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September 1, 1999
ELECTION 99
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The Rediff Interview/ Dr Farooq AbdullahRaising CainVarsha Bhosle
His house is like a fortress; taxis and rickshaws can't enter the
road,
and every car is checked for a special pass. At the gate, the body
search is so thorough that even cigarettes are held over by the
security
guards. The foyer of his office is a madhouse: packed with visitors
and
self-important staff hollering on cellphones. A huge portrait of
Sheikh
Abdullah looms above all.
When
Dr Abdullah knows what I (anybody at this time, really), am going
to
ask. He anticipates and he interrupts, especially when he wants to
deflect me. His narration is littered with exclamation marks,
capitals
and knee-slaps -- he probably makes a good public speaker, but
one-to-one, it takes away from an effect of sincerity. As his
timbre
ebbs and flows, I sense he's the exact opposite of his strange
bedfellow, Home Minister L K Advani, whom he desperately needs to
bankroll him and sustain anti-terrorism in Kashmir.
Advaniji is always composed, of course, but you can't find
discrepancies
in his stands, either. Whereas Dr Abdullah has, over the years,
created
a minefield to blast himself: "I would rather travel on my own," to
the
offer to accompany Atalji on the bus to Lahore; "Pakistan should be
told
clearly that we want all our territory, including the northern
areas and
Hunza, back"; "Talks will not solve the miseries of the people or
overcome their problems"; "I would describe it [
For some perverted reason even I can't fathom, I'm trying to draw
him
out against the BJP. He refuses to oblige. What grouses he has are
against the Centre -- since his father's era. I feel, Farooq
Abdullah
truly believes in what he's saying -- at the moment.
Even so, I can't help liking this flamboyant and impulsive
62-year-old
man. I like his sticking out his neck during the no-confidence
motion. I
like his reaction to the nukes ("I am proud of Pokhran. I am part
of
India"). I like his considering India ("if our development will
come to
a halt, we will be a threat to the nation"). I like his consistent
stand
against terrorism ("Rather than lobbying for the UN Security
Council, it
is far more important to lobby against terrorism). I like his
belligerence ("Pakistan knows fully what it is doing, they continue
to
fire and we just don't retaliate").
And, get ready -- I've always liked his radical proposal to convert
the
LoC. I'm not alone; several former service chiefs -- General K
Sundarji, General
S F Rodrigues, Admiral L Ramdas, Admiral S M Nanda and Air Chief
Marshal
Arjan Singh -- support it. My favourite part of this interview,
therefore, is his last answer: "
The battle against militancy has never been taken seriously by
Delhi: In
V P Singh's rule, by the ministry of Kashmir affairs headed by
George
Fernandes. In P V Narasimha Rao's, by home minister S B Chavan and
minister of state Rajesh Pilot. Then, two months before the
Champnari
massacre, six battalions were withdrawn from Doda and Udhampur. Dr
Abdullah kept pleading for additional troops, and rifles to arm the
village defence committees. Both requests were ignored... I don't
want
to grill him over the Hindu massacres.
Yes, the Abdullah government is said to be corrupt. Yes, he's
accused of
being whimsical in his official largesse. Like, that's an issue in
India...
What I don't like about Farooq Abdullah is the autonomy thing. But
then
again, I'm *never* going to find a Kashmiri Muslim who sees the
inequity
inherent in Article 370. Arguing with him about will be a waste of
time...
Weighing the pros and cons, and considering his rivals in J&K
politics,
I think that Farooq Abdullah is still our best bet. The picture
that
remains with me is one drawn by Chandan Mitra, of the CM at Sindhu
Darshan in Leh: "Perhaps the greatest enthusiast for the event is
Dr
Farooq Abdullah, despite its unmistakable Hindutva orientation.
