A tomb stone for Kashmiri separatist, Afzal Guru (L), is seen at the Martyrs Graveyard in Srinagar on February 12, 2013. PHOTO: AFP
NEW DEHLI: The family of a Kashmiri separatist who was executed at the weekend has rejected an offer by Indian authorities to pray at his graveside inside a prison, insisting the body be buried in his home state.
Home Secretary RK Singh made the offer Tuesday and said that the belongings of Mohammed Afzal Guru, an Indian Muslim who was executed and buried at Tihar Jail on Saturday, would be handed over to his family members.
"We have no problem if the immediate family of Afzal Guru wants to come and offer prayers at his grave in Tihar jail. Belongings of Afzal will be returned to the family," Singh told reporters in Delhi.
However a relative of Guru said that the family had no intention of visiting his grave, insisting that the body be brought back to Indian Kashmir.
"As Muslims we can pray for Afzal from here," the separatist's cousin Yasin Guru told AFP from the family's hometown of Sopore in the Kashmir Valley.
"We will go to Tihar only if the government of India is kind enough to hand us his body for burial here."
The announcement comes amid criticism of the government for failing to inform the family about the execution before he went to the gallows.
A letter sent from the government announcing that his mercy plea had been rejected only arrived at the family's home on Monday morning.
Indian Kashmir's Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, normally an ally of the government, has been among those criticising the handling of the execution, saying he found it "very difficult" to reconcile himself to the fact that Guru was not given the opportunity to see his family for the last time.
Guru was convicted of helping a group of militants plot an 2001 attack on the Indian parliament which left 10 people dead.
He always maintained his innocence and many of his supporters accused police of framing evidence against him in the case.
A curfew has been in place since Saturday throughout much of Indian Kashmir.
There have also been protests on the Pakistani side of the de facto border which cuts through the disputed region, known as the Line of Control.
A burial plot, complete with a headstone, has been prepared for Guru in the so-called 'Martyrs' Graveyard' in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The inscription reads: "His mortal remains are lying in trust with the government of India, the Kashmiri nation awaits its return," according to an AFP photographer who has seen the tombstone.
COMMENTS (74)
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@TaxRider
'Remember, it is the perception that matters, not the facts.
Words of wisdom. People who are in a position of strength could scarcely fathom the idea. With all the 'usefull' facts at his side, one can win a debate, but still can lose his audience. In the battle of perceptions facts are often, and sometime sadly unintended casualties of the conflict.
@ Ghaznavi - "World’s Largest Democracy is scared of a dead freedom fighter that "
Anybody in their right senses would be scared of these beasts and we rightly are. When are you going to be scared of the beasts running amok in your land and get rid of them. Remember Andy Grove's (Intel CEO) statement - Only the paranoid survive. Be scared, else you'll be devoured....
World's Largest Democracy is scared of a dead freedom fighter that it killed in a judicial murder and is not even giving his dead body to his relatives....?
@aman: Aman with due Respect as far as i know he wasn't directly involved nor he is given proper right to defend him self , and as you mentioned that if he was involved in Attack on Pakistani Parliament? i would be the most happy person if he ever attacked on Pakistani Parliament and helped us to get rid of these crook Politicians in one short , But Indian Govt proved that they are so narrow minded that when its comes to Serbjeet singh they are begging Pakistan not to sentence him for death who actually was involved and caught red handed just because he isnt Muslim , Afzal was a Muslim and freedom Fighter and an Indian citizen but no mercy for him from his own people ? for Birtish Raj Bhagat Singh was terrorist but for India a Hero a Freedom Fighter and India always proud of its freedom fighters , same for Kashmiri's Afzal is a Hero a freedom fighter and here India is acting as British raj who calling him terrorist and punished him, Dont Forget my Friend our Elder fought together for freedom again British Raj its took them 200 years to free India and Pakistan , Eventually one day Kashmir has to be free no matter what ever India Do its gonna happen my friend if not in our lives maybe after 100 years but history proven once local get united on some cause invaders has no choice but to leave even its takes 200 years :) i salute to every Martyrs of Kashmir , Best Regards
@gp65 I am no fan of militancy and I did not know of Guru till I heard the news of his execution. India could have done better than by making him larger than what he probably was. By releasing his remains, India would have sent a message that they did not consider him to be any more than any other criminal and that India is not scared of making difficult ethical and moral decisions even when its enemies are not. But by resorting to the tactics used by its Imperialist masters to extinguish the flame of resistance and freedom, they may have done just the opposite and reinforced the perception in the minds of many that India is occupying Kashmir rather than defending it from external aggression. So, inadvertantly, Guru may just have been raised to the level of Bhagat Singh if not Gandhi by grant him the status the occupationist normally resevered for freedom fighters. Remember, it is the perception that matters, not the facts
Should follow US practice of 'Sea Burial' for all terorrists
A terrorist treated like one. They had no remorse when killing innocents. Now they want full state honors. Lol. i dont know the fuss about people talking non sense here. It was not govts wish to not to inform the family and kill him overnight. They have done fair proceedings unlike our rogue neighbour. He was found to be guilty and hanged. Governments intentions to keep the law and order in J and K was right and not informing is understood. After all, Kashmiri people are very much peace loving (read it with laughter), they would have killed dozens more for a terrorist.
