How Modi convinced Mehbooba to assume a pro-India stand
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti's outburst against militants, separatists and Pakistan is a new episode in the bloody Kashmir saga and takes us to the heady days of GM Sadiq (former prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir) and Syed Mir Qasim (former chief minister of the state).
Perhaps no other chief minister from a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir had come out in such a forthright, fearless and emotional manner against the evils of separatist violence as Mehbooba has done. She has even extolled the freedom that Kashmiris get under Indian democracy.
Undoubtedly, it is a tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh's negotiation skills that they have been able to impress the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister with their sincerity of purpose so that she now feels impelled to come out forcefully against the separatist violence, even going to the extent of saying that only five per cent of people in the Valley want violence.
Mehbooba's soft turn on Kashmir, visible since the day she decided to become the chief minister after months of dilly-dallying following her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's death deserves an analysis. When the PDP tied up with BJP in Kashmir, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had reportedly faced opposition from his daughter.
The reason: The PDP had taken the help of "soft" separatists and even some Hurriyat cadres in south Kashmir to win the elections. So Mehbooba, though never an out-and-out separatist supporter at heart, was fearful of the consequences of joining hands with the BJP because of its impact on her party cadre.
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| Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehboooba Mufti has come out in a forthright, fearless and emotional manner against the evils of separatist violence. |
At this stage, it was Mufti Sayeed who was being intelligently handled by BJP president Amit Shah, BJP general secretary in-charge of Kashmir, Ram Madhav, and Modi with an honesty of purpose about Kashmir's progress, but at the same time, remaining firm that Kashmir was an integral part of India.
Significantly, at the December 2015 Goa conference of the India Foundation, an RSS-connected think tank nurtured by Madhav, Mufti Sayeed abandoned his separatist posture almost totally and virtually accepted the "Kashmir-is-happy-with-India" stance. This was the first time when a Kashmir chief minister from a regional party was going back to virtually the pre-Sheikh Abdullah period.
Soon after taking this stand in Goa which was sweet music to the many nationalists and ultra-nationalists present in the Goa meet, Mufti Sayeed made this stand clear privately to Amit Shah. A source close to Shah said: "Mufti Sayeed had conveyed to the BJP president that he would like to have the separatist badge washed away from his chest before he leaves the world."
So because of the father, the daughter already stood partially softened. Yet the tough element remained as proved by the unusually long time she took to accept the chief ministership after her father's death.
The next important moment was when she met Modi before accepting the chief ministership. Apparently, Modi convinced her about his thinking on Kashmir. The effect was visible in her statement after meeting the prime minster. She appeared markedly amenable and seemed to have a pro-India tone. Modi's empathy with the Kashmiri people during the 2014 Kashmir floods is also said to have played a role in softening her.
However, to match her bold words, she has to mobilise her party cadre now to go amongst the people with her message, an extremely difficult task in today's volatile atmosphere. In fact, her party cadre has failed miserably in moving amongst the people in these difficult times. But all in all, Mehbooba's boldness in taking a pro-India stand is refreshing for all Indians and must be appreciated.