SRINAGAR — Mohammad Anwar Ashai, a veteran of Kashmir’s student movement of the 1960s and a figure associated with the region’s political activism for decades, died at his residence in Rajbagh, Srinagar, on Tuesday.
Ashai belonged to a prominent Kashmiri family and was the son of late Ghulam Ahmad Ashai, the noted educationist and political figure associated with Kashmir’s public life during the pre- and post-Independence period.
Historical accounts also identify Anwar Ashai as one of the members of the Students and Youth League that emerged in Kashmir in 1964, placing him among the generation that helped shape organised student activism in the Valley.
According to colleagues, his political life was marked not only by activism but also by repeated imprisonment. One of his colleagues recalled that Ashai was jailed several times for raising his voice over the rights of the people of Kashmir and was subjected to confinement in dark cells.
Tributes
Ashai’s death prompted tributes from former colleagues and acquaintances who remembered his decades-long engagement with the region’s student and political movements.
Former Member of Parliament Abdul Rashid Kabli, who was associated with Ashai, described his life as one of prolonged struggle and hardship. “He spent his life for Kashmir and suffered immensely,” Kabli said.
Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu also announced Ashai’s death, writing on X: “My maternal uncle, Mohammad Anwar Ashai, son of Late Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed Ashai, passed away at his residence at Ashai Manzil, 14-B Raj Bagh this morning.”
Mattu offered prayers for the departed and shared information regarding the funeral prayers at Ashai Manzil, Rajbagh.
Ashai’s death has brought renewed attention to a generation of Kashmiri activists whose political engagement began in the 1960s, when student organisations emerged as an important avenue of political expression in the Valley.