Opinion | Jammu & Kashmir: NC Now Has A Chance To Fulfil Its Own 80-Year-Old Vision

The smooth transition of power in Jammu & Kashmir, with Omar Abdullah taking the oath as Chief Minister of the Union Territory, heralds a vision of ‘Naya Kashmir'. The term is not alien to the history of the 92-year-old Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC), which is back at the helm in Srinagar with a clear majority.

One of the first acts of the new popular government was to pass a resolution for the restoration of statehood. It received post-haste approval from Lieutenant Governor Manoj Joshi. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is likely to travel to New Delhi now to seek the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister's endorsement—marking a fast transition of normalcy in Jammu & Kashmir.

In 1944, the party adopted a Left-oriented manifesto for economic emancipation that encompassed visions for education, women's rights, communication, and health, aiming for equitable development across all areas of Jammu & Kashmir. This manifesto was handed over as a memorandum of protest during the era of the erstwhile Princely Dogra State, ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh. The ‘Naya Kashmir manifesto' was drafted by B.P.L. Bedi, a Sikh who is now better recognised as the father of international actor Kabir Bedi.

Following accession to India in 1947, the NC government, led by Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, whose party symbol, the plough, is emblazoned on a red flag, implemented agrarian reforms in Jammu & Kashmir in 1950. This abolished land-ownership in line with the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, which was enacted two years later, in 1952, throughout the rest of India. Tenancy laws were made more favourable to small farmers, resulting in reduced poverty in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Sheikh was the second Muslim leader after Kamal Atatürk of Turkey to abolish Purdah for women—a move that has been undermined by Pakistan-inspired extremists since 1989. The vision of Naya Kashmir has been obscured by terrorism since 1989; now there is hope for its revival.

Naya Kashmir 2.0

Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's policies since August 5, 2019, are seen as attempts at creating a Naya Kashmir 2.0, which would involve integrating the geographical entity of Jammu & Kashmir into the national mainstream and providing equal rights to all, including migrants from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The abolition of the ‘temporary and transient' Articles 370 and 35A has granted universal voting rights and ownership entitlements to all citizens of India—rights that were previously confined to the ‘state subjects of J&K' before 5 August 2019.

In line with the 1944 Naya Kashmir manifesto, an omnibus economic and social reform package has been implemented over the past five years under the President's Rule, negating anti-India sentiment, as reflected in the high voter turnout during recent elections. Campaigning continued till midnight, contrasting with the political campaigns from 1989 to 2019, which were limited to daylight hours due to the looming fear of violence.

Naya Kashmir 2.0 received a landmark breakthrough as Omar Abdullah took his oath. In 2009, when he was last sworn in as Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, he affirmed his true faith and allegiance to ‘the Constitution of the state as by law established'. In 2016, Mehbooba Mufti swore allegiance to the ‘Riyasati Aayām' (state statute). On October 16, when he took office—marking the sixth time a member of the Abdullah family has been sworn in as CM of the Union Territory—he pledged allegiance to ‘the Constitution of India, as by law established'.

A Mature Start

Omar Abdullah has initiated decisive steps to avoid confrontation with the Union Government and its representative, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. His INDIA bloc ally, Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), suggested during a thank-you rally in Jammu's Doda that Omar could consult him on ‘how to run a half government'.

Omar ignored Kejriwal's suggestion, stating to the media, “How does getting into a fight with the Lieutenant Governor from Day One help me address the concerns of the voters?” NC's Srinagar MP, Ruhullah Mehdi, reminded the AAP supremo that the NC requires no prodding from his party, which had supported the abrogation of Article 370.

Omar referred to Modi as ‘an honourable gentleman' who had promised in Parliament that statehood would be restored to J&K at an appropriate time—thus extending an olive branch to the Centre. He has categorically stated that the NC is ‘setting aside' its demand for the restoration of Article 370 to a ‘future date, when a new government is in power at the Centre'—signalling that seeking cooperation, rather than engaging in confrontation, will be his approach. This is a lesson that perhaps the AAP could learn from the NC, and possibly also one for Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to reflect upon.

Omar's mature approach paid off when Lt Governor Sinha signed on the dotted line to approve the restoration of statehood. His decision to de-hyphenate statehood from Article 370 may prove decisive in the long run.

The Debate On Article 370

The abolition of Article 370 has been a core agenda for the BJP since its inception as the Bharatiya Jan Sangh on October 21, 1951. Its clarion call, ‘ek desh mein do vidhan, do nishan nahin chalega', targeted both Article 370 and the separate Jammu & Kashmir flag. It took 68 years to implement this agenda. The NC's decision to bide its time on its demand for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A is aimed at a long-term perspective—it is unlikely to affect the governance of J&K today. This maturity on the part of the NC should be reciprocated by the BJP; the state unit of the party must not create roadblocks for Modi-Shah's Naya Kashmir 2.0.

The elections of 2024 have not only marked a triumph for the NC but also an assertion for the BJP, which polled 25.64%, achieving its highest-ever tally of 29 seats (all from Jammu), while the NC, with 23.43%, won 75% of the seats in the Kashmir Valley (35) and seven seats from Jammu. Congress, with 11.97%, has recorded its worst-ever tally of six seats. Mehbooba Mufti's Peoples Democratic Party has been reduced to three seats, while Sajjad Lone's People's Conference and Engineer Rashid's Awami Ittehad Party have been wiped out.

On October 8, while addressing triumphant BJP workers at the party's Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg headquarters, Modi extended his felicitations to the NC. On October 16, the Prime Minister congratulated Omar Abdullah on his swearing-in and posted on ‘X': ‘Wishing him the very best in his efforts to serve the people. The Centre will work closely with him and his team for J&K's progress.' Omar responded on X, saying, ‘My colleagues and I look forward to working together with you to provide the people of J&K with an effective, efficient, and honest administration.' Naya Kashmir 2.0 has been launched with fervour.

A Well-Balanced Approach

Soon after the results were announced, the NC solidified its position by approaching Congress rebels who had won, thus garnering the support of five Independent MLAs and increasing its strength to 47 in a House of 90. It also enjoys the outside support of six Congress MLAs, and one each from AAP and CPM, effectively holding 55 out of 90 seats.

Omar has stated that the sentiments of the Jammu region will be respected; thus, despite the overwhelming number of MLAs from the Kashmir division, three of the six ministers sworn in are from the Jammu region. Kejriwal's plea for his sole MLA to be included was ignored. Although Congress is attempting to take the moral high ground by stating it will join the government only after statehood is restored, Omar's deliberate avoidance of sharing a platform with Rahul Gandhi suggests he is likely to steer clear of Congress's abrasive politics in order to build bridges with the Centre.

At no point did the NC share Congress's doubts regarding the fairness of the poll process. The J&K polls are a slap in the face for those doubting the integrity of the Election Commission of India.

Hopefully, the worst is now behind J&K. No effort should be spared in achieving Naya Kashmir 2.0—with the present vision and an 80-year-old legacy woven in.

(Shubhabrata Bhattacharya is a retired editor and a public affairs commentator)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author