The High Dramas Of Sheikh Showkat

Always Biting The Hand That Feeds Him

Over the last few decades, some words have become part of the Kashmiri lexicon. One such word is ‘collaborator’. The word is used like an abuse for all those Kashmiris who are somehow identified with the state. Pro-Pakistan propaganda made this usage the norm. When J&K was ruled by elected governments, men who dubbed others as collaborators were always seen walking the corridors of power to seeking favours for posting, position etc. In social circles, they ranted about the collaborators. Those who cried loudest about the collaborators have always drawn huge benefits from the state. Many among those who have worked for the state in diverse capacities and drawn handsome salaries are always crying about collaborators. They are always putting on a Holier Than Thou act.

Take for instance a retired government servant from Pulwama, who is a member of South Kashmir civil society. This man was always seen in the Secretariat with one or the other demand for personal gain or for his relatives. Once back home, he would take to Facebook to get into a tirade about collaborators.

JeI Dependence On So-Called Collaborators

From 2002, from the time when Mufti Sayeed became CM to 2018 when Mehbooba lost power, top members or Jamaat e Islami milked the state for all benefits. Individually or in groups, JeI members would visit ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats and take whatever they could. Once back in mosques, they would start delivering monologues on collaborators. Hundreds of retired government servants are heard using this phrase against those who are now part of the power system, or those who believe in the idea of India. Senior journalists who have built their entire career on benefits extended to them by the government are constantly using the term ‘collaborators’. Why is this word being used so much? Because it still sells in the market.

Showkat And The Hate Rants

On January 6, news broke out regarding the security of the former chief ministers. The notification specified that the former CMs shall be provided security as per their present categorization, viz. Z Plus, with additional escorts/measures as per necessity and assessment of the security wing. Kashmiri academic Sheikh Showkat Hussain lost no time to lampoon the state administration. He tweeted: “Tissue papers are destined to be thrown away after use. Security of Ex-CMs reduced from DIG level to DSP level. While they harvest fruits of their collaboration, a lesson for neo-collaborators who are desperate to step into their shoes.” This is not the first time Showkat is spewing muck. He is a pro at it. He routinely picks up any matter and manipulates it to foster hate against the state. His posts can fill the youth with disaffection for the state and radicalize them. Has Showkat ever warned his students about the consequences of radicalization? Does he care that radicalization may lead to anti-social behavior or violence, misery or grief?

Drawing Maximum Benefits From The State

Showkat moved from Kashmir University to Central University to benefit from the higher retirement age at CU. He stays in the forefront to benefit from the state. Simultaneously, he is always gunning for the state. It is one thing to castigate the government. Breeding hatred against the state is another matter. After the recent takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, Showkat was filling up his Twitter timeline with celebratory messages. He posted the verses of the holy Quran whose English translation is this: “Truth has come and falsehood has vanished. Falsehood is indeed bound to vanish”. By posting the verses of the holy Quran, he tried to project the Taliban in a positive light and influence the minds of the vulnerable youth. These days he is silent on the Afghanistan issue because Taliban’s brutality is hidden from none. Showkat’s Twitter handle is full of toxicity. Showkat is currently serving as Principal at Law College Nowshera, Srinagar. If his hate is so deep and real, why did choose to work for the state, and for as long as he could?

Booked In 2010 For Sedition

Never Held Accountable For Indophobia

In 1990, Showkat was appointed as Assistant Professor, International Islamic University, Malaysia.  During the counter insurgency period of the 90s,he came back to Kashmir and constantly provided resistance content through the local publications. It is the state that must be held accountable that such an individual was allowed to join government service in 2000. In 2010, Showkat was charged for sedition in Delhi for making a speech at a convention titled “Azadi: The only way”. He was never dismissed from service for his anti-India bigotry and Indophobia. In September 2021, Showkat tweeted: Collect & preserve evidence of war crimes & crimes against humanity committed during the last twenty years & pursue for a War Crime Tribunal/or establish one. Those who talk about human rights in Afghanistan now should come clean about their own record of the past twenty years. Perhaps the state should also collect information about Showkat, who inflames the youth against the state. These hypocrites holding high chairs have dominated our lives for decades, bossed us around and instigated us for wrong causes and for their own greed. Now it’s time to tackle them without letting ourselves slip into their hypocrisy.

IN CONVERSATION WITH KASHMIR CENTRAL

CORRESONDENT: Why do you always post such hateful content against the state, but as an academic you have never posted anything which may help the youth grow personally and professionally?

SHOWKAT: I am not answerable to you about my tweets.

CORRESONDENT:  You constantly posted content to project the Taliban in a positive light. Would any Kashmiri prefer to send their child to Afghanistan this time?

SHOWKAT: If medical colleges are opened there why won’t the Kashmiris send their children there, as we are sending to Bangladesh, Pakistan or any other country?

CORRESONDENT: Will you send your son or daughter to Afghanistan?

SHOWKAT: Why should I send to Afghanistan? Have I sent my kids to Bangladesh or Pakistan?

Time for us to pause and question. Who is a collaborator?

Is he the agent of the enemy state who is indoctrinating people at the behest of foreign agencies? Or is he is the one who is contributing to peace building and a secured future for the children? The real collaborators of the enemy country secure the future of their own children. Then whom are they instigating and indoctrinating? Whose future are they destroying? The children of the poor Kashmiris. It is time that the roles are reversed. The real collaborator is seen in his or her true colours. How long will the Kashmiris tolerate this hypocrisy and nonsense of the enemy agents?