Tassaduq Hussain Mufti: Blood is, ultimately, thicker than water

In most Indian political families, the son is taken as heir to the father’s political legacy. In the case of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader and chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, it was not so.  It was daughter Mehbooba Mufti who plunged into politics, though Sayeed had a son, Tassaduq.

A cinematographer, the son made his first recent public appearance on January 10, 2016, in hometown Bijbehara, seen lending emotional support to his elder sister when she broke down at the grave of her father. He later attended the PDP’s core group meeting in Srinagar on January 17 last year, called to discuss government formation. This gave rise to speculation that he might join politics. According to sources, he did not say a word during the meeting.

A lot has since changed. Mehbooba is to induct  brother Tassaduq Mufti into her Cabinet as tourism and culture minister, replacing their uncle, Farooq Ahmad Andrabi. This will give legal and constitutional cover to Tassaduq’s powers and authority as coordinator of the CM’s grievance cell, a position he has now held for several months. Blood is, ultimately, thicker than water.

Things in the PDP are not exactly great. Tariq Hamid Karra, an important leader, quit not only the party but his Lok Sabha seat of Srinagar. That was at the height of the upheaval in the valley, when things seemed to be slipping out of Mehbooba’s grasp. Little wonder then that in January, Tassaduq announced he was relocating to his home state. Later this year, Vikramaditya, eldest son of Congress senior Karan Singh,  nominated to the Legislative Council by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed soon after formation of the PDP-BJP government, resigned to protest what he had called the neglect of Jammu. The vacancy is likely be filled by Tassaduq.

The late Mufti’s son left Kashmir in 1989 when he was 18, to study cinematography in the US. And, returned to earn a living in Mumbai. “I went to college and got busy but always missed home. I would come to see my family regularly. Now that I am back, I will be spending a lot of time in Kashmir. So, in a way, my return hasn’t happened in one go, it has happened over a period of time,” he told an interviewer. In 2006, Tassaduq worked as cinematographer in Vishal Bhardwaj’s film, Omkara, which earned him a place in the Bollywood . Since then, he has had a foot in Mumbai but a toe in Srinagar. 

He returned to Kashmir for an extended period while on the ‘Incredible India’ campaign. “It is around that time that I felt a strong urge to get involved and help in whatever little way I could. I would walk around Shah-e-Hamadan Sahib and wonder what would happen. There is such a rich heritage, wealth of architecture and so much history around that it would pain one to see how the (Srinagar) city was crumbling. Whatever I saw (in Kashmir) was a sad reflection on what we have become. This is why I got involved. I am a cinematographer and I look at things my own way. I also belong to a political family. I am aware that I am Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s son and whatever I do will have political overtones. I am not escaping that. But, I think there are things I am trying to do that could contribute to a positive change,” he said.

Tassaduq’s aired concerns are cultural and ecological. He has set up a trust, Aarasta, funded by some friends and himself. It addresses ecology and waste management. Now, however, he is a playing an important political role. He will have to show whether he is a chip of the old block.