By GHULAM NABI KHAYAL[Srinagar-Kashmir]
About two weeks ago, hot rumour was doing rounds locally that the State chief minister Omar Abdullah has resigned from his office. When I took a bird’s eye view of my good and bad contacts with the National Conference party right from 1958, I could hardly believe that an NC head of the government would leave his seat of power voluntarily to which Omar also has fixed himself like an adhesive.
One can easily analyse the inner state of emotions of a youthful Omar which might have inflamed his mind mainly due to total collapse of his administration and lack of will and determination to curb illegal killings of Kashmiri youths with impunity by the Indian forces. Therefore, Omar Abdullah has forfeited his moral right to rule the state effectively and with an imposing command over the grim situation.
The dynasty of late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah has been taking the people of this State far granted whenever it took into its hands the reigns of power. When out of power, this organisation shed crocodile tears for the plight of a suppressed Kashmiri nation, otherwise, its being power hungry at any cost is not a hidden secret.
In 1975, a tired Sheikh Abdullah, then tallest of the tall, succumbed to the pressures of power and greed got better of him. Thus, the first Prime Minister of this State readily agreed to lower down himself to the seat of a chief minister sitting along with two dozen other chief ministers of the Indian provinces.
His successor, his own son Farooq Abdullah proved worse than ever before to the extent that his own brother, late Tariq Abdullah, once described him a “security risk.” Finally, he had to go, thought undemocratically, in July 1984; when his own brother-in-law, Ghulam Mohammad Shah stabbed him in his back and he was not allowed even to utter these pathetic words: Et tu Brutus!
Shah proved again a disaster for his enforcing indefinite curfew across Kashmir Valley and he also had to go in a similar unceremonious way in1986, when Governor’s rule was imposed over the State.
What happened during the ruthless rule of Governor Jagmohan in the Valley may not be repeated for, his atrocities committed on peaceful rallies with massacring scores of people in Tengpora, Islamia College, Gaw Kadal, Khanyar, Pazipora, Chota Bazar and etc, are the blackest chapters of the bleeding contemporary history of Kashmir.
Meanwhile Farooq Abdullah had recast his hypocritical friendship with Rajiv Gandhi, who embraced a humiliated Farooq and set the ugly record of most rigged elections held in 1987 only to bring back Farooq to ascend the seat of chief minister ship which had been snatched away from his loose hands by Rajiv’s vindictive mother.
The fraudulent elections held in 1987 were orchestrated and manipulated by the authorities both in Srinagar and New Delhi with the connivance of Rajiv Gandhi. About the united opposition conglomerate, Muslim United Front (MUF), intelligence reports said that the MUF could bag not more than 15 seats in the Legislative Assembly, Farooq did not want to listen to any voice of dissent in the house and he saw to it that the MUF is forced to bite the dust. The winning candidates of the opposition were declared defeated and confined in various police stations where the NC hooligans and even those selected as NC MLAs beat them to the pulp and threatened them with dire consequences.
This resulted in Pakistan having a golden opportunity provided to it automatically. Islamabad had been watching on the fence to create trouble for giving sleepless nights to both Srinagar and the Central authorities. The Kalashnikov was seen by the Kashmiris for the first time and local youths became “Mujahideen.”
This unethical and unjustified election proved a turning point for a stained scenario for the internationally recognised Kashmir dispute.
Had Farooq conceded a few seats to the MUF in a 87-member Assembly, heavens would not fall, but, as every one knows, NC is the master of self conceived hegemony and its leadership still thinks that being loyal to this party is a prerequisite for the people of the State.
We are not enemies of Omar Abdullah, because he is a properly elected head of the government. But in view of his failed regime, he should have honourably resigned setting a healthy example in the Abdullah dynasty at least for the first time. And, there is no difference of opinion that his stepping down would be highly appreciated by the people and he would perhaps emerge as the leader of the people to give them a proper direction towards their lost destination, which the fragmented Hurriyat has not been able to accomplish despite its 17-year long waywardness.
But, as of now, Omar does not seem to shed the torn out rags of his temporary power. This might not be a prediction, but just a guess, that he may also have to go much before fulfilling his term because Delhi has a track record of dismissing, uninstalling and demolishing almost all the State governments from 1953 onwards to weaken its political and national identity.
Omar is on record as saying that CRPF has gone out of his control and that the Central government must intervene to tell the uncontrollable forces not to overstep their brief. Doesn’t it take us to a logical conclusion that in the largest interest of the people of Kashmir, but not in the interest of his greed for power, he must call it a day and regain the lost glory of his predecessors in the present day political atmosphere?
Of late, he has advocated that the NC president should not be from the Abdullah family and that when in power, NC suffers from slackness.
One cannot understand as to how a non-Abdullah dynasty head of the NC can help bring about any significant and practical change in the ground reality and that his ministers are victims of skulking? It is essentially for him to pull them up for; he is himself in the driving seat commanding affairs of the government. One of his ministers recently said that CRPF was not paying any heed to the State government’s instructions and its troopers have become uncontrollable. Isn’t it a moral obligation for the chief minister either to rein in paramilitary troopers or step down?
Tail Piece:
It was on 26 June when Omar was shown on Srinagar TV, chairing a meeting of high officials including his cabinet ministers to take stock of deteriorating situation in the Valley. He was noticed wearing a white tea shirt with an inscription of GAP in capitals. Does it mean that there is a complete GAP between the government and the people? Or, it Means: Government Against People?
Author can reached at: gulkhayal@gmail.com
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