In a major political turn of events, three more groups have formally dissociated themselves from the separatist Hurriyat Conference and committed themselves to the Constitution of India.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is presently on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, tweeted the news on X. He wrote, "Three more organizations, that is, Jammu Kashmir Islamic Political Party, Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Democratic League, and Kashmir Freedom Front, distance themselves from the Hurriyat. It is a shining reflection of people's faith in the Constitution of India in the valley."
He also added, "Modi Ji's vision of an integrated and strong Bharat is even more strengthened today, as till now 11 such organizations have rejected separatism, declaring unflinching support for it."
This transformation is a remarkable deviation from past trends when Hurriyat-led appeals would result in mass shutdowns on the occasion of central leaders' visits. In contrast to such periods, the present visit by Home Minister Shah is characterized by previous separatist groups openly rejecting Hurriyat and adopting the Indian constitutional setup.
Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Movement (JKPDM) and the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM) had also announced their break-up with the Hurriyat and their allegiance to the Indian Constitution.
The Hurriyat Conference, which was founded in 1993, was initially created to give a political face to armed militancy. It once had 26 varied organisations—ranging from political and religious groups to social and legal associations, including the association of government employees and the J&K High Court Bar Association.
Internal splits in 2003 led to a split within the Hurriyat Conference—one group under hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and another by moderate Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. The coalition practically ceased to function after Article 370 was abrogated on August 5, 2019.
Ever since, the signature activities of the Hurriyat—provoking anti-national demonstrations, planning stone pelting attacks, and issuing shutdown calls on national days or VIP arrivals—have stopped.
Most notably, stone pelting, a pervasive and troublesome law and order problem in the state in the past, has not been seen at all since the constitutional change in 2019.
Read also| During Amit Shah’s Kashmir Tour, Another Hurriyat Leader Steps Down
