Afzal Guru Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Mohammad Afzal Guru
Known As	The co-conspirator of the Indian Parliament attack - 2001
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 168 cm in meters- 1.68 m in feet & inches- 5’ 6”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Personal Life
Date of Birth	30 June 1969 (Monday)
Birthplace	Doabgah village in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir
Date of Death	9 February 2013
Place of Death	Tihar Jail, Delhi [1]India Today
Age (at the time of death)	44 Years
Death Cause	Died on the gallows [2]India Today Note: He was hanged at 8:00 am in Tihar Jail, Delhi. [3]The Hindu
Zodiac sign	Cancer
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir
School	Attended a government school in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir
College/University	Jhelum Valley Medical College, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir [4]Scroll.in
Educational Qualification(s)	• MBBS from Jhelum Valley Medical College (completed only first year) [5]Scroll.in • Bachelor of Arts (correspondence course) [6]The Times of India
Religion/Religious Views	Although Afzal Guru followed Islam [7]The Indian Express, according to Manoj Dwivedi, the Superintendent of Tihar Jail No. 03, Afzal disclosed during his imprisonment that his family belonged to the Brahmin caste of Hinduism; [8]The Indian Express however, they carried the surname 'Guru.' [9]The Indian Express
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Marriage Date	Year, 1998 [10]The Times of India
Family
Wife/Spouse	Tabassum Guru Note: Tabassum was the cousin of Afzal, who was ten years older than her.
Children	Son- Ghalib Guru Daughter- None
Parents	Father- Habibullah Guru (deceased) (engaged in transport and timber business) [11]The Indian Express Mother- Ayesha Begum
Siblings	Brother- 2 • Aijaz Guru (elder) • Hilal Ahmed Sister- None

Some Lesser Known Facts About Afzal Guru

• Afzal Guru (1969-2013) was a Kashmiri surrendered militant and the co-conspirator of the Indian Parliament attack who was awarded three life sentences and a double death sentence by the Supreme Court of India for his involvement in the parliament attack. ^[12]Outlook

• He was a devotee of the Persian Islamic poet Rumi and Muhammad Iqbal, a South Asian Muslim writer and poet.  ^[13]The Quint

• He was the admirer of Madhubala, one of the most successful and famous Bollywood actresses of her era. ^[14]Newslaundry
  

  A poster of actress Madhubala on the wall in the background of Afzal Guru

• According to some media outlets, he worked as a commission agent for surgical equipment after returning to Jammu and Kashmir from Delhi with a Bachelor of Arts degree ^[15]The Times of India and became more familiar with Delhi because of his business trips. ^[16]The Times of India

• According to Tabassum, she didn’t confront Afzal about his involvement in the Indian Parliament attack even after being aware of it. In an interview, while talking about suspecting Afzal’s connection to the attack, Tabassum said,
  

  I won’t lie. I suspected, but I never checked, asked or stopped him. I agree, he was not fully innocent, but did he really deserve the death sentence? What about those who actually shot those people? They walk away free?” ^[17]Newslaundry

• According to sources, Afzal Guru’s son, Ghalib, would often recite poems for his father during his imprisonment. ^[18]Young India Foundation

• According to the Superintendent of Tihar Jail No. 03, Manoj Dwivedi, Afzal never read the Quran as a child, but he read it during the years of imprisonment spent inside Tihar Jail. ^[19]The Indian Express

• According to sources, Afzal Guru mentioned DSP Davinder Singh, then posted with Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operations Group at Humhama, in a letter written in 2004 to his lawyer Sushil Kumar as the person who tortured him to take one of the Pakistani nationals, identified as one of the terrorists behind the execution of the Indian Parliament attack, Mohammad, to Delhi, arrange a flat for his stay, and buy him a car.
  

  DSP Davinder Singh

  While referring to the torture, Afzal wrote,

  Then they took me to Humhama STF camp where DSP Davinder Singh also tortured me. One of his torture inspectors as they called him Shanty Singh electrified me naked for 3 hours and made me drink water while giving electric shocks through telephone instruments. Ultimately I accepted to pay them Rs. 1000000 for which my family sold the gold of my wife. Even after this, they could manage only Rs. 80000. Then, they took the scooter too which was just 2-3 months old which I bought for Rs. 24000.”

