Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, Veteran Kashmiri Separatist Leader, Passes Away At 90
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in a post on 'X' said, "I’m saddened to hear about the demise of senior Kashmiri political leader & academician Professor Abdul Gani Bhat Sb. Our political ideologies were poles apart but I will always remember him as a very civil person."
SRINAGAR: Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat, a former senior leader of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, passed away at 90 on Wednesday evening at his family home in Botingoo outside Sopore in northwest Kashmir.
The family sources said that he had been ailing for some time, and while his passing, said that funeral details would be shared later.
Born in 1935 in Botingoo, Bhat was an academic-turned-separatist leader who played a significant role in Kashmir’s complex political landscape. He studied at Srinagar 's famed Sri Pratap College, earning degrees in Persian, Economics, and Political Science, followed by a postgraduate degree in Persian and a law degree from Aligarh Muslim University.
Bhat taught Persian at Government Degree College in Poonch for over 20 years until his dismissal in 1986 on “security grounds” due to his political activities by the then J&K Governor Jagmohan Malhotra's administration.
In 1986, Bhat co-founded the Muslim United Front (MUF), a coalition that contested the 1987 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, which were widely criticized for electoral rigging. The MUF’s defeat marked a turning point in Kashmir’s political history, leading to Bhat’s arrest and months in jail.
He later revived the region's oldest political party the Muslim Conference, Jammu and Kashmir (MCJK) which was banned by the Home Ministry in 2019 after declaring it as an "unlawful association" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)Act, 1967.
Bhat was also a founding member of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in 1993, eventually serving as its chairman.
In 2004, Bhat joined an APHC delegation to meet Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh to discuss the Kashmir issue. After the 2016–2017 Kashmir unrest, he distanced himself from street protests and criticised the Hurriyat’s shutdown calendars, advocating for alternative conflict-resolution strategies.
In 2017, he was removed as MCJK president following reported disagreements over his meeting with Centre’s interlocutor, Dineshwar Sharma.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, incumbent Hurriyat Conference chairman and Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric, expressed his grief on 'X', calling Bhat an “affectionate elder, dear friend, and colleague” and a “sincere and visionary leader.” He prayed for Bhat’s soul to be granted the highest place in Jannah, noting the profound loss to Kashmir." End it
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in a post on 'X' said, "I’m saddened to hear about the demise of senior Kashmiri political leader & academician Professor Abdul Gani Bhat Sb. Our political ideologies were poles apart but I will always remember him as a very civil person."
Abdullah added, "He had the courage to espouse the cause of dialogue when many believed violence was the only way forward and this resulted in him meeting the then PM Vajpayee ji & Deputy PM Advani ji.
May Professor Bhat sb find place in Jannat. My condolences to his family & loved ones".
