Why this firebrand National Conference leader pins hope for J&K’s special status on post-Modi India

In May 2020, a deathly silence hung over Jammu and Kashmir. Nine months earlier, the Narendra Modi government had unilaterally abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution that guaranteed a special status for the state. Most of Kashmir’s political leaders were emerging from a humiliating months-long detention imposed on them in the days leading up to August 5, 2019.

That month, a National Conference leader wrote a conciliatory opinion piece in a local newspaper, seeking resumption of “political process” in the Union territory. Immediately, senior National Conference leader Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi went public with his criticism.

“Is that all what you are looking for in this reconciliation?” Ruhullah asked in a post on social media platform X. This was one of the first expressions of dissent from Kashmiri’s mainstream politicians after August 5, 2019, though Ruhullah was still under detention.

Ruhullah’s criticism of the Centre as well as his colleague had come at a time when the political leadership had been stunned into silence by New Delhi’s actions.

Two months later, Ruhullah, a three-time legislator, quit as the National Conference’s chief spokesperson.

Though he did not state any reason, the resignation had come a day after former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference Vice-President, Omar Abdullah, had written an...

Read more