Jammu and Kashmir Elections: Why has Hezbollah chief Nazrallah's death sparked protests in Valley?

Kashmiri Shia Muslim protesters in Budgam district of Central Kashmir, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (PTI Photo)

The killing of Hezbollah supremo Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon has set off a massive stir in Jammu and Kashmir, where elections are underway after a decade-long gap. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Kashmir Valley districts over the killing holding up pictures of the Lebanese leader.

As slogans and banners denouncing Israel and the United States reverberated in the streets of Muslim-dominated Kashmir, top politicians in the state, including former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference called off their poll campaign which drew to a close on Sunday evening.

Mufti, Abdullah denounce Hezbollah chief’s killing

On Saturday evening, Mufti took to her social media handle on X to announce that she was calling off her campaign for the elections in solidarity with the “martyrs of Lebanon and Gaza especially Hassan Nasrallah”.

“We stand with the people of Palestine and Lebanon in this hour of immense grief and exemplary resistance,” she wrote on X.

Her daughter, Iltija Mufti, who is making her debut in electoral politics from the Bijbehara constituency, defended the protests that have rocked Kashmir for two days now. Nasrallah ‘sahab”, she said, had fought hard for the rights of Palestinians, she said.

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah also ended Israel’s actions. “JKNC VP Omar Abdullah condemns the actions of Israel and calls for world support to end the ongoing massacre of innocent people in Gaza and Lebanon,” the National Conference posted on its official account on X.

Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, Member of Parliament from Kashmir, who was canvassing for National Conference party candidates, also suspended his campaign. “The Muslim ummah is in grief now so that’s why I ended the election campaign,” he wrote on X.

Why are NC, PDP protesting against Hassan Nazrallah’s killing?

Nasrallah, who led the Hezbollah for over three decades, was killed in an air attack by Israeli forces in Lebanon, Hezbollah confirmed late Saturday afternoon. A revered figure among the Shia community across the world, Kashmiri Muslims, particularly the Shias, see him as a “symbol of resistance”.

Muslims in Kashmir have traditionally sided with Palestine in its decades-long conflict with Israel. While India remained largely neutral in articulating its stand on the matter, the ascent of the BJP and the Narendra Modi government in power changed these equations as the world and Indians began viewing the nation as close to Israel.

This also had an impact on the voters in Kashmir who are believed to have mixed feelings about the government’s 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and turning it into a union territory following its bifurcation.

It is this sentiment against the BJP, a key stakeholder in the electoral process in the erstwhile state, that the PDP and NC would like to capitalise on in the fifth and final phase of the elections due to be held on October 1.

“This protest is not just for our dear leader Hassan Nasrallah but also for the oppressed people of Palestine, for Lebanon and for everyone suffering at the hands of oppressors, particularly Israel. Kashmir has always stood for justice for the Palestinian people and will continue to do so, despite the fear and injustice we face ourselves. We cannot be silenced forever,” a protester in Kashmir was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

BJP hits back at Mehbooba Mufti?

The Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, has accused Mufti and others of shedding crocodile tears for the slain Hezbollah leader. “By cancelling her campaigning, she has shown she is shedding tears over the death of terrorists. It is her habit to call terrorists martyrs. She had similarly wept for Burhan Wani some time back," said BJP spokesperson RP Singh, terming the former CM’s decision as vote-bank politics.

Former Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta also condemned Mehbooba's stance, asking, "What problem does Mehbooba Mufti have with the death of terrorist Nasrallah? When Hindus are killed in Bangladesh and Pakistan, they maintain grave silence."

"Those who attacked Israel were killed, including their commander, and yet she cancels her campaign in solidarity with the terrorists. These are crocodile tears. People understand her motives. Her actions will not garner sympathy from voters," he said.