By Advait Moharir
Brajesh Mishra, Indias first National Security Advisor, has rightly said that the only straight thing about Kashmir is its poplar trees. The issue of Kashmir has always been complex, and in the context of Indian politics, it has been super-sensitive. Ergo, it was baffling when a veteran Kashmiri politician like Farooq Abdullah made an explicit statement supporting the separatist movement by calling it the legitimate Fight for Freedom. This statement stirred the hornets nest, with the BJP asking him to leave politics and lead the movement instead.
Losing the saffron throne
Farooq Abdullah became Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir during turbulent times. His succession, after the death of his father, Shiekh Abdullah was fraught with problems. He had to face an uprising within a faction of his own party – the National Conference(NC) – which split and ran an unstable coalition with the Congress. After the government had been suspended due to communal violence, Abdullah took over. His first rule, however, was seen as a period of the rise of militancy. Mobilised by separatist outfits, the militants forced Abdullah to resign when the State was placed under Governors Rule.
Once the militancy ended in 1996, he stormed back to power. He completed a full six-year term as the Chief Minister and is known for normalising the situation in the Valley during his tenure. What set him apart from a lot of Kashmiri politicians were his cordial relations with the Union Government in New Delhi. His alliance with the Vajpayee government was the highlight of his rule. Ex R&AW Chief AS Dulat in his book Kashmir – The Vajpayee Years explains that Farooq was the most pro-India politician Kashmir had ever seen, and this made it risky for militants to approach him. Also, the elections of 2002, wherein the NC lost power to Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) is a testimony to the fact that his government worked towards ensuring an atmosphere of trust and faith.
Why then, has he become pro-separatist? It is indeed ironic that he is now singing praises of the same separatists which ousted him from power and created a saga of violence in Kashmir. After 2008, the reins of NC have been taken over by his son Omar Abdullah. While Farooq served as a Union Minister in this period, his influence over Kashmiri politics eroded. His career has been on a steady decline, accelerated by the loss in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014. His comments, be they about non-compromise over Article 370, or his blatantly pro-separatist comments, can be characterised as attempts to stay politically relevant.
Fate of the kingdom
Many political observers have warned that the separatist movement in Kashmir is gearing up again and gaining strength after a decade of stagnancy and lack of political dialogue. Huge crowds during the funeral of Burhan Wani are indicative of an ominous mood and the army clampdown using pellet guns would have aggravated it further.
The BJP is in an uneasy alliance with PDP, which is known to be sympathetic towards separatists. While Farooq Abdullah might be politically irrelevant, his comments are a shot in the arm for the militants. It can be seen with the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik calling the stone pelting incidents in Kashmir as non-violent. Thus, the BJP government will have to tread cautiously. It will have to, in some form or the other, restart dialogue with the separatists as its predecessor Vajpayee did. Also, it will have to ensure that it uses its relative power in coalition with the state government to get work done. Thus, the BJP has to take a proactive approach. A mix of tactful diplomacy and administrative efficiency will mitigate the situation in Kashmir and provide the healing touch which it requires.