@TraxRider: "@Foolitics One man’s Gandhi is another man’s Guru"
Except Gandhi was non-violent Guru was not. Even other people like Bhagat Singh or GEroge Washington may have been though t of as militant but where they differed from the likes of Guru is that they did not kill innocent civilians. They fought and fought fair and they did not make mercy petitions like cowards.
@Javed Afridi: "Poor Indians …. Even afraid of a martyred mujahid." Yeah...We are quaking in our boots. Yes, all 1.2 Billion of us, give or take a hundred or two million!
@Sanjay: The family was not notified because otherwise riots would have been organized to prevent the execution. Did Nay Seal 6 notify Pakistan before May 2? Afzal ulike OBL got the due process of law. HE was owed no more and no less.
@raj786: Thanks for the info. Did not know this.
"Even though Guru was dead and gone, the commentators in the studios and the thugs on the streets seemed, like cowards who hunt in packs, to need each other to keep their courage up. Perhaps because, deep inside, themselves they knew they had colluded in doing something terribly wrong"
Full article at below link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/10/hanging-afzal-guru-india-democracy
well ,any government will try its best to suppress all kind of insurrection,as challenge to the govt writ is not acceptable to any state,ttp ,baloch separatist movement ,etc are the example.but latter paradigms are contrary to the Kashmir uprising ,as balochistan accession to pakistan was by referendum not by force,there was no covert operation as it happened in kashmir's case,it is also imprtant to mention here that ttp are terrorist fraternity ,not a noble cause by any mean.so let the innocent kashmiries to decide their future.which is already in demand by un resolution.
@Raj - USA: for 3rd point. He has been asked to meet any one as his last wish
He said no.
@Mani: You have a point there and I see your point. India should not follow the precedents set by military dictators.
My views are: (1) Afzal Guru's trial and sentencing were correct. (2) His hanging is also correct as he attacked the Parliament and lives were lost. (3) Not allowing his relatives to meet him before his hanging was not correct or justified. I have said so earlier in this same column. (4) His body should not be handed over to anyone. This is correct. No government should knowingly do anything which it knows will only cause more violence and bloodshed.
@Mani: Such behaviour from a democratic country, a member of UN is shameful. If this were done by the Pakistani state I would still condemn it. Prove it by uttering one word in the public in Pakistan against Hafiz Saeed... AND I SAY IT AGAIN ONE WORD.....
Great Baghat Singh and Guru have many things in common. He too was hanged by accupational regimes in same cowardly manner and his body was never handed over to his family and cremated in pith dark night.
@dasmir: Dear as i told u we r nt perfect day by day we r improving.
Those things u r talking abt its realy same for us. It happned once now we r fine there is no problem.
U can see our improvment on decade basis.
The day we will be 100 % littrate thease problem will be finished in one go.
@Aryabhat:
Atleast the pakistan supreme court does have the guts to reprimand the pak army...when did the honble spreme court of india ever talk about the exceeses by security forces in kashmir....what a great banana republicc...btw i am a kashmiri...and i havent even started yet.
@Author: A biased article just to keep the flame ignited for Kashmir and thats exactly what westerners want. After 1947, due to insurgents Kashmir was in flames, but after UN ceasefire it halted in 1948. Article 123, 124 and 126 of UN resolution depicts that Kashmir dispute should be resolved by common mandate of Kashmiris. People chose to remain in both sides of LOC as they pleased. Unsuccessful regression happened again in 1965 followed by 1971 (Birth of Bangladesh) and Shimla Agreement. After that there has been a constant flux of funded militants to infiltrate the Indian side of Kashmir to ignite the flames so as to keep the issue alive at the international level. It also helps to divert the other core issues of Pakistan. Fact is after the de-facto border both states are responsible for their sides. One cannot hold/divide the boundaries based on only religion. Time has seen civilisations or for that matter religion has flourished only where there is peace and prosperity. People are beginning to realize this fact and are accepting it lately. Foul cries/militancy/funded covert operations cannot resolve this matter. Possible alternate is to mark a proper permanent border along the LOC to stop the infiltrations, let each side of people decide where they want to remain, for the generations to follow to breathe and prosper in peace.
