Farooq On The Spot

Kashmiris will be watching out for parallels with 1977, when Sheikh Abdullah contested his first election for the legislative assembly on the platform of autonomy to and within Jammu and Kashmir. His concept of autonomy was the revoking of all laws passed after his dismissal as prime minister of Kashmir in 1953. He secured an absolute majority and appointed a committee which went into this issue and favoured a repeal of all laws extended. Yet Sheikh Abdullah chose to ignore the recommendations of the committee and continued with the status quo. It was then that the seeds of azaadi were sown: independence became a credible alternative only when the prospects of internal autonomy for Kashmir within India disappeared because of Sheikh's inaction.

In 1996, with the National Conference securing an absolute majority, the ball is now in Farooq's court. An absolute majority in the state legislature empowers him, under the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, to amend or repeal laws on matters relating to the state as well as the concurrent list without reference to the Centre. This is well within the framework of the Indian Constitution. Once the state legislature initiates action, appropriate action has to be taken by the Centre under Article 254 of the Constitution. Already within a day of the results being announced Farooq has placed his demand for autonomy on the back-burner. In his list of priorities enunciated to the press, autonomy is fairly low down. He has expressed his intention to set up a committee to review all these contentious laws. And herein lies the danger. It is unlikely that Farooq, who has not so far matched his father either in personal status or political clout, will be able to see this demand through. And the cycle will be set in motion once again. This time it will be the Hurriyat, down but by no means out, snapping at his heels and ready to capitalise on his failure to deliver. The danger is that 1996 may take Jammu and Kashmir back to 1977.