Burhan Wani's father hoists national flag in Pulwama

Muzaffar Wani, the father of slain Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, was among hundreds of government teachers who hoisted the national flag at their respective schools on Sunday.

Muzaffar Wani, who is a principal of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, unfurled the national flag on the premises as part of Independence Day celebrations.

Burhan Wani, who glamourized a new wave of militancy through social media in the last decade, was killed in an encounter by security forces on July 8, 2016 in southern Anantnag district. His killing triggered massive five-month summer unrest in Kashmir that left over 100 protesters dead and thousands others injured.

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Muzaffar’s other son Khalid Wani was also killed in an encounter with the army. The family had claimed that Khalid was not a militant but still killed.

Earlier this month, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha led administration had ordered hoisting of tricolour at all government buildings, including educational institutions and offices across the union territory (UT).

Reports said the national flag was hoisted in hundreds of government schools across Kashmir on Sunday. However, among the pictures of flag hoisting in Kashmir schools, Muzaffar Wani unfurling the national flag was widely shared on social media.

Even RSS General Secretary Ram Madhav shared the picture on his twitter account. “Muzaffar Wani, father of the slain Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, hoisted the national flag at a school in Tral town of Jammu and Kashmir''s Pulwama district as part of the Independence Day celebrations today (sic),” he tweeted.

On Saturday, Muzaffar Wani had refuted the rumors regarding his resignation from the government job. In a video statement, he said: “You have asked me two things…one, that I have to hoist the flag and I have been warned. This is a rumor.”

“There is no particular order issued on my name [for unfurling the Indian flag on 15 August] nor I wish to resign. Whatever is on social media is wrong and are rumors,” he added.

There was a muted response over the forced nationalism practice of the J&K administration. “By forcing people to unfurl tricolor, the government can’t change their hearts. In a democracy, it is one’s choice whether he wants to celebrate any event or not,” said a teacher, who wished anonymity.