Later,
he was the only political leader to join the chorus rendering a
full-throated
Yeah, tea or no tea, I'll take Farooq Abdullah anyday. Greater autonomy is your election plank. That is not my "plank." Autonomy is one of our major things that we have taken up with the government and which has been our focus right since when we came to power. You want to restore the pre-1953 Constitutional... The point here is... the autonomy report is very clear as to what our dimensions of autonomy are. We've also said at the same time that we want it within the Constitution of India. We are not going to ask for anything which is outside the Constitution. If Kashmir is allowed to have an exclusive say on all subjects other than Defence, External Affairs and Communication, what is the guarantee that you would not enact Islamic civil and criminal laws? Today also we can enact such laws! We don't have to go to the President for enacting any laws. We have that power. Will maximum autonomy sort your problems? No. Who says they will be sorted? Then...
So we told the governments - Rajiv Gandhi as well as the other following governments -- that, for god's sake, undo this tragedy that you've struck on us; that we want a book adjustment of Rs 1,200 crores. It's just a question of book adjustment so that the money we have to each year dish out as interest would stop and we would be able to use that money for developing places. But you do get 90% grant and 10% loan. NOW! After the militancy started! In '92! But not since it was initiated -- in '66. It is the backlog we are paying for. So we tell them, for god's sakes, do justice to us. I KNOW you are funding us. I KNOW you are giving us total assistance, but we need more assistance to get out of this debt trap we are in. We have to be pulled out of the debt trap because war hasn't ended! Kargil you've seen just now, but we've been fighting wars all along! By gaining greater autonomy, will the people be satisfied? Power tariff, which was 28 p before we came into power, has now come to Rs 2.50. A state where they paid no taxes, today they have to pay taxes. Just the pay package of the government servants after 5th Pay Commission has reached Rs 3,700 crores -- while our total income is 600 crores. You tell me, how are people going to be happy? They want everything free! Where can you get it free? How does the state run? Today we are in a situation of bankruptcy. We owe a bank Rs 950 crores. We owe the National Electricity Grid over Rs 600 crores of the money that should have been collected in the governor's or president's rule. Sales taxes which should have been collected in the president's rule were not collected. Today we are telling them, PLEASE, we HAVE to collect this. We are not able to make any roads. We are not able to make any works. We don't have money for it. Why do you think the government isn't assisting? Your son had mentioned Rs 1,000 crores in April. No, it is not a matter of a 1,000 crores. We want liberal assistance. We KNOW they are giving us assistance at this time. We want far more assistance to overcome the burdens of the war. Tell me of any other state in India which is fighting a war. We are fighting a war for the last 10 years. We have no factories to give jobs. And the only factory is Government. Where from are we going to create more jobs? But you don't let non-Kashmiris buy land here. Why would others set up industry here? We have made a new policy; a new industrial policy was made which gave them all the facilities. We got the same facilities as the North-East got, that income tax will not be charged for those years. But they can't buy the land. Who said they can't? We give them the land on a 99-year lease. How is Birla in Jammu? Where's he from? How is Bhilwara, a Marwari from Rajasthan, in Jammu? How is Singer factory in Jammu? Now Pepsi Cola and Coca-Cola are coming. So who says we don't let them in? But Jammu is not the Valley. They don't come here! We have one problem: some of these major factories need rail stations. We don't have rail! We have one road! And for the last so many years I've been shouting, for god's sake, we need an alternate route - we NEED railway to come in. And they promised me that the rail will be here by 2007. But I don't see it happening. The expenditure on rail would be Rs 2,500 crores. Is it too much? |
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After being invited and then left dangling in Srinagar --
hide-and-seek,
no trip to Gandherbal, barely 40 minutes of his time, and waiting
for
over an hour for another interview to end and then some -- I'm
ready to
do a slash-job on J&K Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. It isn't
difficult -- the man has a talent for raising Cain. Kashmir's
Hindus
believe he wants to be rid of them; Muslims believe he's betrayed
them;
and both believe he's just an opportunist. Too, he's looked upon
with
suspicion by the entire political spectrum: In my book, not a bad
place
to be.
No question. We need massive financial assistance to get this state
out
of trouble. You see, we are one of those special states out of
those 8
states which were known as backward. They were supposed to get 90%
of
the money as grant and 10% as loan on Plan I. This state and Assam
were
the two who were neglected. They were given 70% as loan and 30% as
grant.