Mohammad Ashraf Khan (23 March 19445 May 2021), chiefly known as Ashraf Sehrai or just as Sehrai, was a Kashmiri separatist leader and

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu Wa Kashmir ("Movement for Freedom Jammu and Kashmir") is a separatist political party founded by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. It was founded on 7 August 2004 after Geelani quit his former party Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir. Geelani f ...

, a Kashmiri separatist political party. He was elected chairman through a first-ever election conducted in the history of Hurriyat when

Syed Ali Shah Geelani Syed Ali Shah Geelani (1929–2021) was an Islamist, pro-Pakistan, Sumantra BoseSyed Ali Shah Geelani: The man who fought for Kashmir’s freedom BBC News, 2 September 2021. "First, he made it clear that although a proud Kashmiri, he consider ...

relinquished office due to his deteriorating health. He had also served as general secretary and deputy chairperson of

Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir The Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir or Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JIJK) is an Islamic political party based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is distinct from the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind. The organisation's stated position on the Kash ...

. He was later appointed the head of its political division.

Life and background

Sehrai was born in 1944 in Tekipora village of

Lolab Valley The Lolab Valley is a Himalayan valley located in union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The entrance to the valley lies east of Kupwara, and the centre of the valley lies northwest of Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. LOLAB i ...

Baramulla district Baramulla district or Varmul (in Kashmiri) is one of the 20 districts in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Baramulla town is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district covered an area of in 2001, but it w ...

(presently the village is part of the Kupwara district, separated from Baramulla in 1970s) of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

to Shams-ud-din Khan. His ancestors had migrated from areas now part of modern-day

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

to Jammu and Kashmir. He also had two elder brothers. One of them was Muhammad Yousuf Khan, one of the founders of Tehreek-e-Islami, who died in 2016. The other was Qamar-ud-din Khan, a renowned member of

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami ( ur, ) () is an Islamic movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamic theologian and socio-political philosopher, Syed Abul Ala Maududi.van der Veer P. and Munshi S. (eds.''Media, War, and Terrorism: Responses fro ...

in the Lolab area who died in 2009. As a student, he used to show interest in the religious and political discussions. He also had an interest in poems and literature, authoring writings as well as poems, most of which were published in "''Azaan''" and "''Tulu''" magazines. He started publishing ''Tulu'' in 1969 from

Sopore Sopore, known as Suyyapur in antiquity, is a city in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is north-west of Srinagar, and north-east from the city of Baramulla. Sopore Town has Asia's second largest fruit mandi (wholesale m ...

. Sehrai commissioned articles, took care of its design as well as printing and also wrote for the column called ''Safa-e-Pakistan'' which covered the events happening in Pakistan. He and

dedicated a special issue to

Allama Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

in which they both wrote lengthy columns against Kashmiri socialists and a writer called Ashia Bhat while also defending the magazine and

, after the magazine's claim of Iqbal not being a socialist led to a controversy. Sehrai completed his

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

in his hometown Tekipora and

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

Sogam Lolab Sogam Lolab is a municipality situated in the Lolab Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (unio ...

High School in 1959. After clearing his secondary examination, he moved to

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

where he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

) in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

. He was the father of six children, including four sons and two daughters. His sons are named Khalid Ashraf, Rashid Ashraf and Mujahid Ashraf. His youngest son Junaid Ashraf Khan became a militant in March 2018 by joining

Hizbul Mujahideen Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahideen ( ar, حزب المجاھدین, ), is an Islamism, Islamist militant organization operating in the Kashmir region. Its goal is to separate Kashmir Valley, Kashmir from India and merge it with ...

. Sehrai had stated that he never expected Junaid to become a militant, but would not request him to return. Junaid later became Hizbul's divisional commander, but was killed in an encounter with the

CRPF The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role lie ...

Jammu and Kashmir Police The Jammu and Kashmir Police or JKP is the law enforcement agency of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory). JKP was established in 1873 and has primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within Jammu and Kashmir in India. Hist ...

on 19 May 2020. Sehrai personally led his funeral prayers attended by about 300 people despite the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Political activities

Sehrai became an affiliate of

in 1959 after being encouraged to do so by his elder brother. He officially became a member as a "rukun" of

in 1960. Sehrai was jailed for the first time in 1965 over anti-government activities after he delivered a speech criticising

Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq __NOTOC__ Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq (1912 – 1971) was an Indian politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 1964 to 1965, when the position was renamed to Chief Minister. He continued as the Chief Minister till his ...

