Ashfaq Majeed Wani Ashfaq Majeed Wani ( Nastaleeq : ) ( September 5 , 1966 – March 30 , 1990 ) was a pro - independence activist and later an Area Commander of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front . Biography . Ashfaq Majeed Wani also known as Frena , was born on 5 September 1966 in Sarai Balla area of Srinagar in the valley of Kashmir . He studied in valley ' s prestigious school , the Tyndale Biscoe and later went to SP College for further studies . A good athlete in his early teens , Sports formed an important aspect of Wani ’ s life . He maintained a strict regimen . Getting up early in the morning he would go for training and exercises . He was a dedicated soccer player , a marathon runner and a table tennis player . He stood first in the interstate marathon tournament in 1985 and was selected to represent the state . Ashfaq Majeed Wani wanted to be a doctor but became interested in politics in his late teens . At the age of 14 , Wani refused to accompany his family members in the funeral procession of Sheikh Abdullah , an early sign of what was to form a part of his ideology . Two years later he began organizing anti establishment and anti India rallies . By 1987 , he was already on the radar of Indian intelligence agencies . He was arrested on March 23 , 1987 for his involvement with the Muslim United Front , which took part in elections , subsequently rigged by the establishment and was lodged at the Central jail , Srinagar . Hundreds of other opposition activists were also arrested in police crackdowns across Indian Controlled Kashmir . He was released after nine months on parole to attend his uncle ’ s wedding . His period in prison had made him bitter and he was found to have cigarette burns all over his body . After his release , Wani worked on the plans towards the procurement of arms from Azad Kashmir . A day before he left for Azad Kashmir , while serving meals at the wedding reception , he overheard Mohiuddin Shah , a veteran National Conference politician talking about the futility of agitations against the government . Wani is known to have reprimanded him in these famous words " " the government made two grave mistakes as far as Kashmir is concerned . First they acceded to India and secondly , they let me on parole . " " Wani subsequently crossed into Azad Kashmir to become one of those who laid the foundation for the armed struggle in Kashmir . With the rising discontent against the Indian Rule preceding 1989 , because of denial of right to self - determination , erosion of autonomy , consistent subversion of democracy and lack of employment opportunities , the 1987 rigged election was a watershed event in the Kashmiri politics . The Muslim United Front ( MUF ) candidate Mohammad Yousuf Shah was imprisoned even though he was on the lead and later became Sayeed Salahudeen , chief of militant outfit Hizb - ul - Mujahedin . His election aides ( known as the HAJY group ) – Abdul Hamid Shaikh , Ashfaq Majid Wani , Javed Ahmed Mir and Mohammed Yasin Malik became disenchanted with the electoral farce and joined the JKLF . Thousands of young disaffected Kashmiris in the Valley joined JKLF and a full - fledged Movement against the Indian Rule began in 1989 . Hundreds of thousands of unarmed people marched on the streets of Srinagar between January and May 1990 demanding a plebiscite . An officially estimated 10 , 000 desperate Kashmiri youth crossed over to Azad Kashmir for training and procurement of arms and returned to fight the Indian rule in Kashmir . Death . Ashfaq Majeed Wani was killed at the age of 23 in an encounter with the Indian paramilitary forces in the hawal area of old city , Srinagar on 30 March 1990 . His funeral procession was attended by thousands of people who raised pro - freedom slogans . He is buried in Martyrs Graveyard of Kashmir .