Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai – A Life for Kashmir

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai – A Life for Kashmir

When Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai closes his eyes, he is often carried back to his childhood in a serene hamlet, just sixteen kilometers from Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. In those days, the Valley was still untouched by the noise of occupation and turmoil. He remembers the rolling green pastures, the tall and whispering chinar trees, the clear water of ravines that rushed down from the mountains, and the voices of simple villagers who lived with dignity, compassion, and kinship. Fewer than a hundred families formed that community, yet their affection for one another was enough to weave a world of warmth. Those memories chase him, even today, whenever he speaks about Kashmir and its people.

But his journey has carried him far from those meadows. In Geneva, Paris, Istanbul, Makkah, London, Washington—wherever a conference on peace, justice, or human rights is held—one could see Dr. Fai walking the corridors, his briefcase filled with documents, his mind sharp with conviction. His mission is always the same: to remind the powerful that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are entitled to the dignity and right of self-determination, a right promised by the United Nations yet denied by India.

To many, he is a threat. Hindu nationalists have often called for his elimination. Indian intelligence agencies, meanwhile, seek to keep him alive—for he carries with him a voice they cannot silence and a cause that continues to echo across the world. Yet, for the people of his Valley, he is remembered with reverence, their eyes moist when they recall his sacrifices. For those who lived through the 1950s and 1960s alongside him, he is a neighbor-turned freedom fighter. For the younger generation, who never saw him in person, he has become a legend—a man who carried their struggle to the world stage.

A Turning Point in Youth

Born into a modest family, Fai was among the rare young Kashmiris of his generation who secured a college education. He completed a Bachelor of Science and was offered a lucrative teaching position. But destiny had written a different script. Inspired by his mentor, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and the Islamic revivalist movement of the time, Fai chose to work for a magazine published by Jamat-e-Islami Kashmir. The salary was meager, but for him the cause outweighed comfort. His father, weary from decades of witnessing his people's humiliation, felt disappointment at first. Yet, with persistence, Fai persuaded him to bless this new path.

It was here, as a young activist and journalist, that Fai fully realized the scale of injustice faced by his people. Under India’s watchful eye, every Muslim Kashmiri was considered a suspect. Arbitrary detentions were common. Religion itself was mocked, sometimes even by educated officials. He heard stories of doctors telling Kashmiri patients that Islam was the cause of their illnesses. Politicians, meanwhile, treated the people as pawns, trading their dignity for favors from intelligence agencies. These injustices only deepened his resolve.

Awakening the Valley

In 1981, Fai helped organize one of the most remarkable grassroots movements in Kashmir. Jamat-e-Islami invited the Imam of the Kaaba to the Valley for a conference on the life of the Prophet Muhammad. It was Fai who traveled tirelessly with the Imam to nearly every district of Kashmir. In open fields, mosques, and community gatherings, hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children were reminded of their right to freedom and self-respect. The Valley, long subdued, stirred awake once again.

The Indian administration panicked. Intelligence agencies scrambled. Arrest warrants were issued. But before the police could lay hands on him, Fai slipped quietly out of the Valley. His vow was firm: exile would not weaken his resolve—it would expand it.

Exile and Global Advocacy

Forced to live abroad, Fai pursued higher education. He earned a Ph.D. in communication and became a recognized leader in interfaith reconciliation on U.S. campuses. More importantly, he turned himself into the undeclared ambassador of Kashmir, presenting the voice of his people at hundreds of international platforms.

Over the decades, he attended sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council, conferences of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and dialogues in capitals across the globe. He was received by heads of state, consulted by policymakers, and respected by religious leaders.

The Indian state, however, never left him alone. He was shadowed by intelligence, offered bribes to return, threatened with harm, and even placed under house arrest in the United States. At one point, accusations were leveled against him of being an agent of Pakistan. Though the charges were eventually dropped, the smear campaign was designed to weaken his credibility. Yet, even under house arrest, he continued his mission, never letting a single day pass without speaking for Kashmir.

Principles and Peace

Throughout his struggle, Dr. Fai never compromised on principle. He rejected violence against civilians and openly questioned the legitimacy of attacks on non-Muslims in Kashmir. His stance was clear: the Kashmiri cause was not terrorism but a moral and legal struggle for self-determination. Even as Hindu nationalist groups sought to brand all Kashmiri Muslims as extremists, he appealed for peaceful negotiation, dialogue, and justice.

Work and Leadership

Dr. Fai is today the Secretary General of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum and Chairman of the World Forum for Peace & Justice. He has founded several organizations, including the London-based Justice Foundation, the International Institute of Kashmir Studies, and Kashmir Press International. He also sits on the board of the Istanbul-based Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW).

In the United States, he served as national president of the Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada (1984–88) and was a member of the Majlis-e-Shoura of ISNA during the same period. He has addressed the United Nations, the European Parliament, the U.S. State Department, and conferences in Asia, Africa, and Europe.

He has organized international Kashmir peace conferences in Washington D.C., New York, Geneva, Brussels, and Latin America, bringing together diplomats, academics, and politicians from India, Pakistan, Kashmir, and the wider world.

For his efforts, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom (2005), the American Spirit Medal (2007), and listings in Who’s Who in Public Relations and Five Hundred Leaders of Influence.

A Tireless Worker

At seventy-five, Dr. Fai remains as energetic as in his twenties. He devotes fourteen to sixteen hours a day to his cause. His life’s work is not simply a political campaign—it is a struggle for dignity, justice, and the right of a people to choose their destiny.

For some, he is a controversial figure. For his people, he is a symbol of steadfastness. For history, he is likely to be remembered as one of the most persistent voices of Kashmir in the international arena.

His story is not just about Kashmir. It is about how freedom movements survive against overwhelming odds, how individuals can keep alive the flame of dignity even in exile, and how one man from a quiet hamlet near Srinagar carried his people’s story into the halls of global power.