's government for repression of free speech and arrest of members of the Moh-e-Muqaddas Majlis-e-Amal. After he started focusing on the ''Tulu'' magazine, JeI cadres complained about him staying away from the activities of the organisation and the magazine was thus shut down in 1971. In August 2003, JeI removed Geelani from the position of head of its political bureau after he started having differences with the moderate wing of

All Parties Hurriyat Conference All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations formed on 9 March 1993, as a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri separatism in the Kashmir conflict. Mehmood Ahmed Sagh ...

, and appointed Sehrai in his place. He too was however sacked from the position in March 2004 and his membership was also suspended for consorting with Geelani. After the JeI expelled Geelani following the formation of his own

Hurriyat Conference All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) is an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organizations formed on 9 March 1993, as a united political front to raise the cause of Kashmiri separatism in the Kashmir conflict. Mehmood Ahmed Sagh ...

party due to opposition to a dialogue with the central Indian government, Sehrai also left the group and was appointed as the general secretary of the

in 2004 during its foundation. While his membership was later restored, the JeI again expelled him in 2006. Following the 2016–2017 Kashmir unrest, the

National Investigation Agency The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the primary counter-terrorist task force of India. The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written ...

published a report to address his involvement in issuing protest calendars and carrying out

anti-India Anti-Indian sentiment, also known as Indophobia or anti-Indianism, is a modern term referring to negative feelings and hatred towards the Republic of India, Indian people, and Indian culture. Indophobia is formally defined in the context of ant ...

activities. He was appointed as the acting chairman by the Majlis-e-Shoora of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat on 19 March 2018. Later, he was elected as the chairman for 3 years on 19 August by a margin of 410 votes out of a total of 433, in the first-ever Hurriyat election since Geelani stepped down.

Detentions

Sehrai spent over sixteen years in various jails during his career. He was first arrested on 13 March 1965 for speaking against the arrests by the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir

, who had ordered arrests of all those who participated in

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir Abdullah was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (later rena ...

's boycott call against the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

in Jammu and Kashmir. He was then subsequently jailed in

Central Jail Prisons, and their administration, is a state subject covered by item 4 under the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. The management and administration of prisons falls exclusively in the domain of the State governmen ...

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

for over twenty months. He was among the separatist leaders detained during the state-wide lockdown imposed after the revocation of special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Later in July 2020, he was arrested from Barzulla Baghat area of

by the Jammu and Kashmir Police under the

Public Safety Act The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA) is a preventive detention law under which a person is taken into custody to prevent them from acting harmfully against "the security of the state or the maintenance of the public order" in the ...

. He was imprisoned in the Kot Balwal jail in

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

. His family had submitted three applications to the high court requesting for his medical examination and treatment at

Government Medical College, Srinagar The Government Medical College, Srinagar (Urdu: , Kashmiri: ; also known as GMC Srinagar) is a government medical college and hospital located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It was established in 1959. It is the oldest medical college ...

after he started falling ill, however his son Rashid alleged that the judge delayed the review of the submitted requests until his health deteriorated in jail week before he died in May. The Jammu and Kashmir Prisons Department, according to ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'' wrote a letter to the Department of Home seeking for available resources in the jail for Sehrai's health condition, however jail officials didn't receive any reply to the submitted letter from the home department.

Death

Sehrai had been arrested under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act in July 2020 and had been serving his sentence in

Udhampur Udhampur (ˌʊd̪ʱəmpur) is a city and a municipal council in Udhampur district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters of Udhampur District. Named after Raja Udham Singh, it serves as the district capita ...

district jail. His health deteriorated on 4 May 2021 and he complained of breathlessness. He was subsequently admitted to the

Government Medical College, Jammu The Government Medical College, Jammu also known as GMC Jammu is a medical college located in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It was established in 1973. The college and hospital are approved and recognized by the Medical Council of India ...

and died on the next day in the hospital from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Sehrai's family alleged that he was "murdered" by the authorities, while the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association alleged that his death was a " custodial murder". Sehrai's body was handed over to his relatives in the evening of 5 May, after the completion of his autopsy. Only his family were allowed to attend his funeral on the next day, with his body being buried at his native village. His family alleged that they originally wanted to bury him at the "martyrs' graveyard" in Srinagar, but were forced to bury him in Tekipora by the police. His sons Mujahid and Rashid were arrested on 16 May for engaging in anti-India sloganeering at his funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sehrai, Ashraf Indian Islamists Kashmiri people Kashmir separatist movement 1944 births 2021 deaths Politics of Jammu and Kashmir People from Kupwara district Aligarh Muslim University alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India Prisoners who died in Indian detention

Life and background

Political activities

Detentions

Death

See also

References