How Omar and Mehbooba's rotten leadership pushed Kashmir into crisis
After the Amarnath land row in 2008, PDP lost the Assembly election and, in 2009, the nomination of Omar Abdullah - the grandson of Sheikh Abdullah - for the post of chief minister raised hopes and expectations among the Kashmiri people, especially the youth.
Omar was expected to address the local issues. He was portrayed as an energetic and dynamic leader by the media. But destiny proved otherwise. He turned out to be an icon of controversies as his government faced one heated situation after the other.
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| Omar Abdullah is seen telling TV channels today what Mehbooba did as the opposition leader. |
He faced his first challenge in February 2009 when the Army killed two persons at Bomai in north Kashmir's Sopore. As CM he seemed committed to withdrawal of the draconian law - AFSPA - which gives Indian armed forces protection from prosecution while operating in "disturbed areas".
But consistent failures to revoke the law gave the then opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the chance to accuse him of "lowering the dignity" of his chair. On the other side of the coin, he promised 80,000 jobs for youth, but it remains a dream.
The other major crisis that hit Omar's government was the killing of two young girls of Shopian - Asiya and Neelofar.
The incident shocked every Kashmiri and protests were held everywhere. The other major crisis which the ruling NC believe was the chief cause of its downfall was when, in 2010, Indian forces and the local police opened fire at protesters after the Machhil fake encounter and the death of Tufail Mattu - this led to killings of more than 128 people in over six months; Omar went into a shell.
He didn't resign fearing the opposition would take over. Over the next three years, Omar constituted commissions of inquiry, ordering probes into civilian killings by the armed forces. In April 2012, Omar faced yet another controversy when he called one of his party workers, Haji Muhammad Yousuf, to his house to inquire into allegations of fraud against him. He handed Yousuf over to IGP crime. The next day, the party worker died in police custody.
Following this, the hanging of Afzal Guru in 2013 and, subsequently, the floods of 2014 turned sour for Jammu and Kashmir. Disaster struck as the deluge ravaged Kashmir. It evoked a question on the credibility of the state government, and all these years of governance proved the NC leader had failed in Jammu and Kashmir.
Using his failures to motivate Kashmiris to vote for them, and BJP-PDP alliance won the election in 2014; stabbing its own values and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, the PDP shook hands with the BJP.
The present CM, Mehbooba Mufti, rose to power pretending to be the healer and would make an appearance at pro-freedom gatherings, even mourning militants.
With Mehbooba's rise as a politician, Kashmir seemed to be heading towards a time when the Mufti's daughter would probably become the first successful chief minister by solving the long pending dispute of Jammu and Kashmir.
But nobody had known that despite castigating BJP before elections, her party would show eagerness forming the government with the rightwing, Hindutva front.
They say tough situations produce tough humans, but Mehbooba Mufti has fled the turmoil in the most abrupt fashion. The killing of innocents by men in uniform, the journey of young Kashmir towards militancy, the stagnated peace-process, the growing weather vagaries, the debacle of agriculture, flood-hit masses waiting for reprieve - the myriad issues plaguing the PDP-BJP government - no longer bother Mehbooba Mufti.
It seems she has surrendered to the fact that the BJP should be given way in whatever it wants to support her party's petty power clinging for half a decade.
The political downslide has been such that Mehbooba only speaks on minor issues, assured of a patient hearing from her colleagues.
Self-rule, a slogan which Mehbooba and her party had raised the chorus for, has been thrown into the dustbin.
In the past, Mehbooba's fire and energy seemed to outclass even the likes of Mamata Banerjee, Jayalalithaa and Mayawati, but with time she failed to learn from these very counterparts that politics is about clinging to thought and ideology, not succumbing to pressure.
For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, under Mehbooba's leadership, internet and phone services have been banned for the past one month, since the death of militant commander Burhan Wani. Even the publishing of newspapers was banned for three days after the police raided media houses and shut down a major printing press in what was seen as the most sweeping information blackout.
"The undesirable step was taken to ensure peace," J&K government spokesman Nayeem Akhtar said. However, the CM claimed she didn't know who had given the orders. Mehbooba also stated she was not informed before Burhan Wani's encounter, a claim IG Sahai has denied.
The PDP, known for its soft corner for the Hurriyat, has talked about giving them political space when it was in the opposition. In the past, the Hurriyat leadership was open to represent itself freely. However, under Mehbooba's rule, the Hurriyat's workers live in the fear of detention.
The last nail in the coffin for Mehbooba was the way she handled the current agitation. In the aftermath of Burhan Wani's killing, in just 33 days, 60 Kashmiris have lost their lives while 6,500 have been injured and 300 blinded by pellets. Mehbooba has become the synonym for tyrant and her tears now seem photoshopped.
Her past rhetoric of using images of killed youth to seek justice for them is haunting her now.
From a three-year-old boy Burhan, who was shot dead in his father's lap along with his father in restive Sopore by unknown gunmen to the five-year-old Nasir Khan blinded in pellet-led struggle by forces, Mehbooba's government has painted the streets of Kashmir red the blood of innocents.
On all burning issues, once the vocal and firebrand Mehbooba Mufti has chosen the route of silence and it seems the alliance with the ideologically different BJP has, with time, proven disastrous.
It has made Mehbooba speechless. With every compromise by her government and its mounting failure, the PDP cadre is asking where their fiery leader has disappeared.
Omar Abdullah is seen telling TV channels today what Mehbooba did as the opposition leader. History has proved that be it the young Abdullah or Kashmir's first ever women chief minister, both have failed despite their tall labels and hefty posturing.