Mufti Sayeed remained a thorough Indian throughout his career

Mufti Sayeed has become the third Chief Minister of Kashmir to die “in harness”.

The first was G.M. Sadiq who died as C.M. on December 12, 1971 at a Chandigarh hospital. Sadiq had initially taken over as the Prime Minister of Kashmir on February 28, 1963, in the aftermath of the theft and recovery of Moi-Muqadas (hair of the Prophet (SAW)) from the Hazratbal shrine. Those days the State enjoyed “autonomy” despite being a matter of international dispute between India and Pakistan. Sadiq achieved the feat of winding up that autonomy in just a couple of years. To begin with, he gave concurrence on December 4, 1964, to the extension of provisions of Articles 356 and 357 of the Indian Constitution to Kashmir enabling the President of India to declare President’s rule in Kashmir without reference to the State legislature. This measure on the part of PM Sadiq made his own position and that of “elective” Sadr-i-Riyasat redundant. So he abolished the institutions of Sadri-Riyasat and PM in March 1965. He himself became the first chief minister of Kashmir. Karan Singh, the first and only Sadr-i-Riyasat since November 1952, came to be designated as Governor; and the Governor thereafter would be a nominee of the Indian President. Sadiq brought two more structural changes of long lasting consequence to Kashmir. One pertained to “election” of representatives to the Indian Parliament. Until now the State sent nominees to Lok Sabha. The second pertained to the abolition of the National Conference and establishment of the Congress Party in its place. This he did on January 26, 1965. His comrade, Mir Qasim, who became the first President of the Congress Party in Kashmir, later stated in his autobiography that this very Congress Party became the vehicle to transport all the political dirt of India into Kashmir (Dastan-i-Hayat).

Sheikh Abdullah was the second CM to die in harness on September 8, 1982. He ruled the State first time under the aegis of Maharaja Hari Singh from November 1947, designated as Chief Emergency Administrator. In March 1948, the Maharaja appointed him as his PM; that position he held right up to August 9, 1953, when he was summarily dismissed and jailed by Sadri-Riyasat Karan Singh at New Delhi’s bidding. The Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, appointed him on February 25, 1975 as CM in return for dumping the plebiscite movement and “autonomy”. After this demotion from PM to CM he achieved his second feat, that is the promulgation of the lawless law called Public Safety Act on April 2, 1978. The PSA proved to be as great a bane as his first achievement, that of inconstancy.

Inconstancy has dogged Kashmir’s political demagogues down to the present day, irrespective of whether they belong to this camp or that camp.

Mufti Sayeed became the third CM of Kashmir to die while in the seat. Unlike most Kashmiri politicians he remained exceptionally constant in his political career. He was pro-India when in power as well as when out of power. He raised “Self Rule” slogan only when he got a green signal from New Delhi. Although New Delhi twice foiled his long cherished ambition of becoming the CM, he remained committed to his ambition and to his loyalty towards India. In 1977, when he was president of State Congress he withdrew, on March 26, his party’s support to Sheikh’s government. But, instead of allowing him to form a new government, Governor L.K. Jha, at New Delhi’s behest, dissolved the assembly and ordered fresh elections. The ruling Janata Party did not wish to see the Congress Party in power in any Indian State and particularly in Kashmir. Also they feared that the unreliable Sheikh may once again revert to the plebiscite slogan if shunted out of power.

Then in February 1986, Congress workers, true to the spirit of their party’s secularism, indulged in violence and vandalism against Kashmiri Pandits and their temples in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. It was part of a conspiracy to bring down G.M. Shah’s government. After Governor Jagmohan Malhotra dismissed Shah on March 7, 1986, Mufti Sayeed now expected New Delhi to appoint him as CM. But to his dismay, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi entered, in November 1986, into a power sharing arrangement with Farooq Abdullah of the NC.

So Mufti left the Congress in a huff. He joined V.P. Singh of the Janata Dal. In December 1989, Singh replaced Rajiv Gandhi as the Indian PM and appointed Mufti as the Home Minister of India. In July 1990, Home Minister Mufti managed to pass Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the Indian Parliament. Consequently the 1990s proved to be a nightmare for Kashmiris with armed forces killing people, and burning villages with impunity furnished by AFSPA.

Mufti did not remain in that position for long but AFSPA has held. However, he pursued his ambition of becoming the CM with single-minded devotion. He rejoined Congress Party but after some time left it again. He set up the Peoples Democratic Party in 1999. In 2002, he finally succeeded in his ambition when he became the CM for the first time. He remained in the seat for 3 years. In March 2015 he be

came CM for the second time.

Although in between he indulged in “anti-AFSPA” and pro-“Self Rule” rhetoric, he seemed to have forgotten these when he came to power a year earlier. With his death, he has left behind two legacies: one, daughter Mehbooba, a symbol of the perpetuation of dynastic rule; and, second, the AFSPA, expected to persecute Kashmiris, along with Sheikh’s PSA, for many years to come. It seems that AFSPA and Mehbooba will go hand in hand, although internecine contention inside the PDP may cause a headache to the latter.

(Qaloo ina lilahi wa ina ilaihi rajioon).