Farooq Abdullah, often referred to as happy go-lucky, has proven that he is the politician’s politician. The writing had been on the wall ever since Doctor Sahab formed the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) -- a masterstroke – with other political parties of Jammu and Kashmir in 2020 in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. My friend Sajjad Lone, during a visit to Delhi soon afterwards, and while he was still a member of PAGD, told me Doctor Sahab in his new avatar was a man possessed, determined to restore not just Kashmir’s statehood but its dignity. Off and on, when I asked him how he would manage “accommodation”, Doctor Sahab’s response was: “Togetherness, not accommodation, is the key”. Also: “we need to unite or perish”.
In due course, the Kashmiri leadership, from Mehbooba Mufti to Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami to Muzaffar Shah and others, began to realise the heights to which Doctor Sahab has soared; even those who disliked him acknowledged he was the tallest leader in Kashmir. I recall talking to young Iltija Mufti, one of the brightest stars on Kashmir’s political firmament, a couple of times before the Assembly elections, and she said Doctor Sahab was “nicest leader in Kashmir”. Her mother, Mehbooba, told me more than once that Doctor Sahab was their leader.
When I met Dr Farooq Abdullah on his birthday on February 12, 2020, he was still under detention in Srinagar. We avoided talking politics. Except that I suggested he think and look ahead, and his response, as always, was: “Of course”. But nobody could teach Farooq how to politically suck eggs.
Sadly, Delhi never saw the writing on the wall and as in the past, Farooq was wasted again. Instead of doing business directly with him, for which he was more than willing, Delhi put up proxies, alas all friends, pygmies who faded into insignificance before the big man. In the recent Assembly polls, all but Sajad Lone were decimated.
The credit for the National Conference success in the Assembly and even the Lok Sabha elections goes to Farooq Abdullah. Nobody has the political instinct or the imagination to choreograph an election in Kashmir better than him. During the parliamentary election, he displayed this instinct by putting up a Shia and a Gujjar along with Omar Abdullah as the three candidates from the Valley, hoping all three would win. When Omar lost, it was a setback to both father and son, but added
to their determination not to fail in the Assembly elections. Amazingly, this time not only the Shias and Gujjars but even the Jamaat-e-Islami appeared to have supported the National Conference in its resounding victory. Certainly, Omar’s determination and hard work finally laid to rest the ghost of north Kashmir. Engineer Rashid, out of jail, fizzled away from the Kashmiri mind.
Always a nationalist and secular leader, Dr Farooq Abdullah has also been able to tweak his imagination to old times when the National Conference was still the Muslim Conference (before 1939) and use it to the party’s benefit. Ironically, a few years ago, sitting with him and Shafi Sahab (senior NC leader, Mohammad Shafi Uri), I enquired which way the Jamaat would go in an Assembly election. Shafi Sahab felt the Jamaat, which was close to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, would always vote for the PDP. When I asked, “Why not the National Conference?”, Farooq looked at Shafi and said: “Batao?” Shafi had no answer, but I think Doctor Sahab understood what I was trying to say. Interestingly, despite doubters, Doctor Sahab was always emphatic that the Assembly elections must be held, and would be held, in September 2024.
As voting in the Assembly elections began, and the Congress campaign appeared to be weakening in Jammu, the BJP again began looking for Doctor Sahab in the hope of an NC-BJP tie-up. Unfortunately for the BJP, the mandate was so emphatic that any such tie-up even in future would require time; the BJP needs to realise how and why they disappointed Farooq and wasted four years. Farooq’s politics is of both the head and the heart. If he joined the INDIA bloc, it was because the BJP left him with no option and after walking with Rahul Gandhi in Delhi for the Bharat Jodo Yatra, his heart took him towards the Congress. This ultimately resulted in the NC-Congress alliance in J&K. The National Conference now has a majority of its own, but it would be a huge mistake for it to ignore the Congress, which is the only bulwark, if required, against the BJP in Jammu. The Congress, of course, needs to pull its socks up and figure out what went wrong in Jammu.
Given his openness, people often forget Farooq’s intensity in politics. Speaking at the launch of the book Covert at Delhi’s IIC during the Parliament elections in May 2024, Doctor Sahab said: “Kashmir has been a football between India and Pakistan. The tragedy is whenever anyone speaks for peace, he is dubbed in Pakistan as an “Indian agent” and a “Pakistani agent” in India,” he told an enthralled audience. “I am going to stand by what I said and what I stand for… I am part of this nation, and I will remain part of this nation. But I will not remain part of a divided nation where Hindus and Muslims are divided. I will fight it to the last breath that I have. How does it matter what religion you hold? Let’s be human beings. Let’s stand for understanding each other.”
That sums up both the man and the politician.
I would also say that whether it is the confidence of the verdict, or Doctor Sahab’s own inner feeling, the transition of power between father and son has been incredibly smooth. This should put to rest all stories about differences between the two. Doctor Sahab has, however, warned Omar, who was sworn in as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir last week, that he is inheriting a crown of thorns. This is something which Omar Abdullah needs to bear in mind as Doctor Sahab steps back.
The redoubtable Yusuf Tarigami, MLA five times out of five, has said this (Assembly verdict) is a victory for Kashmir. It is indeed, but it is also a huge victory for Omar Abdullah and Doctor Sahab, the sultan of politics. Doctor Sahab still has a huge role to play in national politics. There is no Muslim leader even half his size. Who knows, he might yet end up in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
