His maiden defeat made Dr Farooq Abdullah quit politics for obvious health reasons. It is not his party alone that is feeling his absence from the electoral theatre, reports Saima Bhat
In the fall of 2011, a group of young college and university students were eagerly waiting for Dr Farooq Abdullah inside the studio of Doordarshan Srinagar for an interaction. The mood against the incoming Abdullah had turned raged. These young lots were gearing up to grill Abdullah Sr for the situation they were finding in.
After some time, Dr Abdullah walked inside the studio cracking jokes on his way. As if knowing the participants for a long time, Dr Abdullah came forward and shook their hands. He passed light remarks which only lighten up their miffed mood.
As he sat on a sofa, the youth heard him telling makeup artist: “Apply powder on my face. I am the youngest person in this studio. I should look young.” The very remark broke out laughter in the studio. As the volley of hilarious comments kept coming out of Dr Abdullah’s mouth, the anger boiled down to naught.
“That is his special ability to contain any crisis, something which his son badly lacks,” says Ibrahim Bhat, a foot-soldier of National Conference.
But the same Dr Farooq Abdullah is now missing in the list of star campaigners for the upcoming polls.
After tasting the first defeat of his life in summer polls, the 78-year-old son of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah is not in the fray for winter polls. His ailing health has kept him away from polls, for the first time in his 32 years old political career.
The void created by the absence of Abdullah Sr has apparently created a craving for him across J&K with people irrespective of their political affiliations seemingly missing Dr Abdullah, the ‘jack of all trades’. With his absence on the scene, people will no longer watch his unique charismatic ability to pull crowd during his rallies.
Dr Abdullah knows the art of engaging masses and playing to the galleries. Be it dancing with the folk singers in Budgam or singing along singers in Khir Bawani Mela or hymning bhajan, his tongue-in-cheek comments would always amuse people.
In a local musical event Miley Sur, he once mesmerized the audience with his voice when he took the mike and start singing, “aaj Jaane ki zid na karo, yuenhi pehlu mei bethe raho.” He frankly admitted once: “I could have been either a singer or actor, if not in politics.”
But the four-time J&K chief minister and twice Rajya Sabha member, Dr Abdullah has been mired in controversies. For many he is man with a “large heart” who doesn’t mind and never nourishes “ill will”. In fact, after being given what many mockingly called “gobar gas ministry” in UPA-II, Dr Abdullah replied his detractors in his usual penchant style: “Isi gobar gas se mei ek din Jahaz chalavunga (I will run a plane with the same cow-dung gas one day).”
Known for his flamboyancy, Dr Abdullah never stopped to amuse people with his wit. After returning from his Pakistan visit, his son Omar Abdullah sought forgiveness in Srinagar in early 2000. When asked by reporters a reason behind his son’s apology, Dr Abdullah created laugh-riot with his reply: “Mei ne Shabana Azmi ko bike pe gumaane liye tha, shayad ussi ki maafi maangi hogi (I rode with Shabana Azmi on my bike. Maybe, he has apologised for the same).”
He was always accused to be closer to bollywood actresses. “I still remember how Dr Farooq used to roam freely with bollywood stars like Rekha and Azmi from boulevard area to Dachigam,” says Mohammad Ali, 65, a local in Srinagar.
But Dr Farooq’s ‘free’ attitude of life is normal, says Dr Gull Wani, a political science professor at Kashmir University. “His long stay in England has built up his personal persona like that,” Prof Wani continues. “He is not a politician with bounded mentality.” While practising his medicine in England, Dr Farooq ended up marrying a British nurse Molly. (Reports suggest, Molly had volunteered to donate kidney to ailing Dr Abdullah.)
From a motorcycle enthusiast to a politician, Dr Farooq has always maintained his age-defying, ever-green image of a “young man”. Be it jumping in Dal Lake to inaugurate water sports as chief minister or mixing with youth in ground when SP College celebrated its hundred years.
“Charismatic Farooq could easily reach out to people what his son couldn’t do,” Prof Wani continues. “Only he has the courage to cross red line.”
Prof Wani is right. It was Dr Farooq who openly lashed out at Pakistan in his statements; at the same time, he would never hesitate to raise pro-freedom slogans. “No other politician has ever done that,” he says.
And the same was the case when he stirred up hornet’s nest by asserting that Afzal Guru’s execution was a “handiwork” of then Home Secretary, R K Singh. He knows how to play with the public mood. “He has learned this skill from his father,” asserts Prof Wani.
Known for making raged remarks like, “Kashmir ko Goli Maroo or Kashmiris are maha Choor,” people say, being unusual was in his character.
After coming out of a temple, Dr Abdullah once said, “har har mahadev.” The next thing came from his mouth was “Geelaniyan haa mornas!”
It is said that when there was an attack on Ragunath Temple in Jammu, Dr Abdullah rushed to the spot only to give a ‘sensational’ byte to cameras:“Allah ka shukur hai, Bagwan ji bach gaye!”
Born in the late fall of 1937 in Soura, Dr Farooq was still a novice in politics in 1981 when he was appointed NC president. His main qualification for the post was that he was the son of NC supremo, Sheikh Abdullah.
A year after Dr Abdullah became state chief minister. Soon political tiff between the NC, dominant political outfit in the state and the Congress government in New Delhi, saw the dismissal of two state governments. While his government was dismissed in 1984, his successor brother-in-law, Ghulam Mohammad Shah’s government was dismissed in 1986.
Dr Abdullah did not succumb but ‘intelligently’ concluded an accord with then prime minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, under which the Congress and the NC formed an alliance to contest the State Assembly elections, held in 1987. He won. But as the armed struggle broke out, his government was dismissed and Kashmir was brought under the president rule.
It was Dr Abdullah who reclaimed this chair of CM in 1996 at the peak of militancy. Prof Wani while giving credit to Dr Abdullah says: “If Farooq would have denied to contest the power would have gone to dreaded counterinsurgent Kukka Parray.”
During the same time his image reportedly suffered a ‘dent’. People were then expecting some sympathetic words for him. But Farooq with tears in eyes taking oath at Srinagar’s SKICC surprised many by showering all praises for India. “But this was typical of Dr Abdullah to throw surprises,” says Prof Wani.
But at the same time, says a veteran journalist Mohammad Sayed Malik, it was because of Farooq’s ‘loose’ tongue that many of NC leaders faced the music.
Malik says Farooq not only inherited chair but he also got the political capital of his father. But what happened all along was he just used that kitty without any addition, Malik says: “And the result was such he faced the first ever defeat of his political career, in parliamentary elections of May 2014.”
“I miss Dr Abdullah,” says PDP spokesman Naeem Akhter. “His son exhibited such a bad contrast to him that one starts loving Dr Abdullah.”
Akhter who has worked with Dr Abdullah says, “He is large-hearted, charming and politically intelligent.” But on the political scene, Dr Abdullah was taken almost far granted and there were times when Kashmir looked uni-polar because of him.
While wishing him good health Akhter says, “Politically Farooq died in 2009 when he was chief ministerial candidate but ultimately his son took the chair.”
During a recent election campaign, Omar Abdullah said that his father is not well. But for NC members, Dr Farooq’s heart and soul are with the party wherever he is. They must be yearning for Dr Abdullah who kept the ‘flock’ together. Perhaps, they might be recalling Dr Abdullah’s singing-his-heart-out-moment in SKICC, “Aaj Jaane ki zid na karo.”
