SRINAGAR India, Nov. 9: Faroug Abdullah, the Moslem politician who regained control of India’s Jammu and Kashmir state last week, must being quick economic progress to overcome a rising tide of discontent, political observers say.
Abdullah returned to power in the strategic state bordering Pakistan on Friday after reaching an accord with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress (I) party to form a coalition government.
As Abdullah was sworn in as Chief Minister, Moulvi Farouq, the Mirwaiz, hereditary spiritual head of Moslems into he state, denounced the accord at Friday prayers in Kashmir’s main mosque as a sellout of the people’s interests.
‘The Mirwaiz and Qazi Nissar a fiery Moslem preacher,| lead a growing faction among the Moslem community that may one day challenge Abdullah if he does not bring the people economic benefits, said former law professor Kwaja Majid.
Hardliners, many of whom favour an independent Kashmir state or alignment with Pakistan, have grown rapidly in numbers and this may have prompted Gandhi to make peace with an adversary, observers said.
Gandhi said on Thursday that only a joint effort by the two parties could strengthen the state against communalism and attacks from outside, A clear reference to Pakistan
The two countries have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, since gaining independence from Britian in 1947.
‘The Chief Minister promised to strengthen the Prime Minister’s hand, ending a political feud triggered in 1984 when Gandhi’s mother, Indira, dismissed Abdullah’s National Conference Government afier it had lost its majority in the assembly. A Congress (I) member of Abdullah’s cabinet told Reuters that the accord between the two parties would ensure economic progress in the state and stamp out religious fundamentalists.
“The Congress (I) may not have gained much, but the accord has served the interests of the country”, he said.
‘Abdullah took over as Chief Minister from his father, Sheikh Abdullah in 1982 and quickly called a State election, which he won, He has followed the same course this time around. Dissolving the assembly and calling for elections, the first since the 1982 poll.
Abdullah’s government fell in 1984 when his brother in law, G.M, Shah, broke away from the National Conference party and formed an alliance with Congress (I). Shah himself lost power earlier this year when Congress (I) withdrew support and the state was brought under direct rule from New Delhi.
Friday’s swearing in of a new Chief Minister ends nearly a year of rule by a governor appointed by New Delhi
Majid said Moslems in the Kashmir valley, where 60 per cent of the state’s six million people live, still revered the memory of Abdullah’s father, “the lion of Kashmir”, but were becoming alienated from the son because of the fall in living standards,
Majid partly blames the state’s economic problems on a sharp drop in tourists to the popular resort region because of political turmoil after Abdullah’s fall from power and violence in Punjab state in the last three years.
The tourist industry is the main source of income for a large proportion of the population of the picturesque Kashmir valley, set among the Himalayan Mountains.
“Moslems also feel discriminated against in jobs in Central Government run organizations like banks and post offices in the state”, he said.
“If Abdullah can reverse these trends and create employment for idle youths who are turning to the hardliners out of poverty and frustration, then the Chief Minister can survive politically,” Majid said.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 14, 1986
