Mr. Farooq Abdullah has demonstrated a capacity for leadership which not many of even his friends believed he possessed. Sheikh Abdullah, of course, wanted Farooq to succeed him in preference to his son-in-law, Mr. GM Shah, who has for years made no secret of his ambitions. To that end the late Sheikh had appointed Farooq as president of the ruling National Conference last year. But clearly the Sheikh did not have enough time to install the son as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. We do not know how and when he planned to do so. The speculation was that he would go ahead with his plan after the forthcoming election in the state early next year, having first utilized the opportunity to ensure that a sufficiently large number of Farooq’s supporters had been elected to the legislature. But whatever the Sheikh’s scheme, he could not implement it. Farooq was sworn in as health minister on August 23 when the Sheikh was seriously ill and was in no position to help Farooq consolidate his position. The “lion of Kashmir”, as we know, never recovered and finally died on September 8. So in this difficult period of transition, Farooq has been on his own. And he has done remarkably well.
It can be argued that Farooq might not have been able to manage things as well as he has, if Mr. GM Shah had not resigned from the government in a huff and left the field to him. There is some merit in the argument because from the vantage position he had enjoyed all these years Mr. Shah must have built an extensive network of clients. But in view of the skill Farooq has displayed, the argument does not appear particularly strong. In any case, once he moved into the government, he was in command and was seen to be in command. Indeed, Mr. Shah, too, felt that he better make up with him and inspired a report to that effect in a paper under his control. Thus when the Sheikh breathed his last, all cabinet ministers wrote to the governor, Mr BK Nehru, requesting him to swear in Farooq as chief minister. It is immaterial whether they did so on their own or on the urging of Farooq and other members of the Sheikh’s family, especially the formidable begum. The fact remains that they accepted him as their leader when the Sheikh was no more there to compel them to do so. Since then Farooq has shown rare daring. He has decided to drop all members of the Sheikh’s government and made a public statement that he would strengthen ties with New Delhi. Only a very courageous Kashmiri leader could make these moves and that too at the same time. Many of the Sheikh’s ministers had acquired a bad reputation for lack of probity. So their virtual dismissal should be popular provided, of course, Farooq selects as his colleagues men with a better image and ensures that they do not slip into the bad old ways of their predecessors. But the outgoing ministers have been in the political game for long and are not likely to reconcile themselves to loss of power. Farooq will need support in coping with them and their intrigues. All those who wish the state well should be willing to extend it to him.