Mirwaiz Molvi Mohmmad Farooq was born at a time when political atmosphere was on boil in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. People had become aware about their rights regarding freedom, equality and liberty.
The revolt for the attainment of human rights against the Maharaja’s atrocities in Kashmir was nurtured for the first time in an organized manner by the ancestors of Mirwaiz Molvi Mohmmad Farooq.
It was not only the resistance movement in which the Mirwaiz family played its role but they had their fundamental role also in Education, Religion, Social and Cultural affairs of Kashmir. During the dark ages the Sir Syed of Kashmir which is Molvi Rasool Shah II laid the foundation of Islamia School in 1899 at Rajouri Kadal, Srinagar.
In the field of Religion, they taught people “Tawheed”. The oneness of Allah – the true picture of Islam; it defines and portrays that the credit in shaping the society of Kashmir in various facets of life goes to Mirwaiz family, and thus this was the family which nurtured Mirwaiz Molvi Mohmmad Farooq since 1944 up to his youth.
Clubbing all the facts together one can say without any bias that his phenotype as well as his genotype was filled and inherited with good political character, modern education and immortal religious qualities.
As a kid his aptitude often compelled him to think about the prevailing condition which the society was facing under the deceitful politicians of that very time. After the death of Atique Ullah Shah in 1962 his grandson Molvi Mohammad Farooq became the Naib Mirwaiz.
At the attainment of his youth his inner soul forced him to think passionately about the masses and in 1963 when he was a boy of nineteen the crisis over the theft of holy relic of Prophet Mohammad (SAW) made young Mirwaiz Farooq a rallying point in Muslim politics in Kashmir; every facet of society condemned the evil deed of wrong doers.
Being passionate from his early days he took the flag of protest against such evil deed and the masses accepted him as their role model.
People began to call him by the name of “Young Farooq” the episode of “Holy relic” changed the political scenario of Kashmir as well as the people of Kashmir got a new religious and political leader in the form of Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Farooq.
Later on he proved to be pure gold on the touchstone of masses and thus became as a lighthouse to the people of Kashmir. He after that laid the foundation of “Action Committee” which ultimately changed into “People’s Action Committee” (Awami Action Committee) with himself as its first chairman. The objective of the political outfit framed by Mirwaiz was to ensure that Kashmir should get their basic right of freedom. The Mirwaiz campaigned to achieve the objective till he was assassinated.
He became the Mirwaiz after the death of his uncle Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Yousof Shah in 1968. Mirwaiz Farooq never turned back from his positive attitude towards the welfare of people and during his lifetime he never shook hands with the wrongdoers of his times. He left no stone unturned for strengthening his party (A.C.C.) Awami Action Committee.
Being a head priest of Jamia Masjid Srinagar and a renowned leader of the masses, the main and ultimate aim of Mirwaiz Farooq was to make people aware about the “atrocities” against the Kashmiri people.
During his times, he could not cut the shackles of slavery but the aim and mission for the ACC is still same as engraved on the soil of Kashmir by Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Farooq during the mid-sixties.
History of Kashmir reveals that Mirwaiz Farooq was a renowned leader of his times who from the first day of his political career was urging to solve the Kashmir dispute under the banner of trilateral talks, his keen interest in Kashmir can be seen from the newspapers he published under the title Hurriyat and Haroof-e-Haq weekly which was the mouth piece of ACC.
After his arrest on 10 October 1965, Mirwaiz Farooq suffered physical and mental atrocities. It was the time when the present nuclear powers, India and Pakistan, were at war. He was put behind the bars for a period of 2 years 2 months and 10 days during which he was put to third degree torture which affected his vision till 21 May 1990, the day he was assassinated by the unidentified gunman in his house at Nigeen Srinagar. Within hours of this tragedy the governor held militants responsible for this barbaric act.
When the mortal remains were carried in a procession from the SKIMS to his ancestral house (Rajouri Kadal) the forces launched an ignoble attack on the peaceful mourners near Islamia College Srinagar. The successive groups of pallbearers were shot dead and the corpse of the slain leader was sprayed with bullets.
Seventy people including three women and one child were killed on the spot. More than 250 people received bullet injuries and thus the chapter of man of immortal character ended.
Now every year people observe the death anniversary of the pious leader in the form of a procession from his ancestral home Rajouri Kadal to Martyrs Graveyard (Eidgah) led by his son Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Umar Farooq (Chairman APHC and ACC).
However since curfew is imposed on the same day (21th May) every year and his son Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Umar Farooq is kept under house arrest.