Mehran Bhat/ Kounsar Bashir
Wearing mask and gloves, holding a nylon bag in one hand and a tiffin box in the other, Ghulam Mustafa Rather- aged around 55, enters a two-storey house, in the Padshahi Bagh area of Srinagar. His nephew, Mudasir, has been lodged in a nearby Police Station in the Srinagar district of Central Kashmir.
He does not like to participate in protests or does not even like noise, so he, along with some boys from the locality painted the face of a woman wearing the Palestinian flag for a headscarf, and wrote, ‘We Are Palestine’. Several other participants of the procession holding Palestinian flags stood near the Pro-Palestine graffiti and raised slogans against Israel.
Hours later, the police reached the neighbourhood and around 12:10 AM, a nocturnal raid was carried out after the images of the protest hit Kashmir’s social media platforms and soon went viral across the region. Massive protests had erupted following the Friday prayers against the ongoing aggression of Israel on Palestinians. The Pro-Palestinian demonstration was staged around the residence of Mudasir, a 32-year-old artist.
A local news agency, Global News Service, reported that at least twenty persons have been arrested in connection with pro-Palestine protest amid corona curfew here, in Srinagar. Earlier, the Inspector General of Jammu Kashmir Police for Kashmir range, Mr. Vijay Kumar said that the Police was “keeping a very close watch on elements who are attempting to leverage the unfortunate situation in Palestine to disturb public peace and order in the Kashmir valley.”
By evening, when we called, Mr. Mustafa had returned from the Police Station where Mudasir is being held. “We have not been informed of the charges yet. This was the second time in the day that I went to seek information on the charges under which Mudasir was being detained,” he told The Kashmiriyat.
A Gifted Artist
In Mudasir’s small room, his brother showcased his art. Mudasir, as per him, started painting at the age of 12. To pursue the art professionally, he studied Fine Arts at the University of Kashmir. He could paint anything, “If you stand here, he will sketch you within minutes, he is gifted.”
Mudasir’s brother also displayed his trunk full of certificates, which the whole family takes pride in. The 32-year-old artist, who mainly made his living by truck art and painting shop fronts, painted a face of a sobbing woman, wearing Palestine’s flag as the headscarf, and wrote: “We Are Palestine”.
Photo/ Mehran Bhat~ The Kashmiriyat”Mudasir has won several awards and is well renowned, he is often granted work by official departments including the Government Forces, we just fail to understand why should a budding talent be booked and then kept in a prison,” his uncle Ghulam Mustafa Rather told The Kashmiriyat.
There was no stone pelting or roadblocks, it was just a protest, he said, adding, “We are still fearful, his mother is totally worried, as the Police is also looking for his younger brother Salman, who has Anti-National charges registered against him.”
“It is a pressure tactic to silence Kashmiris on all fronts. The situation has been deteriorating after the abrogation of article 370,” he said. “Several boys have been picked up, instead of their relatives that the police were looking for. Such lawlessness has to stop and stop forever.”
Ghulam Mustafa told The Kashmiriyat that when the Police raided the locality they were told to not make any hue and cry and hand over the boys and that they don’t want any argument. “In the morning, we went to the Police Station, to enquire about the allegations against them but the Police informed us that it was upto the Station House Officer (SHO). We waited three hours to see him, but he did not turn up and then we left.”
A total of eight youth have been picked up from the Padshahi Bagh locality, according to him. Back at Mudasir’s house, there are no signs of calm, given the general fear of the Police raiding the house again for the younger brother Salman has gripped the inmates. Mudasir’s half-lit room lies empty with Mudasir’s art scattered all over the place. Inside the room, hung several hung picturesque paintings of rivers and Chinar trees around the Jehlum and various art genres. Other art pieces included wailing women, children. “Mudasir would often spend time sitting on the bridges of the city and sketch his beloved city on his canvas.”
Violating Lockdown
As the world gets divided into two broader fractions, amid the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestine over the illegal settlements in Sheikh Jarrah, Kashmir has cleared its historical stand to side with the people of Palestine. However, Mr. Mustafa feels it is not going well with the authorities. “Once India was a close ally of Palestinian people and now it has several deals including the Arms deal with Israel, so it does not want any resistance against Israel from anywhere in India.”
“Israel is killing innocent children in Palestine, they are killing women and old men who have done no crime, Israel is conducting a genocide of Palestinians and Kashmiris are being put behind bars for demanding an end to the ongoing bloodshed,” he said.
Mudasir, a 32-year old artist by profession, who painted the Pro-Palestine picture after being arrested was made to remove the same by police after his arrest. His family believes that Mudasir is a professional artist. “He is innocent, he only knows painting and nothing else.”
“CRPF, BSF has his record and they regularly come to his home, to make boards and even pick him up and drop him at times, he has been helpful to everyone, whosoever comes to seek his help in terms of the talent he has.”
Salman, his younger brother, has fled home and is also being searched as he has 2-3 cases already going on. We came to know in Police Station that Salman is being searched even he was not in protest in support of Palestine.
He said, “We have been hearing all kinds of rumours. Some say that Mudasir has been booked under PSA and I don’t know how much it is authentic.”
Two clerics from South Kashmir including Sarjan Barkati of the Reban area in Shopian were detained, on Saturday morning for defying the covid related restrictions on Eid ul Fitr and leading Eid Prayers in South Kashmir.
A police official posted in Saddar Police Station of Srinagar told The Kashmiriyat that, they do not know if the person has been booked under PSA or not. “We have no information about this.”
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Jammu Kashmir has said that the Police have a legal responsibility to ensure law and order as well. However, it wouldn’t allow cynical encashment of public anger to trigger violence, lawlessness and disorders on Kashmir streets. “Expressing an opinion is a freedom but engineering and inciting violence on streets is unlawful,” Mr.Vijay Kumar said.
Urging the people to cooperate, he said, “All responsible social media comments that result in actual violence and breaking of law including Covid-19 protocol will attract legal action.”