Omar, and the tasks ahead

Omar Abdullah back as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir is not just the return to power, it is  a return of an elected government after a gap of more than six years and four months. This is second time in the history of J&K that it took more than six years of the Central rule before the return of political government  – first was from  January 19, 1990 to October 9, 1996. That time, it was return of Farooq Abdullah as chief minister. But there is a huge difference between time and space between the two spells of the central rule, needless to say that challenges are different.

Farooq Abdullah had to place himself in a dual position. As chief minister he had to work for peace amidst all the violence that had left thousands dead  and system collapsed,  at the same time he had to reverse all the damage done to education, health and all other sectors across the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He represented hope for the whole of the Indian nation  which knew what the challenges were. The people trusted him for taking them out of the quagmire in which they were caught  that time. Farooq had pitched for restoration of greater autonomy, which many like me interpreted as something that brought him back to power.

That was perhaps myopic understanding. People wanted good governance and  search of their dignity and identity in peace. The people were concerned about their day to day issues. They were caught in very, very difficult  situations – guns of militants, surrendered militants  also known as Ikhwanis and of course security forces engaged in counter-terrorism operations. It was a cross-fire situation.

Omar Abdullah is far luckier. He took over as CM on Wednesday (October 16, 2024) when palpable normalcy is there. The people are going about their normal work without any fear of getting waylaid  or stoned.  I am sure, Omar  who is known for his straightforwardness to the extent of sounding blunt, is aware of the changed  situation  and its genesis. It  would have been very difficult if not impossible  to restore this kind of normalcy. For this, he should be thankful to the Central government and the central rule. 

In his first tenure  as Chief Minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (January 5, 2009 to January 7, 2015), he knew what all he had to go through. He was scared of the ringtone of his CID chief because that brought him news of clashes and casualties in 2010 when the Valley was hit by stone throwing and left  more than 120 dead.

That’s history  now, primarily because the  Narendra Modi  government worked hard through Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to bring in normalcy that dots the Valley. This has set up a stage wherefrom it is quite easy for Omar to work on his developmental plans.  Let it be said, and said very candidly that violence violates human dignity, peace restores that. The people know that how  were they subjected to the recurring nightmare of seeing their young going to graves. The human dignity is more important than anything else.

But to say that Omar’s challenges have diminished altogether would be a distortion. It is for him to determine that what is going to be his  article of faith  in terms of politics and governance. A serious reflection is needed. Omar has  a teacher at  home, his  father Farooq Abdullah, veteran of many political ups and downs in the history of J&K. He has learnt that election time hyperbolic rhetoric serves no purpose,  does more harm than good  if it is kept alive in the post-poll eras. 

Yes, there will be many pressures and reminders of what  all Omar stated and promised during election, especially when his party has been the biggest beneficiary of the people’s anger over the abrogation of Article 370. They saw hope in NC , not that they believed that this particular constitutional provision would be restored – they are better political scientists than politicians. Politicians get carried away by a single-lens approach. The people wanted to send a message  and which they did. 

The restoration of statehood is very important. That is  legal and constitutional right, which the Centre has recognised without any ambiguity on the issue. Prime Minister, Home Minister have committed themselves to honour the promise that was made on the floor of the Parliament  to restore statehood. There are ways of getting it done and I am sure that the entire political class in Jammu and Kashmir knows how to go about it.  Omar and his party needs to reflect  and recall who were the pioneers in urging the Centre to restore statehood  in early 2020. They were mocked at  for suggesting something  which it was believed was a given. In politics, nothing is given. This fight was initiated by Apni Party  president Altaf Bukhari and his  team. It is very easy to dub parties and individuals as “B or C” team of BJP, but the situation has taken such a turn that  BJP will have to be taken on board on everything  for the welfare of the state.

There are some  basic tasks that Omar Abdullah government  has  to accomplish. The whole of J&K is gripped with a severe crisis  of unemployment. There is a huge army of unemployed youth. They are looking for work. There are more than one lakh vacant posts in the government departments. These should be filled in transparent and fair manner. The youth are suffering from depression and drug abuse has taken a shape of epidemic. If our youth is not on the right path, neither politics nor governance will work.

The tendency to dismiss these issues  and that of the improvement in education, health and other sectors as  insignificant  as compared to the political milestones. These are not. Politics without getting the fundamentals right  leads to lot of complications. Tomorrow, water, electricity and other such issues will become bigger issues than what are being currently perceived.

Omar, in his first day in office on Wednesday, was flooded with congratulatory messages, and the most significant  was that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM’s message on X, formerly Twitter, essentially spoke of the shared responsibility of the Centre and the Omar Abdullah government to take J&K forward to the path of progress. Read and re-read  his message: “Congratulations to Shri Omar Abdullah ji  on taking oath as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir . Wishing him the very best in his efforts to serve the people. THE CENTRE WILL WORK CLOSELY WITH HIM AND HIS TEAM FOR J&K’S PROGRESS..” The profoundness of this congratulatory message is in acknowledging the people’s verdict in true democratic fashion as also invoking a spirit of partnership in taking J&K forward  with a promise of shared responsibility.

Omar’s reply was equally vibrant and profound. Before the messages were exchanged on X, Omar had taken oath of office and secrecy of the office of Chief Minister  with five of his ministers – three of them, including Deputy Chief Minister, from Jammu. Two of them are Hindus. That spoke of his reaching out to Jammu that voted overwhelmingly for BJP on the plank of Hindu chief minister for Jammu. More importantly, it conveyed a message to the nation and in particular to the Centre that Kashmir-centric politicians, as they are called, are conscious of the urges and aspirations of the people of the region. This was a way of extending hand of cooperation to the Centre, which is very crucial for keeping the state (UT status is temporary, so said PM)  moving forward in lockstep with Centre.  It’s a great start. An elected government is a bridge that people were looking for. That is there, don’t damage it by twisting  to unrealistic narratives.