Basit fourth engineering student to turn militant, killed in gunfight

Massive protests in South Kashmir against 21-yr-old militant’s death

Basit Rasool Dar, Zakir Rashid, Masiullah Khan and Saifullah Ahangar had two common connections that define them: they were engineering students-turned-militants — one of them still is.
It is these young men, and others like them, who are serving as the local face of Kashmir’s militancy that in recent years has gained several hundred recruits.
On a foggy morning today, Dar became the latest name on the list of militants killed in gunfights with security forces. He was killed near Bijbehara town.
More than 140 militants, many of them locals, were killed in gunfights with security forces this year in the region, according to official figures. The profile of Dar, the latest militant to die, is defining the region’s new militancy as it becomes younger, lethal, self-sustaining and tech-savvy.
In his early twenties, Dar studied at a local university before becoming a militant. He was “very pious”, Dar’s cousin Suhaib Ashraf told Kashmir Post. “He was obedient and everyone in the family loved him. He was a hardcore Muslim,” he said in a text message.
Dar’s death in a brief gunfight quickly unravelled the pieces of his life. He was an engineering student. He had an account on social networking site Facebook where he posted pictures — picnicking at Manasbal lake, posing randomly, wrote few commentaries. He also wrote a blog, the last one a withering lamentation — “Yes, this is Kashmir”, published online on June 30, and he disappeared in autumn this year.
On his blog, Dar described himself. “I like painting, writing and exploring new things. I love my Kashmir and I start writing for Kashmir but then I start writing on other topics too,” he wrote.
The most defining moment in Dar’s life is also scripted. “No,” he wrote on Facebook on the evening of July 8 when militant commander Burhan Wani was killed sparking protests in the region, “I can’t believe it”. It was his last update on Facebook and weeks later he joined the militants.
Dar is the fourth engineering students in recent years to join militants whose numbers have swelled despite their cadres and commanders frequently dying in counter-insurgency operations.
Zakir Rashid, the militant who replaced Wani as commander in south Kashmir and as the voice and face of insurgency, is also a former engineering student. He was a second-year student of Bachelor of Technology at a college in Chandigarh, when he returned home and disappeared to become a militant.
Earlier, two other militants, Masiullah Khan and Saifullah Ahangar — both residents of Tral — had joined militant ranks and died in gunfights. Khan, who had completed a degree in mechanical engineering before becoming a militant, was killed in 2011 in a gunfight. Ahangar, who was a diploma student in civil engineering, was killed in 2013.

“As soon as the word about two more militants being trapped in the village spread, people came out of their houses and clashed with forces to help the militants escape,” reports said. They said forces lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
Protests and clashes were witnessed in other Bijbehara villages- Kanelwan, Hatigam and Srigufwara. Meanwhile, as soon as the word about the killing of Basit spread in his native village, people came out raising pro-freedom slogans and holding protest demonstrations. “People from several areas marched to the village to have his last glimpse,” witnesses said.
They said thousands of people participated in his funeral procession which was offered thrice. Hurriyat (G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani addressed the mourners telephonically, asking them to be resilient and safeguard the sacrifices.
Later, as per reports, clashes erupted in the village. Basit is survived by parents, two sisters, both post graduates. His elder brother, a B Tech pass-out, is working in a bank in New Delhi. Basit was an avid blogger. In his last entry on his blog page, Basit wrote in one of the paragraphs:
“What are you doing here?” He questioned. I was not able to understand what to say so I remained silent. Again he said but now with different tone “What are you doing here?”

I said, “I am just enjoying the creation of Almighty.”“Show me the identity card”, he asked but with the eyes turning red with anger. I asked myself, “What…?? For enjoying nature we need an identity card.” “What is identity card?”