• The secret execution of Afzal was named “Operation Three Star.” ^[20]India Today

• In an interview, Sunil Gupta, one of the jailers in Tihar Jail, revealed that Afzal started singing a song from the film ‘Badal’ (1966) after receiving information about his execution on the same day within two hours of his hanging. ^[21]Mumbai Mirror Afzal sang,
  

  Apne liye jiye toh kya jiye, Tu ji ae dil Zaman eke liye (What is a point of life lived for ourselves, my heart lives for others)” ^[22]Mumbai Mirror

•  Reportedly, in the last letter to his family, Afzal asked his family to feel proud of his demise as he believed to be fortunate enough to be chosen by God to sacrifice his soul to him. While thanking God for taking his soul and mentioning all the believers of God, Afzal wrote
  

  [My] Respected family members and the Believers [of Allah]. May Allah’s blessings be upon you all. A hundred thousand gratitudes to Allah that He chose me for this stature. Also my greetings to all Believers [of Allah] that we all remained on the side of the truth and the right. May we all be on this path [of righteousness] and die for the truth and the right. This is my request to the members of my family that they should all respect the stature I have attained [by my execution] rather than nourishing a sense of loss and repentance on my death. May Allah be the saviour and the protector for all of you.” ^[23]The Hindu

• On 3 February 2013, then-President Pranab Mukherjee rejected Afzal’s mercy petition; ^[24]The Hindu however, Afzal’s cousin, Yaseen Ahmed, claimed that the family was unaware of the rejection of Afzal’s mercy petition. ^[25]NDTV – YouTube

• According to the sources, Afzal was the first prisoner to be hanged after the execution of ‘Satwant’ and ‘Kehar,’ held in 1989 in Tihar Jail, New Delhi, the murderers of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. ^[26]The Tribune

• Reportedly, after Afzal’s hanging, his family claimed his body; however, the central government rejected the request to avoid any kind of disturbance in the country as per the policy of keeping possession of the executed prisoner’s body in case of any chances of violence in the country. According to the media reports, Afzal’s family wrote a letter to the director of Tihar Jail, requesting him to hand over the body of Afzal for performing his last rites. ^[27]NDTV The letter read,
  

  We are writing to you to please permit the family members to give Afzal Guru proper dignified last rites in accordance with the religious traditions…If you could inform us when the family members can perform the ‘Namaaz-e-Janaza’, we would appreciate it.” ^[28]NDTV

• According to sources, to honour the soul of the deceased, an empty grave for Afzal Guru was dug in Srinagar’s Iddgah. ^[29]The Hindu The stone on the grave consisted of some engraved words, which read,
  

  The martyr of the nation, Mohammad Afzal Guru, Date of Martyrdom: 9th February 2013 Saturday, whose mortal remains are lying in the custody of the Government of India. The nation is awaiting its return.” ^[30]The Hindu

  

  The tombstone of Afzal Guru placed adjacent to Maqbool Bhat’s (the founder of JKLF) in the Martyrs’ Graveyard in Srinagar

• Srinagar often experiences a complete shutdown and protests on the death anniversary of Afzal Guru.

• Reportedly, Afzal’s writings were published in a 94-page book titled ‘Ahle Imaan Ke Naam Shaheed Mohammad Afzal Guru Ka Aakhri Paigam,’ which consisted of the letters written by Afzal Guru during his imprisonment in the high-security jail in New Delhi, ^[31]NDTV and a 240-page book titled ‘Aaina (Mirror)’ purportedly written by Afzal and published by the Jaish-e-Mohammad group in December 2013. ^[32]The Indian Express Reportedly, the book ‘Aaina (Mirror)’ consists of a letter written to Masood Azhar which read that Afzal had completed this book in 2010, but he was not able to publish it. ^[33]The Indian Express
  

  Cover page (left) of the book ‘Aaina’ and a page (right) ostensibly containing Afzal’s writings