Shujaat Bhukari was a lone reasoned voice in a deeply divided society. He loved Kashmir and he firmly believed there was no other solution than peaceful dialogue to end the ongoing impasse
Writing an obituary of your nearest friend is painful. My dearest friend Syed Shujaat Bhukari was shot dead in Kashmir on June 14. He was 50. While his physical body is no more, his voice echoes across South Asia, a voice of reason and conscience.
I received a message through my Sri Lankan friend Shihar Aneez late at night on Tuesday, June 14. He wrote that Shujaat, editor in chief of Rising Kashmir, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen around 7 pm, outside his office as he was leaving for iftar party. Two of his personal security officers—Hamid Chaudhary and Mumtaz Awan—were also killed.
I immediately called another friend Syed Najakat Hussain. We all studied together in Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, Philippines. Syed was in Srinagar, the largest city of Jammu and Kashmir. He was with Shujaat’s family members.
Shujaat was tall, almost six feet and three inches, with husky voice. He was the center of attraction in our group. We had a great time with Shujaat in Manila. He loved to eat in Iranian restaurants, and pita bread with hummus was one of his favorites. We enjoyed two-day weekend to its full.
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Fueling the soul
I received a message from Shujaat on a lazy Saturday afternoon of June 9. “Hi Guna, how are you? Long time no news? Hope all is well,” he said.
I was sleepy and responded: “am good. Thank you!”
“Why you seem to be cold?” His message woke me up. We then had a long, intense conversation. He wanted me to meet one of his good friends RK Radhakrishnan, deputy editor of Frontline, who was in Kathmandu. I had not met Shujaat for a while, but we were in touch via messages and Skype calls.
“You don’t invite,” he quipped. “We should have a program.” “We will have some program and I will invite you,” I told him.
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Shujaat was full of passion. He deeply cared for friends and family. He insisted that I visited Kashmir. Shujaat was on a mission to restore peace in Kashmir Valley. A voice of reason who always wanted peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue was silenced. He was a lone reasoned voice in a deeply divided society. He loved Kashmir and he firmly believed there was no other solution than peaceful dialogue to end the ongoing impasse in the Valley.
He was active with Kashmir dialogue group and took people to different places for the dialogue. For the peaceful resolution of the cause, he organized and participated in various meetings and seminars around the world. As a prominent journalist in Kashmir, he had a voice and he used that voice for the greater good of his homeland.
We met in Manila, Philippines as journalism students at Ateneo de Manila University in 2007. He told us stories of many attempts to his life and he was always calm and focused in his studies and work back home. Considering risk to his life, the government had provided him with two security officers.
He was then Kashmir’s bureau chief for The Hindu, India’s leading English daily. He was already planning on starting his own newspaper. His publication, Rising Kashmir, celebrated 10th anniversary this year. We were all proud of his work in Kashmir. He was also publishing two newspapers in Kashmiri language. He had a love for his local language and played an important role in promoting the language.
Shujaat was a loving father and a wonderful husband. He told me stories of his trip to Lisbon with his wife. Shujaat’s son, Tamheed, wrote a moving piece about his father’s undying spirit and dedication to peace in Kashmir. “My dad was surrounded by thousands of haters but he never uttered a word of bitterness against any of them,” Tamheed wrote.
We knew he was doing great work but we also knew that his life was in danger. Shujaat was killed a day before Eid, Muslim’s holy festival. I used to send him greetings during this time of the year, but it was not meant to be this year.
Shujaat has been silenced, but his actions and words will speak louder for peace in Kashmir.
Rest in peace in heaven my dear friend!
Twitter: @gunaraj
