In a significant political statement, prominent separatist leader and chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Independent Movement, Bilal Gani Lone, today said that the Hurriyat Conference has become irrelevant, and it is high time for the younger generation of Kashmir to join the mainstream and secure a dignified and respectable future within the Indian Union.
Bilal Lone, whose Jammu and Kashmir Independent Movement is one of the constituents of the All Party Hurriyat Conference headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, did not mince words in criticizing the leadership of the conglomerate for rendering it ineffective and out of touch with ground realities.
In an interview with a news agency, Lone admitted that the Hurriyat Conference, a separatist conglomerate formed in 1993, has lost its relevance in the Valley.
"Not only has the Hurriyat Conference lost its relevance in the Kashmir Valley, it has also remained non-functional for a long time," he said, adding that the separatist front has lost the trust and faith of the common people.
He placed the blame squarely on separatist leaders for failing to act at the appropriate time, which led to the conglomerate's decline. "The idea of forming the Hurriyat Conference in the early 1990s was good, but now that idea has faltered," he remarked.
"India Is Too Big, Too Powerful to Fight"
Urging the younger generation to join the mainstream for a better future, Lone called on the youth of Kashmir to accept the reality that India is too big and powerful a country to fight.
He advised the new generation not to view India solely through the lens of political parties, but to "see India as India" in order to find their rightful place within it.
He emphasized that the current generation must be told the truth about the last 35 years, as they now have no other option but to enter a new political phase, because the politics of exploitation must end.
Acknowledging that violence has only brought bloodshed, destruction, and the devastation of generations, Lone stated that Kashmiris have always been at the receiving end of the decades-long turmoil.
In a heartfelt appeal to the people, he reiterated: "Don't look at India through the lens of BJP or Congress—see India as India, and try to find a space for yourselves."
Bilal Lone: Elder Brother of Sajad Lone
Bilal Lone is the elder brother of Sajad Gani Lone, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference, who joined mainstream politics in 2009, formally parting ways with separatism.
Bilal and Sajad are sons of the veteran Kashmiri politician Abdul Gani Lone, who embraced separatist politics after the formation of the All Party Hurriyat Conference in the early 1990s.
Abdul Gani Lone was assassinated by terrorists on May 21, 2002, while attending an event at Idgah Srinagar to mark the 12th death anniversary of Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq.
Shortly before his death, Abdul Gani Lone had a fallout with hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. While Lone advocated the expulsion of foreign terrorists from the Valley, Geelani supported their presence.
Following his father's assassination, Sajad Lone accused Geelani and Pakistan's ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) of being behind the killing.
Political Shifts in the Lone Family
Bilal Lone is the elder son of Abdul Gani Lone, the Hurriyat Conference leader who founded the People's Conference. Considered a moderate voice with strong support in north Kashmir, Abdul Gani Lone was elected three times from Handwara in Kupwara district before insurgency erupted.
Bilal joined the moderate faction of the Hurriyat after Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his supporters demanded the expulsion of the People's Conference from the separatist front for allegedly fielding proxy candidates in the 2002 Assembly elections.
When Hurriyat chairman Molvi Abbas Ansari rejected Geelani's demand, the Hurriyat split into moderate and hardliner factions. Bilal remained with the moderates, while Sajad Lone quit separatist politics and contested the 2009 Lok Sabha polls from North Kashmir.
In 2014, Sajad won from Handwara, and the People's Conference also secured a second seat in Kupwara. He later became a minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government.
