Kashmiri families say the Indian government does not want large funerals of fallen rebels, so the state buried their kin without telling them, using the coronavirus as an excuse
From his hiding place, Asif Ahmad Dar, a Kashmiri insurgent, called his brother Raafi Ahmad before dawn on Friday.
At 7am, while the two besieged rebels were engaged in a gunfight with the Indian forces, the family called a local police officer and informed him about Asif’s call. But for the first time in the history of the insurgency, local families have been denied the body of their kin. “The government can limit the number of people at the funeral if social distancing is its priority but they cannot tell a family that it is not your son,” he added.
Malik’s body, intact, was handed to the family only at around 8pm, although the four rebels were reportedly killed at about 7.45am. Throughout the day, people from neighbouring villages thronged Arwani to participate in Malik’s funeral. If Indian forces stopped them on thoroughfares they would take long detours through fields or even cross nearly overflowing streams.
Malik’s family initially decided to defer the funeral to the next day. As it was getting late, people from other areas started leaving. Ashraf said they planned to return tomorrow to attend the funeral. But the family changed its mind, Ashraf said, after receiving a call from government officials who insisted on an immediate burial. There is no greater refutation of the Indian government’s claims on Kashmir militancy than big funerals of militants, even the ones who are not Kashmiris.
“These days the muezzin and a couple of people enter the mosque. Even on Fridays, we hardly have one or two rows of people. But people still turn up in hundreds for the funeral of mujahideen [militants],” he said.learnt that big gatherings were seen during the last rites of the other three militants in their native areas, where many outraged mourners clashed with the police. A few were injured.Militants’ funerals are an intense affair.
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