In her first major interview to the mainstream Indian media, the Dukhtaran-e-Millat leader reveals the Talibanesque mindset of a woman who's known as Malka-ul-Maut (Angel of Death)... http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20060814&fname=Interview+Ayisa+(F)&sid=1 It is in downtown Srinagar that I meet Asiya Andrabi, leader of the separatist Kashmiri women's group Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the Nation). One has heard stories about her spraying paint on women who do not wear burkhas. She is known to have sent burkha-clad activists to burn Valentine's Day cards and posters, raid liquor shops, and restaurants boasting special seating arrangement for couples. Her organisation was banned in the '90s and Asiya was underground till 2004. Meanwhile, she married a mujahideen, currently serving life sentence in an Indian jail. Yet, despite this record, when she takes off her veil, Asiya looks like a middle-aged woman who'd be more comfortable in a kitchen rather than painting anti-America and anti-Israeli placards. In Asiya's first major interview to the mainstream Indian media, she reveals the Talibanesque mindset of a woman who's known as Malka-ul-Maut (Angel of Death) and represents the extreme Islamist fringe of the homegrown militancy in Kashmir. Excerpts from an interview to Aditi Bhaduri:
What is Dukhtaran-e-Millat all about? My organisation has a religious basis. It all started with my reading the Holy Quran, and the Holy Quran tells us that there is only one Lord. We believe in the oneness of Allah the Almighty. The whole universe has to be governed by the laws of Allah the Almighty. So, the strong belief of Dukhtaran-e-Millat is that we want the whole universe to be governed by the laws of Allah the Almighty. Based on Islamic teachings, we are fighting against India. I am telling you that this is Islam, this is my religion. I don't believe in Kashmiriyat, I don't believe in nationalism. I believe that there are just two nations—Muslims and non-Muslims. I am a Muslim; I am least bothered whether I will be called a Kashmiri. I'm Andrabi, I'm from the Syed dynasty. I'm not actually Kashmiri, I'm Arab, my ancestors had come from Arabia to Central Asia. I believe in Islamic nationalism. So as far as our ideology is concerned, Kashmir is not a part of India because united India was divided on the basis of religion