If Pakistan has any issues in hanging Afzal Guru then it need to speak to Indian government.
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Aman Ki Asha Aman Ki Asha
Pakistan is an Islamic country ruled according to Sharia.
@Raj - USA: Akbar Bughti was killed by a dictator and he stands condemned for this brutality. The SC of Pakistan has issued warrants for his arrest, yet he has visited India, who has not honoured the judgement of our SC. So was Zia ul Haq a dictator. DOES INDIA WANT TO FOLOW THE PRECEDENTS SET BY TIN POT MILITARY DICTATORS INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLES BY OTHER CIVILISED DEMOCRATIC NATIONS.
@Manju: It is against all norms of decency, moral values, universal humane consideration not to allow the family last visiting rights to a family of a condemned prisoner and than refuse to hand over his mortal remains to next of kin for burial in accordance with deceased religious beliefs. Such behaviour from a democratic country, a member of UN is shameful. If this were done by the Pakistani state I would still condemn it.
why Indian govt. affraid of grave of Afzal gru ,its proven no justice done in this case
@raj786: A country sets its own moral standards and strives to live upto it.If India is in competetion with Pakistan in the matter of democracy or judicial independance then it is a sad day. But read how Rajiv Gandhi dealth with killers of his mother. At least that standard MMS should have met. But then what do you expect from a selected PM? In US ,the federal gov sent a tank t6o escort a black girl to all white school in southern white racist state.That is called courage against what is right and not what is wrong but popular! But you won't understand!Pity!
@raj786: Please write in expanded form its very difficult to read by others.
@Javed Afridi: R u from kabaili ilaka ? Waziristan
@Rohit Secular: Don't expect Pakistan to become secular,Pakistan's official name is "Islamic Republic of Pakistan".Pakistan is a Islamic theocratic state.
I am seeing lot of hindu muslim comment here.When pakistanis will become secular. .When pakistanis will come above Hindu muslim sikh christian differentiation. All are same. Please understand the basics of humanity.
@dasmir: Yawn!
@Sanjay: I agree with you on this. Afzal Guru should have been allowed to meet his family before the hanging. After the meeting, the Indian Government could have kept his family members in seclusion till the hanging so that they do not spread any violence or riots. Who knows? Afzal Guru may himself would have advised his family to maintain peace. This is a bad decision by the Indian Government. However, not handing over his body to his family is a good decision.
Forget guru we need justice for sheikh's body first...
Indian government will hand over the body if he is a normal accused. But Guru is a terrorist. Guru's family will built a memorial which will help separatists to initiate separating process. Then unnecessarily our army will destroy them.
Poor Indians .... Even afraid of a martyred mujahid.
@dasmir: Dear we are not perfect even though worlds appriciate our democrecy.
Thi nk abt urs...
Waiting for ur reply
Indian here - I feel Indian govt made a mess of this issue. Indian govt must have informed the family before hanging this man, Indian Govt must hand over the body to his family. I am sad that Indian Govt is acting so cowardly here ... Since SC of India declared the man to be hanged to death ..I do not think GOI had much political capital to pardon his act but it should have respected this man's last wishes!
@Foolitics One man's Gandhi is another man's Guru
@Hina "It’s not “Indian Kashmir” it’s “Indian occupied Kashmir”. Please proof read articles before publishing it." Although I agree with your above-quoted statement and respect your sentiments but it also reminds me of an old but still very relevant adage, "the possession is nine-tenths of the law" so we must reconcile with this fact that part of Kashmir under their occupation is theirs while the part we occupy is ours.
@Poetic license: World renowned indian authoress has criticised indian Govt and judiciary for unjustly hanging Afzal Guru. I did not even read the link what you pasted. But in all likelihood it should be written by Ms. Arundhati Roy. THE DAY I DECIDE TO HAVE A MAN BOOKER PRIZE AND A NOBEL PRIZE DECORATING IN MY SHOWCASE INSTEAD OF SETTLING ISSUES IN MY COUNTRY I WILL GO THE BEGET'S WAY....
