,” the official order reads.
By the end of April, the Jammu Kashmir administration created STF (Special task Force) which engages with members of the Terror Monitoring Group (TMG). The task force scrutinizes the cases of Government Employees Accused of Anti-National Activities in a time-bound manner.
The STF submits the report to the Lieutenant Governor, who decides whether to sack an employee or not.
Among the eleven employees suspended on Sunday are Raziya Sultan and Sakeena Akhtar. Both are accused of Anti-National activities, a charge denied by both the female teachers of the Jammu Kashmir Government.
Raziya Sultan
Raziya Sultan (38), a resident of Khiram, Anantnag district in South Kashmir, was appointed as a government teacher on compassionate grounds after her father was killed by an unknown gunman in Kashmir.
Raziya’s cousin (also brother-in-law), Dr. Kyser, talking to The Kashmiriyat said, “It happened all of a sudden. It was a surprise, and rather shocking for us. We received a text message from the ZEO office, saying Razia has been terminated from her services.”
“She has never been involved in any undesirable activities or any unlawful activity throughout her career,” Dr. Kyser claimed.
He further said that his sister has no clue about the case and hasn’t been provided any information related to the case except for her dismissal. He also alleges that Raziya has been sacked without a fair investigation.
Talking to The Kashmiriyat, Dr. Kyser said, “After getting clearance from the police authority, she was appointed as a Government teacher under SRO-43 on compassionate grounds in 2000. She was 16 at that time.”
“We request the government to give us details about her termination. We want to know on what grounds she has been sacked. It is shocking for all of us,” Dr Kyser further added.
Raziya Sultan said, “I want to know what my crime is. I request the Lt Governor to provide me with details on what my fault was. Why have I been sacked?”
In the same village, Khiram, Anantnag another teacher Sakeena Akhtar has been terminated by the Government for her alleged anti-national activities. Like Razia she also has no details about her termination.
Sakeena Akhtar
Sakeena Akhtar has completed her M.A. B.Ed. She was a teacher in Middle School Gojran. She was appointed through ReT and has worked as ReT teacher for 5 years. She was hired as a regular teacher later, in 2007.
Talking to The Kashmiriyat, Sakeena said, “I have no details about this termination. I got no show-cause notice. I got a termination order from Tehsildar Sirgufwara.”
“I have never been involved in any unlawful or anti-national activity as claimed by the authorities,” she added.
“My family has no affiliation with any separatist or Militant outfit either. As a ReT teacher, I have worked for Rs.1500/- and traveled 14 kilometers a day,” Sakeena said while talking to The Kashmiriyat.
Denying all the allegations, she said she has never been suspended in her working record. She has always been regular at her duties. She also said that there is no proof of her alleged anti-national involvement.
Sakeena, talking to The Kashmiriyat, appealed to the government to look into the matter and to carry out a fair investigation.
Raziya Sultan and Sakeena Akhtar are among the 11 employees who were recently terminated from their Government services.
18 Employees Sacked So far
Earlier a teacher Idrees Jan who was posted at Government Middle School Kralpora, Naib Tehsildar Pulwama Nazir Ahmed Wani, and an Assistant Professor Abdul Bari from Southern Kulgam district have also been dismissed after they were allegedly found involved in Anti-National Activities.
In the fresh round of terminations, Two sons of Sayed Salahuddin, Sayed Shakeel and Sayed Shahid are also among the employees terminated.
A policeman, Abdul Rashid Shigan, has also been terminated. A junior-level employee of J&K’s Health Department, an inspector in the power department and two more teachers are on the list.
Four terminated employees are from the Anantnag district while three are from Budgam and one each from Baramulla, Srinagar, Pulwama and Kupwara districts.
Jammu Kashmir administration has sacked 18 government employees using Article 311 of the constitution, in which no inquiry is required.
Article 311 of the constitution lists out the procedure for the “dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil capacities under the Union or a State” after holding an inquiry against them.
The article was not applicable to Jammu Kashmir until the Union government scrapped Article 370 in early August 2019.