OMAR ABDULLAH HAS always been a suave man. Which is why that photo went viral—the one showing the usually clean-shaven leader sporting a bushy, unkempt grey beard. Snowflakes clung to his woollen cap and blue jacket, and Omar looked far removed from the man who had once been chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
The former Union minister and National Conference vice president has been in detention since August 4, 2019, one day before the Centre abrogated Article 370.
The photo sent shockwaves across social media, and some politicians, including DMK president M.K. Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, tweeted their concern for Omar.
A month before Omar was detained, he had told THE WEEK in an interview: “If there is no constitutional (Article 370) relationship—and clearly there is no emotional relationship—then what relationship exists? Only a military one.”
His father and party president Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti were among 50-plus Kashmiri politicians detained a day before the abrogation.
While Omar has been held in Hari Niwas, Farooq has been detained at his house on Gupkar Road in Srinagar. Mehbooba was lodged in a guest house at Chashme Shahi in Srinagar, but was later moved to a warmer location—a government bungalow on M.A. Road.
Unlike Omar and Mehbooba, who are in solitary confinement, Abdullah has the company of his wife, Molly, who came from England in September. Her presence has been a source of strength for him. “Farooq is fond of Molly’s cooking, especially desserts,” said sources. “He is doing well health wise, except for minor issues that are normal for people his age.”
Abdullah’s younger sister Suriya and his daughter Safia, whose homes flank his house, have been meeting him and Omar regularly. “He (Abdullah) is in high spirits,” Suriya told THE WEEK. “Due to the winter, he is not able to exercise, but he is doing well. He recites the Quran daily and says namaz regularly.” She added that the detention could not break her brother’s will to fight. “My younger brother, sister and her son also have been in detention for the past six months,” she said. About Omar having grown a beard, she said that he told her he would trim it when all those in detention are released.
After winter set in, Suriya and Safia arranged blankets, gas heaters and other items for the family. Food for Omar goes from Abdullah’s home. Omar’s sons, Zamin and Zahir, who live with their mother in Delhi, have met him thrice in the last six months. “They last met him in the last week of December,” said sources.
The only positive fallout of the detention is the reconciliation between the families of Abdullah and his elder sister Khalida Shah, who, along with her son Muzaffar, have also been detained at their Srinagar house. Relations had soured after Khalida’s husband and Awami National Conference leader Ghulam Mohammad Shah had toppled Abdullah’s government with the help of some NC legislators and the Congress in 1983. Khalida now speaks regularly to Abdullah on the phone.
“Khalida ji is in touch with Farooq sahib,” said Muzaffar. “I can tell you he is in high spirits.” He added that the NC and the ANC were on the same page regarding the demand to restore Article 370 and statehood.
Though the Abdullahs’ relatives have been mostly silent, Mehbooba’s daughter Iltija has relentlessly attacked the BJP. She has become the face of resistance through her scathing criticism of the Centre’s policies in her interviews to foreign, national and local media.
“I was not allowed to visit the grave of my grandfather Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on his fourth death anniversary on January 7,” she told THE WEEK. “I was also prevented from stepping out of my residence that day.”
She said her mother has been kept in solitary confinement for standing up for the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “My mother is in high spirits,” she said. “She is well informed about what is happening and watches Al Jazeera regularly. She also reads books. I [recently] gave her two books to read, The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh, and No God But God by Reza Aslam.”
Omar’s photo has brought focus back on Jammu and Kashmir only days after the Centre sent 36 Union ministers there (starting January 18) to tell people about the policies implemented after the abrogation. However, only five of the 36 ministers visited the valley. The visit was supposed to allay the misgivings Kashmiris had about the Centre’s policies. Clearly, the move achieved precious little.