The history of freedom struggles around the world has produced great characters and personalities like Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, William Wallace and Martin Luther King Jr. In recent age, Burhan Muzaffar Wani’s martyrdom in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) has once again revived and legitimised freedom struggle, where Kashmiris demand for fundamental rights and justice. The persona of Wani and his outreach on social media highlights shades of his courage, devotion and steadfastness to his cause and for the people of Kashmir, and his appeal to most importantly the youth oppressed around the world.
The 22 year old, Wani hailed from a well-educated and a well to do family. He took an open challenge to raise his voice for rights and justice for all against the oppressive Indian security apparatus in IOK. His story is a tale of naked Indian aggression on the innocent people of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and how India itself is feeding public grievances that being one of the reasons behind the recent volcanic eruption of ‘new age intifada’ in IOK. Following the martyrdom of Wani, the entire IOK was embroiled in violence beginning July 8, 2016 to date. During the longest shutdown and curfew in the history of IOK to mourn the martyrdom of Wani, clashes erupted between the Indian forces and protesters in which hundreds of people were killed, 15,000 injured and hundreds were made blind by pellet guns.[1]
