Maulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari - Muslim United Front

Muslim United Front

In 1986 Abbas assembled Muslim scholars, politicians and parties from various factions on a single platform named Muslim United Front (MUF), on the fundamental issue of strengthening the Muslim community. It argued that Kashmir was occupied by fraud and brute force and its people had yet to exercise their right of self-determination. Abbas was selected conveyor of the Front. In 1987, the Front accepted the challenge of the chief Minister Farooq Abdullah to fight elections of state assembly to show the world that kashmiris do not consider themselves to be a part of India. The Front's candidates were defeated by heavy margins and the National Conference-Congress Alliance formed a coalition government in the state. This was a turning point in the history of Kashmir and culminated in armed rebellion against Indian authority. The Front's supporters, particularly the youth who were harassed (and some were tortured) during and after elections, switched to militancy, which changed the situation dramatically. Abbas was arrested on April 13, 1990 under the "public safety act" and lodged in Srinagar's Badami Bagh contonment interrogation centre. After a month of interrogation he was put in Jammu central jail from where he was exiled to Jodhpur in western India. From Jodhpur, Abbas was shifted to the Tihar Prisons, New Delhi and finally to the heavily guarded Mehrolli BSF camp, some 25 kilometers from New Delhi.