Now its time for Dalinder modi to be hanged for crimes against minorities. Ehsan Jaafri, a secular intellectual, a poet, a man who had gone beyond identity politics, whose fair name was identified more by his calling in life than religion, was killed in the most despicable, medieval and barbaric manner during the Gulbarga Society riots? His RSS-VHP-communal murderers clasped a sansda (a collar used to clutch a dog’s neck) around his neck; he was paraded around in this condition; he was dragged mercilessly; first his hands were chopped off; then legs; he was cut into pieces — imagine something that horrible happening to someone’s father or mother or anyoneHow Bilqis Bano’s daughter was snatched from her hands, flung against a rock, killed, and the pregnant woman raped repeatedly; how Zahira Sheikh survived the grisly burning of the Best Bakery in which her family was roasted alive; how limbs of children were hacked and little boys flung to their death in Naroda Patiya; how Ehsaan Jafri begged for the life of those who had sought his protection in Gulberg Society; how his widow Zakia Jafri still fights for justice and says her husband called the CM’s residence for help. The photograph of Qutubuddin Ansari begging for his life epitomises the plight of an entire community in Gujarat. We must thank the wife and children of Ehsan Jaafri for not demanding the public execution of Narendra Modi, who personally supervised what happened to Ehsan Jaafri. What happened was not at all communal riot but an organized carnage, some calling it even genocide. It was not fight between two communities but well-organised attack by a section of majority community with full help from entire state machinery. Gujarat genocide of Muslims by active complicity of the radical Hindu BJP state government and fanatic Hindu Saffronite militias patronized by it remains the single biggest act of state terror in India’s post independence era. It did not just begin or end with the violence. It has now extended to destruction of evidence, the faulty registration of criminal complaints, the deliberate exclusion of powerful accused and, worst of all, the utter and complete subversion of the criminal justice system by appointment of prosecutors who are lapdogs of the radical Hindu ruling party and its affiliates. The extremist Hindu communal mass killers accused of multiple rapes and murders continue to roam free under state protection.
@raj786: Then don't beat your drum as being a secular democratic country with an independent Judiciary! Accept that yours is a banana republic that soes selective killing of her own citizen for political purposes.
Who cares for the family of the terrorists !! Crush the terrorists... as simple as that... Off late Indian govt has shown some spine to tackle these scums..
@dasmir: AFZAL wad an indian what to do u with
U just support to them who os against the INDIA
for u osama bon laden is also innocent. Bcas of this attitude u r suffering
@Ahmed: "Even the British let the families have the body." Sir it seems from your comments that you have hardly any sense of history. Where do think the Indians have leaned from? The British had not handed over the bodies of Bhagat Singh and two others who were hanged along with him to their relatives. Afzal Guru is not an exception the bodies of all the Sikhs executed both in Indira Gandhi and General Vaidya murder cases were not handed over to their relatives. Afzal Guru's crime was not being a Muslim but being an accessory to a terrorist act.
@Gratgy: So,you kill a person not beacause the evidence against him is not "Circumstantial"but beyond reasonable doubt and is the rarest of rare case- Afzal Guru? No. He must die so that rightwing Hindu vote could be tilted away from Modi.Muslims of J&K,Punjab,UP,Bihar,West Bengal,MP,Chattisgarh,Orissa,AP,karnataka,Kerala is anyway not going to vote. Therefore Afzal guru must be murdered so that Shinde may have some legitimacy. If gov of India has courage then let her execute Rajiv gandhi and Beant Singh's murderer. I am betting my last khota indian sikka that this is not going to happen.Because Gov of India is Coward.
World renowned indian authoress has criticised indian Govt and judiciary for unjustly hanging Afzal Guru.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/10/hanging-afzal-guru-india-democracy
Indian government is incompetent. They should have dumped him into the ocean like it was done to bin laden. Whiners will always whine. They will find a new reason to whine even if you give them this guys body.
Hmmm...His family has no shame. By the tone of their demands, you may think that their son was Gandhi and not a terrorist.
@roadkashehzada
the court which is supposed to be higher than government said in its judgement “”The collective conscience of the society will be satisfied only if the death penalty is awarded to Afzal Guru,”
Rubbish! Read the entire Judgement. Picking and posting incomplete sentences to cause confusion eh?
