The Che Guevara of Kashmir
Shaheed-e-Kashmir · 18 February 1938 – 11 February 1984
The 11 February Manifesto
One day. One city. One event.
A call to every nationalist, progressive, labour union, writer, intellectual and NGO to mark 11 February together, on one stage in every city, for a free, secular, united Jammu and Kashmir and lasting peace in South Asia.
See the countdown in each city’s own time zone2027
His vision
A vision for all humanity
His struggle began against feudal inequality in his own village and grew into a lifelong fight for equality, freedom and social justice. It was never a narrow nationalism: he fought for human dignity and against poverty, exploitation and division, for people of every faith and community.
Equality and social justice
“I have rebelled against obscurantism, slavery, capitalism, exploitation, corruption, cruelty, and hypocrisy.”Statement before a special court in Pakistan →
Humanity above division
“It’s far better to die in the field in struggle against illiteracy, poverty and oppression and to achieve the glory of humanity while fighting against evil forces than to die in bed.”His often-repeated saying →
Peace with dignity
“It is important to distinguish between the peace of graveyard and that of peacefully flowing life and society.”Quotes of Maqbool Bhat →
Friendship between peoples
“We would welcome support from our friends but on the basis of mutual friendship and dignity not on the basis of control and superiority.”Quotes of Maqbool Bhat →
The Maqbool Bhat Foundation carries his ideals forward: a South Asia of free and equal peoples, living in peace, friendship and union, without domination, poverty or discrimination. Already in 2003 he was described as “a symbol for the liberation of the oppressed masses in South Asia”.
A life in eleven chapters View full timeline → Explore the journey map →
Explore the record
11 February around the world
Places named in the Martyrdom Day reports. Click a pin to read them.
Latest from the archive
- 3D model: full figure in a beret
Full-figure 3D model in a beret. The interactive model is on Sketchfab. Credit: 3D model by talatbhat (Sketchfab, 2025) · Source - 3D statue: bust in a beret
Bronze-style 3D bust in a beret on a plinth reading “Maqbool”. The interactive model is on Sketchfab. Credit: 3D model by talatbhat (Sketchfab, 2021)… - “Mother of a Movement” – The Honour (2010)
Cover of The Honour magazine, February 2010: his mother holding his faded portrait. From the original maqboolbhat.com articles, recovered through the Wayback Machine. Credit:… - Torch-lit march in Trehgam (2018)
Torch-lit march in Trehgam, his birthplace, on the eve of Maqbool Day, with his portrait carried on a placard. Credit: Kashmir Life · Source - Portrait poster held up in Srinagar
A Maqbool Bhat portrait poster held up in Srinagar on 10 February as an activist is detained. Credit: Photo by journalistadil (Flickr) · Source - Luton gathering flyer (2010)
Flyer for a Maqbool Butt Day gathering in Luton, Sunday 14 February 2010. Credit: JKLF UK zone; Flickr user 84471k · Source
About the Foundation
Maqbool Bhat (Shaheed) Foundation (MBF) is a project of the Kashmir Record & Research Council (KRRC), created to keep the record of Maqbool Bhat’s life and struggle: his writings, letters, pictures, news and articles.
Aims and objectives
- To study the life and struggle of Maqbool Bhat.
- To maintain the audio-visual and printed record of the Shaheed.
- To run campaigns for bringing his remains home for burial in Srinagar, for marking 11 February as Martyrs’ Day, and for all groups inspired by him to mark the day together.
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