Syed Ali Geelani was born on September 29, 1929 in a village on the banks of Wular lake in Sopore area of Kashmir’s Baramulla district, according to Anadolu Agency.
He remained a staunch opponent of India’s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and lead the Kashmiris’ struggle for their right to self-determination.
Since his youth Geelani had been a member of Jamaat-i-Islami, the largest political-religious organisation in Kashmir that was banned by the Hindu nationalist government in 2019.
Later on, he founded his own party by the name of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.
Geelani had been a thorn in India’s side since the early 1960s when he began campaigning for the territory’s merger with Pakistan. He also pursued his separatist calls as a member of the Kashmir assembly, from the Sopore constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, elected three times — 1972, 1977 and 1987.
The veteran politician was jailed for nearly 10 years after 1962 and often restricted to his home after that.
He also served as the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a forum of freedom parties in Jammu and Kashmir, from which he stepped down last year.
