Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the man whose heart belonged to Pakistan

Syed Ali Shah Geelani was the eternal hartal man of Kashmir bringing the Valley to a halt on anything he deemed fit. He was an advocate for a harsher version of Islam.

“It is absolutely true that the Muslims are a complete separate nation on the basis of their religion, culture, civilisation, customs and practices, and thought. Their nationalism and the foundation of their unity cannot be based on their homeland, race, language, colour or economic system. Rather, the basis of their unity is Islam and Islam alone, and their belief that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's prophet.” Hurriyat Conference’s lifetime chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who died on Wednesday night, wrote this in a letter written to then Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in 1994. And this remained the crux of his argument for Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan.