I never thought I would be repaid in this fashion… We never revolted against India, says former J&K Chief Minister
As National Conference president Farooq Abdullah takes the lead by rallying parties around the Gupkar Declaration to revive politics in J&K, which has by and large remained suspended after August 5 last year, he speaks of the bitter past and the tough future ahead.
Two political events — on August 9, 1953 and August 5, 2019 — have reshaped J&K’s course. Are there any parallels?
August 9, 1953 was the first blow to the autonomy of the State. I was studying in Class 12. There were rumours going even in the college that a coup is going to be planned and people are working at it. And the coup did take place. It’s unfortunate that the very friend who stood with us when we were fighting the autocratic rule as the Prime Minister of India betrayed my father. My father was arrested and was taken to the Udhampur Palace.
Our own Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers have betrayed the people. The erosion of Article 370 had taken place by our own people. Delhi was behind it but we were the instruments of theirs to do that. This time, the change was that they did not find our people to betray. They tried with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but couldn’t do it. That is why this lady [PDP president Mehbooba Mufti] is suffering as they want to punish her. Yes, they tried to persuade a splinter group of the PDP to implement changes on the ground. They failed. Thus they took this thing [revoking J&K’s special status] to Parliament and their own Governor, with no Assembly or Chief Minister to back it. The people governing Delhi believe in no Constitution. I am sure one day if they have their way, they will throw the Constitution into Ganga or Jamuna. There is every possibility. These fascists can do anything.
Do you regret the decision to return to politics in 1996 on the persuasion of
New Delhi at a time when J&K was facing the peak of militancy?
We sought guarantees from the Prime Minister of the day, P.V. Narasimha Rao. On the floor of Parliament, he announced that “we will restore autonomy of the State to the sky, sky is the limit but no freedom or azaadi”. We never asked for azaadi but for our rights to be returned. He promised. It’s on that promise [that] I went to the polls and carried people with me. I was in London when Delhi sent me an emissary, Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the CPI(M), to see me. Before that George Fernandes came to see me and kept on telling me that the State is going downhill… I said I will come but first we will have to talk to the PM. Let him listen to us. Our senior colleagues met the PM and pointed out how it was for (NC founder) Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah that J&K chose for India because we have Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists. He believed J&K will survive in secular India and in Gandhi’s India.
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I never thought I would be repaid in this fashion. I always thought they would increase our degree of autonomy. We never revolted against India. My people died, my Ministers and workers died holding the tricolour. Did they realise this before they did August 5? Who was here in 1996? Was the BJP here or any party? I was alone. Those were times when the Army would rule in the day and the others in the night. I still had the courage to walk around. Today, BJP president Ravinder Raina roars from Jammu. Where was he then? Where was the BJP? They behave like owners of the place now.
How were you treated during your detention?
I was treated like a criminal. That I am a thief and the three families have looted the place. That I am a terrorist. I wonder whether I would have been better off as a terrorist. It reminds me of an English saying “I wish I had served my lord more than I served the king, this would not have been my fate”. I wish I could have served my people better and thought of them.
In your previous interview, you said the authorities did not allow you to talk to your daughter who lives abroad for many weeks?
I am a Member Parliament and was supposed to have a phone. Two moments have been the most difficult in my life. One, when my sister Suraiya got married and my father was not allowed to come from Delhi. They told him to first sign a bond. He said, “to hell with your bond”. That was the day when I cried. I witnessed a similar moment when Parkash Singh Badal’s daughter got married and her father was locked up. I told them I can relate.
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The second moment was when I was locked up and they slapped the draconian law (Public Safety Act). My daughter came to see but was not allowed. She collapsed at the door. We had to get doctors to treat her for some days. That was the most tragic. I had to bear this all. I survived because of the Quran. I recited it everyday. And God spoke. That gave me strength and courage. That is what gave my mother strength.
Did the thought of hitting a dead-end in politics ever crossed your mind during your detention?
No. I never thought. I am an optimist. That is not what Islam is. Islam taught me to be strong. There is far greater power than this worldly power.
Did you meet former RAW chief A.S. Dulat as Delhi’s emissary during detention?
Yes. He came to see me and he must have been sent by them to see whether I have come down, I have compromised and if I was ready for this or that. He had lunch with me. I said no. He later gave an interview, which they didn’t expect him to do. That exposed them that they gave him a special plane. I don’t think they talk to him any more.
In one of your interviews you said ‘no one trusts Delhi in Kashmir any more’. Who do you blame for this new chapter of alienation?
