In death of Kashmiri trade union leader Sampat Prakash, a voice of reason and justice lost

Sampat Prakash passed away on July 1, at the age of 84. He was a voice of reason and justice. With his death that voice has been lost. It is a loss for Kashmir and the rest of the country.

Who was Sampat Prakash?

He was a Kashmiri Pandit, a veteran trade union member representing the Jammu and Kashmir trade union movement in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and a communist.

However, he came to prominence in recent years because of the spate of interviews he gave in Urdu and Kashmiri on subjects which have been centre of political controversies such as the repeal of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 and the film, The Kashmir Files.

Prakash pointed out in interview after interview, with the same passion and conviction, that while Kashmiri Pandits suffered under the insurgency, the number of Kashmiri Muslims killed by the militants was by far the greater.

One journalist described him in these words: “He shouts into the phone believing that it is his due diligence to perform such antics for the person on the other side to hear him. He also gesticulates and sensationalises his speech with tone modulations – quintessential of a leader and mass mobiliser. Speaking with fervour, passion, and...

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