[2] In 2007, close-up images of him participating in protests in Srinagar were published in various international media outlets and became the basis of an internet meme,[3] with several bloggers nicknaming him Islamic Rage Boy.
[a] Bhat dropped out of school as a teenager, and in 1991, at the age of 13, he joined a Kashmiri militant group called Al-Umar-Mujahideen,[8][11] which he remained part of until his arrest in 1994.
An injury to his right arm as a result of the torture had left him unable to lift anything, and he has relied on his brothers to support him since then, saying he feels as if he is 110 years old.
He took part in protests against the Indian Army, Israel, Pope Benedict XVI, Salman Rushdie, and the cartoons caricaturing Muhammad.
[17] Speaking to The Guardian about his photograph becoming viral on the internet, he said: I am not happy with people joking about me or making me into a cartoon, but I have more important things to think about.