Prominent Kashmiri leader, Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl, passed away in London today after a brief illness. He was 77. According to Kashmir Media Service, Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl was admitted to a hospital in London due to a serious illness on December 23. He was suffering from a chest infection and kidney problems. He breathed his last today. He was a multilingual person, an educationist, an author and poet, and a human rights defender.
Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl was born in Baramulla, a town in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, on October 13, 1946. He received his education from Baramulla. He graduated in sciences and post-graduated in botany from Kashmir University, specializing in ecology, and post-graduated in education from the Himachal Pradesh University, India. He undertook various trainings at NCERT (India’s National Council of Educational Research and Training) in Delhi and SCERT (State Council for Educational Research and Training) in Jaipur, India, and specialized in curriculum development.
He started his professional work at St. Joseph’s Institute, Baramulla, and later joined the government education department, having contributed to educational theory and practices through different research projects in association with SCERT and UNICEF, including developing experimental curricula, particularly in environmental studies.
Professor Shawl held different positions in his professional career, including being a professor and researcher in botany, field advisor in sciences, coordinator of UNICEF-assisted project PECR, member of the Board of Undergraduate Studies in Botany at the University of Kashmir, and Chief Test Administrator of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS-Bombay).
Professor Shawl migrated to Pakistan in 1991 and started working for the Kashmir cause. He remained a representative of veteran Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Gilani for some time in the APHC-AJK chapter. He worked as Chief Editor of the Kashmir Mirror, Chief Editor of SANA News (now SABAH), and Chief Editor of the news agency Kashmir Press International. Later, he shifted to the UK in 2004 and headed the Kashmir Cantre in London. He has been championing the Kashmir cause and highlighting the Kashmir dispute at the international level for the last three decades.
Professor Shawl headed the Organisation of Kashmir Coalition (OKC), which advocates for justice, human rights, and self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He instituted a think tank, together with other activists, known as the South Asia Centre for Peace and Human Rights, of which he was the chairman. He is the pioneer in introducing the Kashmir conflict to policy-making institutions like the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Chatham House, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Conciliation Resources, and International Alert and Mediation Ireland.
In his advocacy and diplomatic work, Professor Shawl organized and attended conferences, seminars, and exhibitions in parliaments, council chambers, and other significant venues. He instituted the first Working Group on Kashmir that was chaired by David Ervine, and upon his death, he was succeeded by John Walls Cushnahan (former MEP).
He politically and diplomatically worked for Kashmir’s right to self-determination with enthusiasm. Professor Shawl’s writings highlighted his concerns about the human rights of the people in different conflict areas, including occupied Kashmir.
Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl attended several international conferences, seminars, protest demonstrations, and other events in different cities around the world as a representative of the oppressed people of occupied Kashmir. He played an important role in exposing the Indian brutalities in the occupied territory to the world.
Professor Shawl has authored several books, including “Speaking Silence,” “Weeping Wisdom,” and “Tormented Past and Bruised Present.”.
The staff members of Kashmir Media Service extend heartfelt condolences to the family members and relatives of Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl. They pray to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with patience.
Meanwhile, Kashmiri leader Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo, in a statement, paid rich tributes to Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl. He said, “We have not just lost a dedicated leader, but we have lost a true family man, and I have lost someone who is truly my brother. He has left this world for his eternal abode in the world hereafter. However, his fearless legacy stays with us.”
Recalling the Annual Labour Party conference at Liverpool, Barrister Tramboo exemplified the character of Professor Shawl: “On September 25, 2019, in Liverpool, at the UK Labour Party Conference Kashmir Fringe Meeting, Professor Shawl received a message that his mother passed away on the day of the conference. It was devastating news for him. Nonetheless, Professor Shawl gathered the courage and determination, in the most extraordinary situation, to lead the conference. It was extraordinary to witness the steel of his character in such circumstances.”
The Organisation of Kashmir Coalition (OKC), headed by Professor Shawl, said in a statement that he was an icon for the self-determination issue of Jammu and Kashmir, and his untimely passing away is a big loss to all. “OKC extends its sincerest condolences to Mrs Shamim Shawl and all members and friends of the Shawl family at this extremely sad time. The family will update the diaspora and learn more about the funeral arrangements for Professor Shawl. He will never be forgotten as a man with integrity, nobility, and peace in his approach to all matters in life,” the statement said.
It is worth mentioning here that in a message from his hospital bed, Professor Shawl on Thursday urged one and all to stand united on one point agenda: the Kashmiris’ Right to Self-Determination.
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