Many betrayals have been done to the people here. We still tried to build that faith. It didn’t work. Ask anyone in the street how many Indians there are. Not only in Kashmir but visit Jammu and Ladakh to see what they think now. I remember when BJP leader L.K. Advani wanted to start the Sindhu Darshan in Ladakh on the banks of the river. He started the Sindhu Darshan as the Home minister and I felt it was a great thing to see Sindhis all over the world converging. Then one day he decided to give ₹20 crore for development work around the river. I remember a Buddhist Member Parliament told me that they want to convert them to Hindus from Buddhists. They still nurse these fears even today. They thought after the Union Territory everything is going to be hunky dory but are realising it today that they are going to take their land etc.
I blame the great Prime Minister of India for the new chapter of alienation. Who else? Every decision is taken at his level. There is no other man. We met the PM and discussed many things on August 3 and I pointed out the unprecedented troop movement, by road and by air. I asked if it was part of any war preparations with the neighbour. He was absolutely silent. He was so nice that even sugar could not melt in one’s mouth. He made the Home Minister announce it. So that he is above it.
Is the Gupkar Declaration, signed by major regional parties, an announcement of the intent with a roadmap?
Like August 4 last year, the parties wanted to meet again this time too. It was not allowed. We managed to talk to each other, including Mehbooba Mufti, except for Shah Faesal’s party. We reiterated what we said on August 4. I hope Ms. Mufti is freed soon and we will carry this fight forward not only in Kashmir but will have people of Jammu, Leh and Kargil with us. It’s a fight for our rights.
Is the Gupkar Declaration also about an electoral alliance? The Declaration has a line in it “Nothing about us without us”.
Elections are not. When announced, every party will decide first. And then collectively we will think about it and take a final decision.
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The line mentioned in the Declaration means whatever decision we will take it will be a collective decision. It will not be a unilateral decision by one party or by one Farooq Abdullah. We are together in this and will remain so. The goal will be achieved in which the honour of our people and of this (erstwhile) State is restored. It’s not a fight for power as the BJP’s Raina and Darakshan Andrabi makes it sound. We are not power hungry but they are. They are power hungry and are carrying out the delimitation, to tilt the balance. It was supposed to happen in 2026 with other parts of the country. We deliberately decided to stay away from the delimitation commission. Their intention is not right. They are mischievous people.
People are accusing you
of changing the goal post from the restoration of pre-1953 position to
pre-August 5 position.
The National Conference (NC) stands for pre-1953 position and the Gupkar Declaration stands for August 4, 2019. The NC’s fight will continue for that.
How do you feel when Sheikh Abdullah’s name was dropped from the titles of the J&K police awards and July 13, 1931 finds no mention in the holiday calendar?
The BJP announced the name of the Srinagar airport silently and nobody even knows about it because it was Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport. Did this not deserve a major show? A great Sufi and a pillar of J&K. They removed Sheikh sahib’s name. Does it mean the history will end with that? Time will come when no statues will be left. They think by removing the symbols these people of Kashmir will forget that there was something like Sheikh Abdullah. Do you think people will forget about July 13 and the sacrifices? The British did not allow the Jallianwala Bagh memorial but it’s there today. They cannot remove our history, and have failed to do so.
The Lt. Governor’s administration claims a number of development projects are under way in J&K for the first time
The L-G sits in the palace and his great advisers click pictures of meeting with people. Could they show guts to go and meet ordinary people in a village or go to Jamia Masjid without security bandobast and with every street blocked? They are living in the cuckoo world.
Is China emerging as a party to the Kashmir issue post August 5?
Not only a third party but it’s the biggest power. America, Germany, France and Britain are too far. China is our neighbour and taught us a lesson in the 1962 war. Why is the PM and all these people silent? If it was Pakistan they would have been shouting day in and day out. Why has India not moved to capture Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) as the Union minister from Jammu would say? They got five Rafael jets now why don’t they invade Tibet and put Dalai Lama back in the palace?
They don’t even name Chine, instead say we are going to talk to China and find ways out. I am sure Delhi knows the threat posed by China and that is why they don’t talk about it. Forty jawans died in the Pulwama incident, how many drums were beaten because the elections were there. The bodies were received. The PM laid the wreath and paid tributes. What about 20 odd jawans who were not killed by guns but with nails stick on them and thrown down the hill. Did the PM collect the body in Delhi? No. They were sent straight to the villages and cremated. I feel ashamed. They were soldiers of this nation and deserved better.
Why did you stay away from the official August 15 function?
We were invited for the LG’s swearing-in when all of my people were locked up. How will Farooq Abdullah go and have tea when people are dying and suffering. I didn’t go to August 15 as we celebrated it as a black day.