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After rebel who became face of counterinsurgency, the son
Srinagar : He has a striking resemblance to his father and now is trying to claim his political legacy by contesting from Hajin on a Congress ticket.
The father, Kuka Parray, was a militant who would later transform into the face of counterinsurgency in the state; he went on to become an MLA before he was killed in 2003 in an ambush by suspected Hizb-ul militants. It was then that the son, Imtiaz, says he decided to be the one in the family to join politics. In 2010, he merged the Jammu and Kashmir Awami League, set up by his father, into the Congress.
On the campaign trail in Hajin, which goes to polls on December 14, Parray told The Indian Express about the problems the family faced after his father’s death. “No government in Kashmir took forward the policy of rehabilitation of surrendered militants and their families or even gave us adequate security. I had to give up my studies,” he said. “As far back as 2010, I was confident I would get the party ticket from Hajin and was already in campaign mode before my name was announced.”
Among Congress candidates, interestingly, there is another associate of Kuka Parray, who is contesting the adjoining Bandipora seat.
However, unlike the Parrays who wear the renegade tag on their sleeve, Usman Majid says it is unfair to call him a “surrendered” militant.
“It is all right if you describe me as an ex-militant since I was an active member of the Students’ Liberation Front but I was not forced to surrender. It was a spontaneous action and I was at the forefront along with Kuka Parray in setting up the J&K Awami League.’’
Majid recalls that he had joined the Congress in 2009, a year before Imtiaz Parray did. The two contestants have another thing in common: both are engaged in a tough contest against sitting MLAs, Imtiaz against National Conference minister Mohammad Akbar Lone and Usman against Nizamuddin Bhat of the PDP. There are several other candidates in the fray; as trader Shamir Ahmad Dar says, “It will be a difficult choice in the election. Minister Lone has done a lot of work in his constituency but Imtiaz Parray did a lot of work after the floods hit Hajin.”
Imtiaz scoffs at the suggestion that the BJP is making inroads in the Kashmir valley, or that it is the PDP that will benefit from anti-incumbency against the National Conference.” The BJP and the RSS have no base and no work culture in a state like Jammu and Kashmir. That is why they could not even find enough candidates to contest all seats. How can they win 44 seats?” He concedes, nonetheless, that the Congress will also “somewhat” feel the effect of anti-incumbency against the NC.
The father, Kuka Parray, was a militant who would later transform into the face of counterinsurgency in the state; he went on to become an MLA before he was killed in 2003 in an ambush by suspected Hizb-ul militants. It was then that the son, Imtiaz, says he decided to be the one in the family to join politics. In 2010, he merged the Jammu and Kashmir Awami League, set up by his father, into the Congress.
On the campaign trail in Hajin, which goes to polls on December 14, Parray told The Indian Express about the problems the family faced after his father’s death. “No government in Kashmir took forward the policy of rehabilitation of surrendered militants and their families or even gave us adequate security. I had to give up my studies,” he said. “As far back as 2010, I was confident I would get the party ticket from Hajin and was already in campaign mode before my name was announced.”
Among Congress candidates, interestingly, there is another associate of Kuka Parray, who is contesting the adjoining Bandipora seat.
However, unlike the Parrays who wear the renegade tag on their sleeve, Usman Majid says it is unfair to call him a “surrendered” militant.
“It is all right if you describe me as an ex-militant since I was an active member of the Students’ Liberation Front but I was not forced to surrender. It was a spontaneous action and I was at the forefront along with Kuka Parray in setting up the J&K Awami League.’’
Majid recalls that he had joined the Congress in 2009, a year before Imtiaz Parray did. The two contestants have another thing in common: both are engaged in a tough contest against sitting MLAs, Imtiaz against National Conference minister Mohammad Akbar Lone and Usman against Nizamuddin Bhat of the PDP. There are several other candidates in the fray; as trader Shamir Ahmad Dar says, “It will be a difficult choice in the election. Minister Lone has done a lot of work in his constituency but Imtiaz Parray did a lot of work after the floods hit Hajin.”
Imtiaz scoffs at the suggestion that the BJP is making inroads in the Kashmir valley, or that it is the PDP that will benefit from anti-incumbency against the National Conference.” The BJP and the RSS have no base and no work culture in a state like Jammu and Kashmir. That is why they could not even find enough candidates to contest all seats. How can they win 44 seats?” He concedes, nonetheless, that the Congress will also “somewhat” feel the effect of anti-incumbency against the NC.
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