Stage managed events purport to be the new reality even as the 'real’ appears quite sham. Omar Abdullah’s resignation last week could only grab television news headlines and the eyeballs for about two days. But for those 48 hours it was riveting made-for-TV political theatre. The very telegenic CM indignantly threatened to quit even as he was mobbed by MLAs who tugged at his coat sleeve, begged with folded hands that the leader should not desert them. No, no said Abdullah, it is impossible for me to continue when such charges are made. All this on live TV!
As I watched the drama on screen several thoughts flashed through my head.
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- He was actually quitting because Kashmir had proved unmanageable and he’d had enough.
- He was indulging in drama to recover some moral ground as his reputation had been seriously undermined in the valley since he mishandled the fallout of the Shopian rape and murder case.
- The Omar I knew was a straight talking guy and this could have been a reflex action to the charge of being involved in the 2006 sex scandal.
- He was trying to show up the PDP that had made the accusation and remains the principal electoral rival to the NC in the valley.
- He was a media smart guy, and was grandstanding for the benefit of live TV and the larger national constituency.
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As it turned out, I was partly wrong and partly right. Omar did not have to leave office. The PDP was left looking a little foolish as the CBI and union home minister P. Chidambaram stated that the chief minister was not linked to the sex scandal. Yet it would be foolhardy to presume that by upstaging the PDP at its own game Omar has inflicted long term damage to the party. The PDP has its own base and will remain the alternative in the Kashmir valley to the National Conference run by the Abdullahs.
What did the resignation drama do for Omar? In political terms it may give him a brief respite, but in the context of the valley, it proved to be only a minor distraction. The next time round Omar is confronted with problems, it will look almost churlish and immature were he to again threaten to quit. After all, Omar also says that he almost resigned from the BJP-led NDA government after the 2002 Gujarat riots and in that case we just have to take his word for it. Last week, he once again “almost” resigned from the chief-ministership of the most sensitive state in India because an unsubstantiated and somewhat wild charge was hurled at him in the assembly. At one level the entire episode was quite ridiculous and live television also helped expose the mock tears and the sham posturing.
Consider the conclusion of the resignation drama enacted in television studios. Father Farooq played the supporting role and broadcast his advice to his son: “I want to tell Omar to be a little calm”. The best episode of the Abdullah family soap was on NDTV in a show anchored by Barkha Dutt. By then Omar was simply waiting for the governor to officially reject his resignation and said so to Dutt: “The final formality in ending this episode would be for the governor to reject my resignation,” he declared. Then Dutt played the recording of dad requesting son to be calm. Omar smiled indulgently: “I can tell you that father was a damned sight more calm in your TV studio then when he spoke directly to me. I don’t think I have been yelled like that since I was seven years old.” Dutt concluded: “Well Omar we must tell you that we are very happy that we are still talking to India’s youngest chief minister.”
By the end of that show, we knew that the chief minister of the state that includes one of the oldest and most volatile conflict zones in the world gets yelled at by daddy. I must confess that I have always liked Omar with his straight forward ways and do give him credit for rebuilding the National Conference. I met him twice in Srinagar over the past year and it is always a pleasure to interview a politician as articulate and clear headed as him. In January, soon after he’d won the assembly polls and become chief minister I spoke to him in bitterly cold Srinagar. In spite of the impossible odds against him, he’s been hopeful about bringing some change. And he had won respect in the Valley for simply staying the course. Now many in Kashmir say the resignation was nothing more than a desperate stunt by Omar who had been badly cornered for mishandling the Shopian case and enquiry.
I have a copy of a report prepared by the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Indian-administered Kashmir titled “Militarization with impunity: a brief on rape and murder in Shopian, Kashmir.” The report attempts a step by step expose of the attempt to cover up the case of rape and murder of the two women in Shopian. But there is also some interesting data. According to the report there are “671 security camps in Kashmir stretched over 90,000 acres of farmland and 1,500 buildings which necessitate encounters between local women and the security forces on a routine basis.” In other words, with this huge level of militarization incidents like Shopian are inevitable.
There are no easy answers in Kashmir and a few days after the CM’s resignation was offered and rejected, blood was again spilled in the Valley. After a year-long lull in violence, militants struck in the heart of Srinagar and killed two security personnel. Initial reports suggested they were from the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Omar certainly does not have an easy job at hand. The chief minister of the state can only operate within constraints of larger strategic and Indian interests. Shadowy forces can disrupt life in the valley long used to being a pawn between the ambitions of nations. The resignation that was never intended to be accepted was just a minor blip in the affairs of the state.
