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| March 2010 Issue |
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Such a Long Journey
Omar Abdullah needs one moment of boldness to silence his critic
By Ghazala Wahab |
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The good thing about Omar Abdullah is that he is not a man in hurry. He talks of a six-year mandate to govern (one of which is already gone mostly in fire-fighting) and to deliver on his promises to those who voted him to power. Perhaps, this is also the reason he is taking his time to unveil his vision for Jammu and Kashmir, which hopefully will leave a lasting impression.
There is, however, a small problem. The entire opposition in the state, both the elected and the non-elected variety, is not only in a great hurry but desperately so. And their collective haste is increasingly putting Abdullah in the quick sand of murky politicking. Unfortunately, instead of heaving himself out, Abdullah seems to be surrendering to this murkiness by joining rhetorical issues with his accusers. This behaviour suits the opposition leaders, not the chief minister. And certainly, not the chief minister, whose only baggage is the hope that he has kindled and the expectations that he has raised, both inside and outside the state. Rhetoric is the weapon of those who cannot make the change.
However, Abdullah’s bigger folly is in the realm of omission and not commission. Whenever he is asked about incidents of violent protests, stoning by the people or shutdowns ordered by factions of the Hurriyat Party, he says that all this is happening in pockets of the Valley where his party, |
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the National Conference, has traditionally been weak. The areas are predictable: Downtown Srinagar, Old Baramullah town, Sopore, Shopian... Had the NC cadre been strong, there wouldn’t be trouble in these areas, as the cadre would have prevailed upon the discordant elements.As a realistic political assessment, nobody can fault with this. But seen in the larger, big picture way, there is something terribly wrong with a chief minister making a statement like this.Abdullah is not the chief minister of the NC cadre, or those who have voted him in. |
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As a chief minister he is the representative of everyone who resides in J&K whether he supports Abdullah politically or not. As a politician it is his job to ensure that those who are opposed to him do not remain his opposition. The NC cadre and the NC strongholds are his inheritance. Even as he consolidates his inheritance, he needs to go beyond what his grandfather and father bequeathed him. The only way he can add to what he has got is by taking his battle in the bastion of those who oppose him. By not doing this, he is limiting himself to what he predecessors did. Where is the promise of change in that?
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