‘Azadi’ can wait but central university cannot: Hurriyat chief

Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani is now championing a different cause in Kashmir.

For the first time, Geelani has batted for any developmental issue favouring the establishment of a Central University (CU) in his hometown Sopore, 55 km from Srinagar.

“Sopore is an ideal place for the CU because the township is the center of three districts of north Kashmir. It would have benefited the people of all the three districts — Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora”, said Geelani.

The 80-year-old Hurriyat hawk returned to Kashmir on Thursday after receiving medical treatment in New Delhi for three months. “Ganderbal is very close to the University of Kashmir and having a CU there will not serve any purpose. Sopore was best suited for the CU,” he said.

The location of CU in Kashmir is snowballing into major controversy with Sopore up in arms against the proposal of shifting it to Ganderbal, the constituency of chief minister Omar Abdullah.  The row has erupted even after Jammu and Kashmir government doused the regional flames by getting two CUs, one for Jammu and another for Kashmir.

Sopore has been the center of separatist struggle in Kashmir. From top militants to top separatist leaders, the town has a history of anti-India sentiment. In 1987 controversial polls, Geelani won from this seat on Muslim United Front (MUF) ticket with thumping majority.

Such is the separatist sentiment that despite countryside witnessing brisk polling in the elections, this town has stood out from the democratic exercise akin to Srinagar.  In 2008 assembly polls, Sopore recorded only 19.96 per cent of polling. And four months later the percentage further dropped when only 12 per cent of people exercised their franchise in Sopore during the Lok Sabha polls.

"We are consulting the people in Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in order to fight jointly for the CU. There was 10,000 kanals of land available in Sopore where the CU could have been set up", said Ghulam Nabi Khan president Traders Federation Sopore (TFS), who first raised the voice for setting up of Central University (CU) in the township.

Khan said they would also be meeting the north Kashmir MLAs irrespective of their party lines to mount pressure on the government for setting up the CU in Sopore. "We shall be meeting all the MLAs of north Kashmir and solicit their support for setting up the CU in Sopore", he said.