Will Shah Faesal traverse the graveyard of reputations?

Since the last king of Kashmir, Yusuf Shah Chak, was imprisoned and exiled by Mughal Emperor Akbar to Biswak (Bihar) more than four-and-a-half centuries ago, Kashmiris have been in search of icons, even willing to construct them. Ironically, icons are deconstructed as well. 

In the 1930s, a young Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah resigned from the government to join politics. With somewhat similar vows, so has well-known bureaucrat Shah Faesal, who quit the elite Indian Administrative Service (IAS) on January 9.

Sheikh Abdullah, soon achieved iconic status. He was awarded the title of ‘Lion of Kashmir’ for fighting a pitched battle against the then Dogra monarchy, coupled with his idea of Naya Kashmir, for establishing democratic polity. 

In fact, the Sheikh while greeting Qudratullah Shahab, who had cleared Indian Civil Service (ICS) exam in 1934, asked him to resign from the services and join his movement. 

Shahab was only the second ICS from the state, a year junior to T N Kaul, who rose to become India’s foreign secretary. But at the end, Sheikh ended up establishing his own dynasty, which still has an iron grip over the state’s largest political party — the National Conference (NC). 

This party, like the Congress, cannot think of life now beyond the Abdullah dynasty. 

Strangely, the resting place of the Lion opposite Naseem Bagh campus of Kashmir University in Srinagar, now has to be guarded by a posse of security personnel, lest it be desecrated. 

Since October 2018, Kashmir was rife with the speculation that Shah Faesal, who after topping the country’s toughest exam became a youth icon, was preparing to join the National Conference (NC) along with former JNU student activist Shehla Rashid. But looking at the barrage of criticism on social media, he has decided to chart an independent course. 

The politics of Jammu and Kashmir has, of late, become a graveyard of reputations.  Faesal’s joining politics has created a discourse and raised both aspirations and apprehensions.

The Valley’s political landscape has broadly remained divided into two camps. There is separatist discourse currently led by various factions of Hurriyat Conference and then the mainstream parties. National parties like Congress and BJP are yet to find their roots, despite winning a few seats in elections.

Fortunately for New Delhi, the separatist camp had remained divided and sub-divided since 1947, when most of its leaders like Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas and Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah migrated to Pakistan. 

In contrast, the mainstream camp led by National Conference (NC) with its strong leadership, dominated the polity, until the emergence of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998.

Both these parties, while competing for Kashmiri nationalism and identity, declare accession with India to be final and irrevocable - with certain riders. 

But both the NC and lately the PDP, have never made attempts to bring Kashmiri populace close to the Indian mainstream, even though they rule with the blessings of New Delhi.

In this complex situation, where Kashmir politics stands at crossroads, the entry of Shah Faesal assumes vital significance. He calls himself a ‘man of system’ and hence is more oriented towards governance.

In the absence of a comprehensive ‘Kashmir Policy’, giving the security apparatus a free hand and bruising the Kashmiri identity by a daily dose of hyper-nationalism, has gravely endangered the reputation of mainstream political parties. 

Both Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have shot themselves in their foot by their omissions and commissions. NC president Farooq Abdullah represents the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat with less than 3 per cent mandate. The by-election in 2017 saw this seat marking a record low turnout of 7 per cent, amidst violence.

The credibility of a third force led by People’s Conference (PC) chairman Sajjad Lone is already at stake, even before testing the ground. 

In Faesal’s own words, people who govern Kashmir don’t represent sentiments and those who represent sentiments, choose to remain away from the system. His alternate front with comrades of integrity, honesty and ethics coupled with genuine issues, can certainly provide hope. 

It is heartening that Faesal’s move has opened a debate in all quarters of Kashmiri political spectrum. If he manages to keep his reputation and self-respect intact, one would hope that he doesn’t tread the beaten path of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and his successors, who no longer entice youth in Kashmir because of omissions and commissions. 

Author is Chief of National Bureau, DNA