The High Priest of Jamia

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's words carry a quiet yet powerful weight

- Ubeer Naqushbandi in Srinagar

F OR two centuries, the institution of the Mirwaiz, revered as the spiritual compass of Kashmiri the region's religious and social destiny. Much like his forefathers before him, 51-year-old Umar Farooq, the 14th in the line of Mirwaizes, is regarded as the fountainhead of religious wisdom and a leading moderate-leaning protagonist articulating for an independent Kashmir.

But since his release in September 2023 after a four-year spell in house arrest-a period which has witnessed two major elections, the Lok Sabha elections and state assembly polls, both held in 2024-the incumbent Mirwaiz appears to have given political involvement a relative backseat, instead spending considerable time guiding destinies of a different kind.

He now finds himself primarily officiating nikaahs for brides and grooms whose families see his presence as auspicious, even as Kashmir's political and social landscape has dramatically shifted in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. The move, which revoked the region's special status, bifurcated the former state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, stripped it of autonomy and brought it under direct federal control.

Wearing his traditional black robe embroidered with gold, the Mirwaiz is traditionally showered with candies and flowers at nearly every nikaah- more than forty of which he is believed to have solemnised since his release from house arrest. At times, however, the Mirwaiz, visibly dismayed by the excess, admonishes wedding guests. "Don't copy the Ambanis," he cautioned at one particularly lavish affair in Srinagar, urging restraint in celebrations. His words, irrespective of whether they are articulated at a wedding or on political platforms, are known to carry a quiet yet powerful weight.

Tucked away in Rajbagh, Srinagar's centrally located upscale pocket, dust and cobwebs greet visitors at the central secretariat of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC).