Separatists call off strike in Valley due to Shivratri

Srinagar: The separatist leaders in Kashmir have called off their day-long strike on February 24 as the day coincides with the festival of Maha Shivratri, in much relief to the Pandit community living in the Valley.

A spokesman for the alliance of Kashmir’s key separatist leaders, which is spearheading what it calls its “resistance movement” in the Valley, said here on Monday that decision was taken to “facilitate a hassle-free Heerath (as Shivratri is known locally)”.

The alliance, which has Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik as its members, had last week issued a new 12-day “protest calendar” which said that keeping in view three-day strike observed in the previous week, no shutdown will be observed on Friday, February 17. It, however, also said that next day of strike would be Friday, February 24 “when peaceful protests will be held across the Valley”. It also called for protests and sit-ins by traders, transporters and lawyers for short durations on different days.

But after it was pointed out that Shivaratri falls on February 24 and that the alliance should reconsider the strike call for the day, its leaders “discussed the issue and decided to withdraw the call.

Shivratri is a festival of great significance for Kashmir’s Brahmin Hindus called Pandits. In the Valley, it is also known as Heerath which is the corrupt form of hairat, a Persian word meaning “utter surprise”. The term Heerath was coined during the Pathan rule in Kashmir.

The spokesman said, “There will be no strike on February 24 so that hassle-free celebrations are held’. In fact, it was a local Muslim journalist Majid Hyderi who on February 16 while addressing the alliance leadership through Facebook wrote on his timeline. “As a part of the protest calendar, hartal has been called on February 24, Friday. But the day coincides with the Maha Shivaratri, a revered festival of our Pandit brethren. It would be highly appreciated if you reconsider the decision and choose some other day for the strike. Just a humble suggestion!” The request was endorsed by many people and Shahid-ul-Islam, the spokesman of the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat Conference responded by saying “Noted and conveyed.”

However, the alliance’s decision to call a strike on February 24 without giving a thought to the fact that Shivaratri falls on the same day also evoked criticism within and outside the Valley.