Dregs Of A Sheikhdom

The day before election results came in, the crown prince of Jammu and Kashmir, the very personable Omar Abdullah, was sitting in his garden sipping tea and holding forth on the sort of ministers he'd choose once he won the polls. Omar had no doubt in his mind that victory was his. "It's an old Kashmiri tradition," he said. "When people leave the polling booth, they curse the NC when actually they have voted for us."

It was said with the arrogant confidence dynastic rulers display, not politicians accustomed to the vagaries of democracy. But then Omar can be forgiven for believing he was born to rule. The Abdullahs have had a virtual stranglehold on Kashmir, which they treat almost as their personal jagir.

The end of Abdullah raj has not come without its share of stories about palace politics and family intrigue. In Srinagar, people believe that Farooq asked Omar to replace him in state politics only when he thought he'd become the vice-president of India. When that fell through, Omar apparently pressurised his father into giving him the job though Farooq had reservations. Father and son also had differences over replacing the NC old guard with young faces.

Sources close to Farooq say "he was hurt that instead of being grateful for getting it all because of his father, Omar was turning his back on him". Throughout the campaign, Omar had repeatedly stressed he was different from his father. Says an NC source close to Farooq: "I sent him a message that no living king ever gives up his throne to his son. Remember the Mughals' succession battles?" At one point, an angry Farooq is believed to have told aides: "Let Omar learn his lesson this time."

Some weeks ago Omar, along with wife Payal and his two sons, moved out of Farooq's chief ministerial residence into a smaller bungalow that's still under renovation. Sources close to the family also say that problems between father and son were linked to Payal's differences with her father-in-law. Perhaps that is why Farooq arrived in Srinagar only after the Abdullah kingdom had fallen like a pack of cards. Even as a stunned Omar could only speak in monosyllables to the press, it was left to Farooq to accept defeat gracefully.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, whose pdp demolished the NC in the Valley, has some sympathy for Omar: "I believe he is a well- meaning boy but he was a novice. Farooq shouldn't have allowed him to take such a fall." However, Saifuddin Soz, once in the NC but now in the Congress, has another take: "Farooq would've fared better. He's a warm person and has greater acceptance than Omar who is seen as an outsider." All the same, the Mufti is right when he says, "Omar or Farooq, they had to go."

Those who know the Abdullahs in Srinagar tell you that their arrogance is far more medieval than even the dynastic politics of the Congress. Indira Gandhi, for instance, won elections before becoming a national leader; Nehru did not publicly anoint her successor. Rajiv likewise entered politics after his mother's assassination. But the Abdullahs do things differently. Sheikh Abdullah had at a huge public meeting in 1981 pinned a badge on his son's lapel and appointed him party president. When he died in 1982, it was a simple matter for Farooq to take over the chief ministership. History was repeated a few months ago when at a party convention Farooq dramatically placed a topi on Omar's head, a gesture suited more to a medieval court than a democratic state.

It was Sheikh Abdullah who was the first king. No one disputes that he was a tall leader. At the same time he was never much of a democrat. Used to a virtual walk-over in most elections, there are various anecdotes about his not taking kindly to opposition when and if it surfaced. He did not consider an opposition necessary for a healthy democracy. That is why the people of the state refer to the Adbullahs as maharajas.

New Delhi too is believed to have played underhand politics to keep the Abdullahs in power. Just like the British had a few pet rajas to prop up their empire, the Abdullahs are seen as the Centre's pawns in the Valley. Says Sajjad Lone of the People's Conference, "Some individuals left us and contested as independents because they were desperate to defeat the NC and get rid of the Abdullah raj." Adds Soz, "We had our fingers crossed not just because we wanted the Congress to win but because we know that getting rid of the Abdullahs would restore people's faith in democracy."

Clearly, Omar had no idea of the debacle awaiting him. He was certain of getting at least 35 seats. But then kings in their palaces are often clueless about the world outside. Now that the Abdullah empire is biting the dust, it's up to Omar to show he can turn into a democrat.