Please read the entire judgement
"In its judgement dated August 4, 2005, the apex court had observed, "The gravity of the crime conceived by the conspirators with the potential of causing enormous casualties and dislocating the functioning of the Government as well as disrupting normal life of the people of India is some thing which cannot be described in words. The incident, which resulted in heavy casualties, had shaken the entire nation and the collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if the capital punishment is awarded to the offender. The challenge to the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India by these acts of terrorists and conspirators, can only be compensated by giving the maximum punishment to the person who is proved to be the conspirator in this treacherous act. The appellant, who is a surrendered militant and who was bent upon repeating the acts of treason against the nation, is a menace to the society and his life should become extinct. Accordingly, we uphold the death sentence.""
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TOP-full-text-of-sc-judgement-on-afzal-guru-4175069-NOR.html
"The inscription reads: “His mortal remains are lying in trust with the government of India,..." There they shall remain for all time to come. His mentor's (Maqbool Butt's) body remains in the same compound. If the latter body was not sent to Kashmir, why make a big deal about this body? @ahmed: "It is time for Kashmiri to rise up against this genocidal government and demand their rights." And, the world thought you had already risen!
@Hina: Dear why should v occupy KASHMIR when its our own.we have occupied ur JUNAGARH get ur fact right. U dont fight for that even nizam of JUNAGARH singned for merging in pak. N kashmir raja signed for india did u know
@roadkashehzada: May be that was the actual reason for anouncing this punishment for him.( As happendin most of the cases)
I was under the impression that it was Guru's family that had requested Indian Govt to offer prayers at his grave. This is what media reported earlier. Even home minister said that govt was considering family's request. Personally I think govt should have allowed him meet family before execution. In this era of mobile & Internet instead of intimating family by speed post a mobile call should have been made along with the official letter. If meeting with the family looked unfeasible by any logic a video conference should have been used.
nobody cares about the pundits?
@aman: But he didn't. Try looking at the figures of Indian atrocities in Kashmir. They have destroyed not only thousands of human lives, but also the environment. Kashmir was considered a paradise before Kashmiri occupation by Indian forces, but now all it's beauty is gone.
@ahmed: Nawab Akbar Bugti's body is still locked up and no one even knows where he has been buried. Bhutto hanged and his body......... Where is it? Yes, muslims get better treatment in Pakistan. Bugti is not a muslim according to Pakistan. So, it is OK what was done to him. Same goes to Bhutto also.
It's not "Indian Kashmir" it's "Indian occupied Kashmir". Please proof read articles before publishing it.
@roadkashehzada: Dear decision was nt taken to satisfy the crowd. If it was as u think then decision has been taken long back why we should wait for 14 yrs. Thats mean proper justice has been done and guru got enough time to prove homself
At no cost should Afzal Guru's body be buried in Kashmir.
Terrorist will turn it into a Dargah!!
@Stranger: and all above advocating his execution the court which is supposed to be higher than government said in its judgement ""The collective conscience of the society will be satisfied only if the death penalty is awarded to Afzal Guru," i dont know if he a terrorist or not but look at the judgement and think. he was killed to satisfy a crowd
@dasmir: u cant feel the pain when some attack on ur democrecy. Bcas u havnt seen it.
Even any one(..) attacked ur parliament we gonna apeal for same punishment
Terrorist is a terrorist but a little humanity would hurt no one from the government. Thank you
if they want to visit, they can and clearly they don't want to. what's the big issue here?
Govt of India is guilty of murdering an innocent Indian.Let everyone who thinks that Afzal Guru was murdered give handful of earth for his eternal sleep.I believe that Afzal Guru will become Bhagat Singh of an Independent kashmir either today or one hundred years later.
If Afzal had done the same atatck on Pakistani parliment. whould have you been given the same response?
Compare Afzal and his family's treatment with those missing in Balochistan and KP (whose graves are not found) even after repeated orders and criticism by CJI!
@ahmed: Indian government is worst then any apartheid regime. Try telling this to the Bangladeshis....
@ahmed: Pak gov is the best now happy. ;-)
Afzal Guru's family snubs India's offer to visit jail grave The tone of the caption in some way appears as justifying the attack on the Indian parliament... I guess the TTP is then justified in doing what it is doing to Pakistan and its establishment including the attacks on the Mehran base etc etc... Should Indian media sympathize with TTP??
Indian government is worst then any apartheid regime. Even the British let the families have the body. In this case Guru, his only crime being a Muslim is buried in Jail? How many Hindu prisoners are subjective to this treatment ....none. It is time for Kashmiri to rise up against this genocidal government and demand their rights.